[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 37 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 37
Recognizing the 4th anniversary of the Trump administration's Secretary
of the Air Force announcing Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, as
the preferred location for United States Space Command Headquarters.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 13, 2025
Mr. Strong (for himself, Mr. Aderholt, Mr. Moore of Alabama, and Mr.
Palmer) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the
Committee on Armed Services
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Recognizing the 4th anniversary of the Trump administration's Secretary
of the Air Force announcing Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, as
the preferred location for United States Space Command Headquarters.
Whereas, on January 13, 2021, the United States Air Force announced Redstone
Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, as the preferred location for United
States Space Command Headquarters;
Whereas January 13, 2025, marks the 4th anniversary of this decision being
announced during the first Presidential administration of Donald J.
Trump;
Whereas President Donald J. Trump directed the Secretary of Defense to
reestablish United States Space Command as a unified combatant command
on December 18, 2018;
Whereas, as a result of President Donald J. Trump's direction, the Secretary of
Defense directed the United States Air Force Basing Office to initiate a
basing action for the preferred permanent location of United States
Space Command headquarters, hereafter referred to as the ``2019 Basing
Action'';
Whereas the Secretary of the Air Force signed a memorandum approving a
provisional headquarters pending the selection of a preferred permanent
location for United States Space Command on January 15, 2020;
Whereas, on April 15, 2019, the Secretary of the Air Force was given the
authority to make a decision on the preferred permanent location for
United States Space Command Headquarters;
Whereas, as a further result of President Trump's direction, the Secretary of
Defense reestablished United States Space Command as a unified combatant
command on August 29, 2019;
Whereas, as a result of concerns expressed by Congress regarding the 2019 Basing
Action, the Secretary of Defense and Secretary of the Air Force met to
discuss a modified basing action and approved the 2020 Basing Action,
hereafter referred to as the ``Strategic Basing Action'', on April 27,
2020;
Whereas the approved Strategic Basing Action contained three phases and was
initiated on May 14, 2020, starting with the Self Nomination Phase and
the solicitation of proposals from military installations interested in
hosting United States Space Command Headquarters;
Whereas, during the Self Nomination Phase, 66 candidate locations in 26 States
were nominated and the Air Force Basing Office determined 50 locations
met the initial nomination criteria;
Whereas the second Strategic Basing Action phase, hereafter referred to as the
``Evaluation Phase'', began on July 23, 2020, and assessed each of the
50 locations on four evaluation factors ``Mission'', ``Capacity'',
``Community'', and ``Costs to the Department of Defense'', with 21
criteria between the factors;
Whereas the Evaluation Phase concluded on November 18, 2020, and the United
States Air Force publicly announced six finalists to advance to the
third phase of the Strategic Basing Action on November 19, 2020, ranked
in the following order:
(1) Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama.
(2) Offutt Air Force Base in Bellevue, Nebraska.
(3) Joint Base San Antonio in San Antonio, Texas.
(4) Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
(5) Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
(6) Patrick Air Force Base in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Whereas the 2022 Department of Defense Inspector General report titled
``Evaluation of the Air Force Selection Process for the Permanent
Location of the U.S. Space Command Headquarters'' found that there was a
large break in qualification that occurred after the top two locations
during the Evaluation Phase;
Whereas the third phase of the Strategic Basing Action, hereafter referred to as
the ``Selection Phase'', was conducted from December 4, 2020, through
January 7, 2021;
Whereas the findings of the Selection Phase resulted in the six finalists from
the Evaluation Phase being ranked in the following order:
(1) Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama.
(2) Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
(3) Offutt Air Force Base in Bellevue, Nebraska.
(4) Joint Base San Antonio in San Antonio, Texas.
(5) Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
(6) Patrick Air Force Base in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Whereas the Strategic Basing Action found that Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville,
Alabama, consistently ranked as the top location throughout the process
and compared more favorably across the 4 key factors and 21 criteria
than any other finalist location;
Whereas the Strategic Basing Action found that Huntsville, more so than any
other finalist location, provided a large, qualified workforce, quality
schools, superior infrastructure, and low initial and recurring costs to
the Department of Defense;
Whereas the aforementioned points proved that Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville,
Alabama, was and remains to be, the best location for United States
Space Command Headquarters and informed the decision of the United
States Air Force selecting the site as the preferred location on January
13, 2021;
Whereas the findings of the Strategic Basing Action have been supported by
reports following subsequent Department of Defense Inspector General and
Government Accountability Office investigations; and
Whereas, despite an extensive process determining that Redstone Arsenal in
Huntsville, Alabama, was the best possible location for United States
Space Command, on July 31, 2023, President Joseph R. Biden and his
Presidential administration chose to disregard the findings of the
Strategic Basing Action and announced the intention to locate the
headquarters at the fifth best location, Colorado Springs, Colorado:
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) recognizes that the United States Air Force's Strategic
Basing Action process complied with law and policy and was
justified in identifying Huntsville as the preferred permanent
location for United States Space Command Headquarters;
(2) strongly commends President Donald J. Trump and his
first Presidential administration for completing a robust and
fact-based Strategic Basing Action focused on what was best to
ensure the national security and fiscal responsibility of the
United States and well-being of service members and their
families;
(3) strongly condemns President Joseph R. Biden and his
Presidential administration for disregarding the findings of
the Strategic Basing Action and allowing United States Space
Command Headquarters to be based at the fifth best location;
and
(4) encourages President Donald J. Trump and his incoming
second Presidential administration to halt the Biden
administration's disastrous decision and immediately proceed in
establishing a permanent headquarters for United States Space
Command at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama.
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