Senators on both sides of the aisle are concerned that President Trump’s proposal to establish a “Space Force” would add to overhead costs at the Defense Department, The Hill reported Tuesday.
“How do we make sure we’re protecting taxpayer dollars and making sure they’re most efficiently used while achieving that objective?â€Â Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa said.
Vice President Mike Pence said the Trump administration plans to ask Congress for an initial $8B budget to cover five years of space procurement efforts through the proposed sixth military branch.
Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I. of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said that the Pentagon would first need to establish a space-dedicated combatant command as stated in the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act.
The report noted Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas is the only member of the committee who fully supports the idea of building a Space Force service.
“Our vulnerability in space and the increasing aggressiveness of our adversaries threatening our space architecture is significant and troubling and I applaud the administration elevating the focus on defending that space architecture,” Cruz said.
