[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 112 (Friday, August 3, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8940-S8941]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. ALLARD (for himself and Mr. Smith of New Hampshire):
  S. 1368. A bill to amend title 10, United States Code, to improve the 
organization and management of the Department of Defense with respect 
to space programs and activities, and for other purposes; to the 
Committee on Armed Services.
  Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, today I rise to introduce, along with 
Senator Bob Smith, a bill to improve the organization and management of 
the Department of Defense with respect to space programs and 
activities. To my very good friend, I would like to extend my 
congratulations for being the driving force in establishing the 
``Commission to Assess United States National Security Space Management 
and Organization'' or better known as the Space Commission which led to 
this legislation.
  The Commission looked at the role of organization and management in 
the development and implementation of national-level guidance and in 
establishing requirements, acquiring and operating systems, and 
planning, programming and budgeting for national security space 
capabilities. What the Commission found is that the United States 
dependence on space is creating vulnerabilities and demands on our 
space systems which requires space to be recognized as a top national 
security priority. This priority must begin at the top with the 
President and must be embraced by the country's leaders.
  Senator Smith and I agree that space must be a top priority and that 
is why we are introducing this legislation. We want this to be a 
statement to everyone, that space is a priority and must be treated as 
such.
  The Commission also concluded that these new vulnerabilities and 
demands are not adequately addressed by the current management 
structure at the Department. The Commission found that a number of 
space activities should be merged, chains of command adjusted, lines of 
communications opened and policies modified to achieve greater 
responsibility and accountability.
  I understand the Department is making some of these changes today. 
However, we believe Congress should show its support to our military 
men and women involved in space that Congress wants them to succeed and 
that we will provide the tools for them to achieve that goal.
  This legislation will provide the Secretary of Defense the tools he 
needs for more effective management and organization of space program 
and activities. Specifically the legislation:
  Provides permissive authority for the Secretary of Defense to 
establish an Under Secretary of Defense for Space, Intelligence and 
Information--This permissive authority will provide the Secretary of 
Defense flexibility.
  Designates the duties of the Under Secretary of Defense for Space, 
Intelligence and Information, provides for an additional Assistant 
Secretary of Defense (conditional on creation of the new Under 
Secretary of Defense position). This provision follows the 
recommendations of the Commission.
  Requires the Secretary of Defense to issue a report 30 days prior to 
exercise of the authority to establish the new Under Secretary position 
on the proposed organization; and requires a report one year after 
enactment if the new position has not been created to describe how the 
intent of the Space Commission is being implemented.
  Establishes the Secretary of the Air Force as the Executive Agent for 
DOD space programs for DOD functions designated by the Secretary of 
Defense; and assigns to acquisition executive function to the Under 
Secretary of the Air Force. The Secretary of Defense has flexibility in 
assigning and defining functions of the Executive Agent;
  Assigns the Under Secretary of the Air Force as the director of the 
NRO; and directs the Under Secretary of the Air Force to coordinate the 
space activities of DOD and the NRO;
  Directs the Under Secretary of the Air Force to establish a space 
career field and directs the Secretary of the Air Force to assign the 
Commander of Air Force Space Command to manage the space career field. 
Establishment of career field is an important commission recommendation 
and key indicator concerning AF implementation.
  Requires that, to the maximum extent practicable, space programs be 
jointly managed. I believe this will encourage the Army and Navy to 
develop space personnel.
  Creates a major force program for space which will provide visibility 
into space program funding.
  Requires a GAO assessment of the progress made by DOD in implementing 
the recommendations of the Space Commission.
  Requires the commander of Air Force Space Command to be a four star 
general; and prohibits the commander of Air Force Space Command from 
serving concurrently as CINCSPACE or and commander of the U.S. element 
of NORAD--Elevates space component commander to level of all other 
major Air Force component commanders
  Finally, it expresses the sense of Congress that CINCSPACE should be 
the best qualified four-star officer from the Army, Navy, Marines, or 
Air Force--Rotation of CINCSPACE will encourage Army, Navy, and Marines 
to develop space expertise

[[Page S8941]]

  These measures provide the authority which, if exercised by the 
Secretary, can provide the focus and attention that space programs and 
activities deserve. This is imperative in a world where some 
technology's life span can be less than 24 months. DOD must be able to 
respond to these changing environments.
  Mr. President, I want to thank my colleague for joining with me in 
this effort to provide the Department the tools it needs to make space 
a top national security priority. We look forward to seeing this bill 
becoming law and welcome all Senators to join us on this important 
legislation.
  Mr. SMITH of New Hampshire. Mr. President, I am pleased to send to 
the desk a bill that will make improvements in our current national 
security space management and organization.
  I am delighted to stand here today and state that the Department of 
Defense is moving forward to implement the recommendations of the 
Commission to Assess United States National Security Space Management 
and Organization, more commonly known as the Space Commission. I pushed 
my colleagues to charter this group of 13 senior military-space experts 
in the Fiscal Year 1999 Defense Authorization Act to assess the 
management of military space matters today and make recommendations to 
strengthen the national security space organization in the future.
  It is a wonderful coincidence that the chairman of the bipartisan 
Space Commission, the Honorable Donald Rumsfeld, was appointed by 
President Bush and confirmed by the Senate for the position of 
Secretary of Defense. As a result, Secretary Rumsfeld brings to his 
position a keen appreciation of the importance of space to the future 
national security of the United States.
  The Space Commission, the efforts of the Secretary of Defense, and 
this proposed legislation will set this nation on a bold new course. 
More than fifty years ago, this nation took a similar bold step in 
establishing military air power with the creation of the U.S. Air 
Force. This decision, under the National Security Act of 1947, was 
signed into law by President Truman and dramatically restructured our 
institutional approach to military air power. This restructuring 
resulted from years of air-power management problems under the Army, 
insufficient reforms under the Army Air Corps established in 1926, and 
assessments of numerous committees like the recent Space Commission.
  The military management and organizational reforms of fifty years ago 
were a great success, and today, quite a bit has changed for the 
better. As a result of the formation of a separate service focused on 
air power, we soon developed, and have had, right up to today, the best 
equipped and best trained Air Force in the world. The U.S. Air Force is 
capable of surpassing any enemy.

  However, we have come to see that there are structural limitations 
inherent in the Air Force today with respect to space power just as 
there were in the Army fifty years ago with respect to air power. The 
Army has been structured to meet ground requirements. Its training, 
doctrine, leaders, and culture are all focused on fighting ground 
battles. For systemic reasons, the Army was not able to develop a 
strong, viable military air power. Therefore, the Air Force was created 
by the 1947 National Security Act which called for the creation of a 
separate organization designed to deal specifically with air power.
  There are many parallels between the early struggle for air power 
that led to the creation of the Air Force and the issues we face today 
in seeking space power. The similarities between these two issues are 
truly astounding.
  Today, space is used only in support of air, land, and sea warfare in 
much the same manner that air power was at first seen as only a way to 
support ground forces. Space today is used to provide ``information 
superiority'' in support of other missions, but there is the potential 
for so much more. We, as a Nation, need to stop talking and dreaming of 
a dominant space presence and start doing. We must recognize the 
importance of space as a permanent frontier for the military, so that 
America may proceed into space with the same confidence, assurance, and 
authority that marked our entrance into the skies.
  Currently, space programs are raided for funds ten times more often 
than other Air Force programs because space programs are either not 
aggressively defended and/or not aggressively executed consistent with 
the intent of Congress. Other space opportunities like the military 
space plane, an air and space vehicle promising future power projection 
from the U.S. to anywhere in the world in 45 minutes or less, are 
extremely important to the cost-effective transformation of the 
military especially during this period of shrinking American military 
presence around the globe. Yet the space plane and most of the space 
programs continue to be underfunded. We need a better leader in space.
  The reason for this is simple: the top priority of the Air Force is 
and will remain air power, not space power. The top jobs do and will 
continue to elude space officers in an Air Force run by pilots unless 
we can create an organization whose job it would be to defend space 
programs, to make sure that funding for space opportunities goes where 
it is supposed to go, and does not get rerouted back to other non-space 
programs.
  Space is too important a frontier and too vital a resource to be 
allowed to remain untapped and unexplored, undefended and unmanned. 
America's future security and prosperity depends on our constant 
vigilance. We cannot afford to ignore space because our enemies will 
not. While we are ahead of any potential rival in exploiting space, we 
are not unchallenged. Our future superiority is by no means assured. To 
ensure superiority, we must combine expansive thinking with a sustained 
and substantial commitment of resources and vest them in a dedicated, 
politically powerful, independent advocate for space.
  The way it is organized today, the Air Force is not building the 
material, cultural, or organizational foundations of a service 
dedicated to space power. Where are the space science and technology 
investments? Where is the funding for key space-power programs? Where 
are the personnel investments? What concrete steps are being taken to 
build a dedicated cadre of young space-warfare officers?
  Before closing, let me assure my colleagues of what this legislation 
is and what it is not. This legislation is about streamlined 
management, efficient operations, and the elimination of redundancy. It 
is about establishing an advocate for space who can evaluate space 
opportunities and bring those proposals forward to the President and 
Congress for disposition. It is about maximizing the national-security 
capability for every tax dollar spent. I have seen press stories that 
twisted Secretary Rumsfeld's support of the Space Commission 
recommendations as an intent to weaponize space. Let me assure my 
colleagues that this bill does not weaponize space. This is about 
management and organization. It is about good government. Enacting this 
legislation merely ensures that the concrete management reforms 
recommended by the Space Commission are implemented quickly.
  The Secretary of Defense, the Services, and the Intelligence 
Community all support the unanimous bipartisan recommendations from the 
Space Commission. I urge my Colleagues to support this bill which 
implements those recommendations. Space is critical to the future of 
this nation. It is important for Congress to provide leadership so that 
these recommendations are implemented quickly and not watered-down. 
While the Secretary does have broad management authority to run the 
Department of Defense, space is too important to be managed in-the-
margin or through loopholes in statute. Just as Congress established 
the Army Air Corps in 1926 and the Air Force in 1947, it is right that 
Congress legislate these space management reforms.
  Space dominance is too important to the success of future warfare to 
allow any bureaucracy, military department, or parochial concern to 
stand in the way. To protect America's interests we need to move 
forward consistent with the spirit of the Space Commission. This 
legislation is a good first step.
                                 ______