October 2, 2019
Military Space Reform: FY2020 NDAA Legislative Proposals
Introduction
At a National Space Council meeting on June 18, 2018,
President Donald Trump said, “I am hereby directing the
Department of Defense and Pentagon to immediately begin
the process necessary to establish a space force as the sixth
branch of the armed forces.” One of the purposes for
creating a separate military service for space is to protect
American interest in outer space. On February 19, 2019, the
President signed Space Policy Directive-4 (SPD-4)
directing the Secretary of Defense to submit a legislative
proposal that would establish a U.S. Space Force, if enacted
by Congress. In alignment with the President’s National
Security Strategy and the National Strategy for Space, the
Space Force is intended to secure the vital interest of
unfettered access to and freedom to operate in space while
expanding American dominance in the space domain.
Subsequently, on February 28, 2019, the Department of
Defense (DOD) submitted a legislative proposal to
Congress to create the U.S. Space Force.
Background
The FY2020 President’s space-related budget request of
$306.0 million would fund the
creation of the U.S. Space Force (USSF)—a separate
military service under the Department of the Air Force
($72.4 million) (similar to the Marine Corps/Navy
relationship);
reestablishment of the U.S. Space Command
(USSPACECOM)—the 11
th
combatant command,
($83.8 million); and
maintenance of Space Development Agency (SDA)—
created in March 2019 to accelerate the process for
acquiring space systems to meet emerging space threats,
($149.8 million).
Table 1. FY2020 Budget Request
(in millions of dollars of budget authority)
Source: Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller)
and FY2020 NDAA (H.R. 2500 and S. 1790).
a. H.R. 2740 House-passed appropriations bill appropriates $15
million to study the potential establishment of a Space Force.
Both the House- and Senate-passed versions of the FY2020
National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 2500 and S.
1790, respectively) would support the Administration’s
proposal to create a separate military service for space;
H.R. 2500 would authorize less funding to do so. Also, the
House-passed FY2020 defense appropriations bill (H.R.
2740) would appropriate the funding “to study and refine
plans for the potential establishment of a Space Force.” See
Table 1.
Legislative Activity
If Congress authorizes a U.S. Space Force, it would be the
first time a new military branch would have been
established since 1947, when Congress voted to create the
U.S. Air Force. The origins of the current space force
debate trace back to the Rumsfeld Commission in 2001. In
the late 1990s, congressional concerns intensified regarding
the DOD and Intelligence Community’s (IC’s) management
and execution of national security space programs. At that
time, Congress passed legislation to create three
commissions to assess certain aspects of space activities.
One was the Commission to Assess United States National
Security Space Management and Organization in the
FY2000 NDAA, P.L. 106-65, known as the Rumsfeld
Commission. The commission’s final report suggested a
“Space Corps” within the Air Force—analogous to the
Marine Corps within the Department of the Navy—that
might someday lead to a separate Space Department apart
from the Air Force. In 2018, the House Armed Services
Committee (HASC) Strategic Forces Subcommittee
included an NDAA provision to create a U.S. Space Corps,
recognizing space as a war fighting domain. Despite Air
Force leaders opposing the idea to create a separate military
service during HASC hearings, the House passed a version
of the NDAA that included language to establish the Space
Corps, though it was not included in the final FY2018
NDAA (P.L. 115-91).
Military Space Proposals
In the President’s FY2020 Budget request, DOD described
a Space Force as “a fundamental step in transforming our
approach to space from a combat support function to a
warfighting domain.” DOD further stated, “The
establishment of the U.S. Space Force will help ensure the
United States is postured to deter aggression and outpace
potential adversaries in order to protect and defend our
national interests in the face of a changing space
environment and growing threats.” Air Force leaders
initially opposed the creation of the Space Force. Top
service officials now support the proposed reorganization
for space, according to their testimonies during the FY2020
President’s budget posture review hearings (see Table 2).
The Senate FY2020 NDAA (S. 1790) would authorize
funding amount equal to the President’s $72.4 million
request. The House FY2020 NDAA (H.R. 2500) would
authorize the creation of a U.S. Space Corps at a lower
