The Buckley Space Force Base sign is seen on July 7, 2021, shortly after a base renaming ceremony where the base entry sign was updated showcasing the new base name. Buckley SFB hosts six major base partners including Space Delta 4, 140th Wing, Colorado Air National Guard, the Navy Operational Support Center, the Aerospace Data Facility-Colorado, the Army Aviation Support Facility and the Air Reserve Personnel Center. (Senior Airman Danielle McBride/U.S. Space Force/Public domain)
A pair of Colorado Democrats led a bipartisan letter encouraging armed forces congressional leadership to preserve governors’ authority over Air National Guard space units.
The letter, from Democrats U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper and U.S. Rep. Jason Crow of Centennial, asks Committee on Armed Services chairs from both chambers of Congress to preserve a House-approved amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that protects gubernatorial authority over space units.
“Should Congress strip governors of the ability to manage National Guard units within their states, it would risk fundamentally altering the Guard’s mission and identity, as well as set a concerning precedent whose impacts may be broader than anticipated,” the letter reads.
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The letter was signed by 86 representatives and 38 senators,
An Air Force proposal sought to transfer Air National Guard space units to Space Force, but remove the authority state governors historically have had over those units. Governors and members of Congress from both parties have opposed the proposal, saying it would undermine the National Guard system and disrupt guard members’ intentions to serve both their country and their states.
“Governors stand united in our commitment to uphold long-standing federal laws that require Governors’ approval prior to enacting any changes impacting the National Guard, and to strong federal-state partnership that has ensured our military readiness,” the National Governors Association, which Colorado Gov. Jared Polis chairs, said in a statement.
The amendment the letter seeks to preserve removed a provision of the Air Force proposal that disregarded a federal requirement for National Guard unit changes to get a governor’s approval. The units can still get transferred to the U.S. Space Force, but with governors involved in the conversation and their ability to activate the National Guard space units intact. The amendment also requires an annual report on the status of the transfer of Air National Guard members into Space Force.
U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson, a South Carolina Republican who introduced the amendment to the NDAA, led the letter alongside Hickenlooper and Crow.
Others from Colorado’s federal delegation who joined the letter include Democrats Sen. Michael Bennet, Rep. Yadira Caraveo of Thornton, Rep. Diana DeGette of Denver, Rep. Brittany Pettersen of Lakewood, and Rep. Joe Neguse of Lafayette; and Republicans Rep. Doug Lamborn of Colorado Springs and Rep. Greg Lopez of Elizabeth.
Congress approves a defense authorization act every year to fund the military, and the 2025 iteration is still making its way through hearings with the potential for additional amendments. More than one-third of all space-related National Guard members live in Colorado. Other states that would be affected by the change include Alaska, California, Florida, Hawaii, New York and Ohio.
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