[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 115 (Thursday, July 11, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5071-S5072]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 2846. Mr. HICKENLOOPER (for himself and Mr. Bennet) submitted an 
amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 4638, to 
authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2025 for military activities 
of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for 
defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military 
personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which 
was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

       Strike section 515 and insert the following:

     SEC. 515. TRANSFER TO THE SPACE FORCE OF COVERED SPACE 
                   FUNCTIONS OF THE AIR NATIONAL GUARD OF THE 
                   UNITED STATES.

       (a) Transfer of Covered Space Functions.--
       (1) In general.--During the transition period, the 
     Secretary of the Air Force shall transfer to the Space Force 
     the covered space functions of the Air National Guard of the 
     United States. The transfer--
       (A) shall occur without regard to section 104 of title 32, 
     United States Code, or section 18238 of title 10, United 
     States Code; and
       (B) shall be undertaken on a one-time basis based on these 
     specific circumstances and shall not be interpreted as 
     setting a future precedent regarding a waiver of any 
     requirements under title 32, United States Code.
       (2) Sustained consultations.--The transfer provided for 
     under paragraph (1) shall only occur after sustained 
     consultation with the Governors of affected States, as well 
     as the covered members of the Air National Guard.
       (3) Personnel billets limitations.--With regard to 
     personnel billets, the statutory

[[Page S5072]]

     waiver under paragraph (1) is limited to 578 personnel 
     billets from across the Air National Guard to the Space Force 
     as follows:
       (A) 33 personnel from the State of Alaska.
       (B) 126 personnel from the State of California.
       (C) 119 personnel from the State of Colorado.
       (D) 75 personnel from the State of Florida.
       (E) 130 personnel from the State of Hawaii.
       (F) 69 personnel from the State of Ohio.
       (G) 26 personnel assigned to Headquarters, Air National 
     Guard
       (b) Transfer of Units.--Upon the transfer to the Space 
     Force of the covered space functions of a unit of the Air 
     National Guard of the United States, the Secretary of the Air 
     Force may--
       (1) change the status of the unit from a unit of the Air 
     National Guard of the United States to a unit of the United 
     States Space Force;
       (2) deactivate the unit; or
       (3) assign the unit a new Federal mission.
       (c) Transfer of Covered Members.--
       (1) Officers.--During the transition period, the Secretary 
     of Defense may, with the officer's consent, transfer a 
     covered officer of the Air National Guard of the United 
     States to, and appoint the officer in, the Space Force.
       (2) Enlisted members.--During the transition period, the 
     Secretary of the Air Force may transfer each covered enlisted 
     member of the Air National Guard of the United States to the 
     Space Force, other than those members who do not consent to 
     transfer. Upon such a transfer, the transferred member ceases 
     to be a member of the Air National Guard of the United States 
     and is discharged from the member's enlistment as a Reserve 
     of the Air Force.
       (3) Effective date of transfers.--Each transfer under this 
     subsection shall be effective on the date specified by the 
     Secretary of Defense, in the case of an officer, or the 
     Secretary of the Air Force, in the case of an enlisted 
     member, but not later than the last day of the transition 
     period.
       (4) Limitations.--For any covered officer or covered 
     enlisted member affected by paragraphs (1) or (2), each 
     officer or member shall have--
       (A) not less than one year from the date of the enactment 
     of this Act or the period of time the Secretary concerned 
     considers appropriate, whichever is longer, to elect to 
     transfer to the Space Force; and
       (B) to the maximum extent practicable, 3 years of location 
     stability--
       (i) in the location where the officer or member is assigned 
     on the date the officer or member elects to transfer to the 
     Space Force; and
       (ii) commencing on the first date the officer or member 
     reports as an officer or member of the Space Force.
       (d) Regulations.--Transfers under subsection (c) shall be 
     carried out under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of 
     Defense. In the case of an officer, applicable regulations 
     shall include those prescribed pursuant to section 716 of 
     title 10, United States Code.
       (e) Term of Initial Enlistment in the Space Force.--In the 
     case of a covered enlisted member who is transferred to the 
     Space Force in accordance with subsection (c), the Secretary 
     of the Air Force may accept the initial enlistment of the 
     member in the Space Force for a period of less than 2 years, 
     but only if the period of enlistment in the Space Force is 
     not less than the period remaining, as of the date of the 
     transfer, in the member's term of enlistment in a reserve 
     component of the Air Force.
       (f) End Strength Adjustments Upon Transfers From the Air 
     National Guard of the United States.--During the transition 
     period, upon the transfer to the Space Force of a covered 
     space function of the Air National Guard of the United 
     States, the end strength authorized for the Space Force 
     pursuant to section 115(a)(1)(A) of title 10, United States 
     Code, for the fiscal year during which the transfer occurs 
     shall be increased by the number of billets associated with 
     that mission.
       (g) Development of Follow-on Mission for Air National 
     Guard.--The Secretary of Defense shall develop a follow-on 
     mission to replace the loss of the space mission of the Air 
     National Guard effected by this section.
       (h) Administrative Provisions.--For purposes of the 
     transfer of covered members of the Air National Guard of the 
     United States in accordance with subsection (c)--
       (1) the Air National Guard of the United States and the 
     Space Force shall be considered to be components of the same 
     Armed Force; and
       (2) the Space Force officer list shall be considered to be 
     an active-duty list of an Armed Force.
       (i) Retraining and Reassignment for Members Not 
     Transferring.--If a covered member of the Air National Guard 
     of the United States does not consent to transfer to the 
     Space Force in accordance with subsection (c), the Secretary 
     of the Air Force shall, as determined appropriate by the 
     Secretary in the case of the individual member, provide the 
     member retraining and reassignment within the reserve 
     component of the Air Force.
       (j) Protection of Rank and Pay.--The Secretary of the Air 
     Force shall ensure that any member of the Air National Guard 
     who joins the Space Force as a result of a transfer under 
     subsection (c) will not lose rank or pay upon transferring to 
     the Space Force.
       (k) Space Force Units in Affected States.--In order to 
     reduce the cost of transferring to the Space Force the 
     covered space functions of the Air National Guard of the 
     United States, and to reduce the impact of such transfer on 
     the affected State, the following provisions apply:
       (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), after a covered 
     space function is transferred to the Space Force from the Air 
     National Guard of the United States, the Space Force shall 
     continue to perform the covered space function within the 
     affected State for a period of not less than 10 years 
     following the effective date of such transfer.
       (2) Except when the Secretary of the Air Force determines 
     that it would not be in the best interests of the United 
     States, the Secretary may not move the Space Force unit, 
     equipment, or billets associated with the covered space 
     function out of the affected State during the 10-year period 
     following the transfer of such unit, equipment, or billets 
     into the Space Force until--
       (A) the Secretary of the Air Force has notified the 
     congressional defense committees and the members of Congress 
     from affected States of the details of such move and provided 
     an explanation regarding why the move is necessary to support 
     the National Defense Strategy; and
       (B) a period of 120 days has elapsed after the notification 
     has been received by those committees.
       (3) Except when the Secretary of the Air Force determines 
     that it would not be in the best interests of the United 
     States, the Secretary shall seek to enter into an agreement 
     with the governor of an affected State, to provide for the 
     Space Force to become a tenant organization on an 
     installation of the National Guard of the affected State at 
     which a covered space function was executed.
       (l) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) Affected state.--The term ``affected State'' means the 
     States of Alaska, California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, and 
     Ohio;
       (2) Covered member.--The term ``covered member'', with 
     respect to a member of the Air National Guard of the United 
     States, has the meaning given the term in section 1733(g) of 
     the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 
     (Public Law 118-31; 137 Stat. 676);
       (3) Covered space functions of the air national guard of 
     the united states.--The term ``covered space functions of the 
     Air National Guard of the United States'' means the following 
     units of the Air National Guard of the United States 
     associated with the performance of a space-related function, 
     including their personnel, equipment, and resources:
       (A) 213th Space Warning Squadron, Alaska Air National 
     Guard.
       (B) 148th Space Operations Squadron, California Air 
     National Guard.
       (C) 216th Electromagnetic Warfare Squadron, California Air 
     National Guard.
       (D) 137th Space Warning Squadron, Colorado Air National 
     Guard.
       (E) 138th Electromagnetic Warfare Squadron, Colorado Air 
     National Guard.
       (F) 114th Electromagnetic Warfare Squadron, Florida Air 
     National Guard.
       (G) 150th Electromagnetic Warfare Squadron, Hawaii Air 
     National Guard.
       (H) 109th Electromagnetic Warfare Squadron, Hawaii Air 
     National Guard.
       (I) 126th Intelligence Squadron, Ohio Air National Guard.
       (4) Transition period.--The term ``transition period'' 
     means the period beginning on the date of the enactment of 
     this Act and ending on the later of--
       (A) the last day of the eighth fiscal year beginning after 
     the date of the enactment of this Act; or
       (B) completion of the consultation process required under 
     subsection (a)(2).
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