Sen. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., attends a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. (Facebook)
(Tribune News Service) — U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., has called top Pentagon decision makers to testify before the House Armed Services Committee on what he calls “President (Joe) Biden’s politically motivated” decision to locate U.S. Space Command headquarters in Colorado.
Rogers is chairman of the committee that has jurisdiction over Pentagon and American defense policy. He referred to the president’s decision to leave U.S. Space Command headquarters in Colorado Springs where it began operations rather than follow Pentagon procedure in determining a permanent location. That procedure was established to remove politics and determine the best location among states competing for headquarters and commands. That process chose Alabama’s Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville as the best location.
The call to testify includes Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall, U.S. Space Command Commander Gen. James Dickinson and Space Force Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman.
“In May, I opened a congressional investigation into the Biden administration’s shameful delay to finalize the permanent basing decision for U.S. Space Command,” Rogers said in a press release. “When the Secretary of the Air Force finally made a decision, he upheld his predecessors’ decision to base U.S. Space Command in Huntsville, Alabama. President Biden then usurped the Air Force Secretary’s authority and named Colorado Springs the permanent basing site for U.S. Space Command in order to improve his political standing for next year’s re-election.
“I have invited Secretary Kendall, General Dickinson, and General Saltzman to testify to the House Armed Services Committee in a public hearing,” Rogers said. “We will get answers on President Biden’s political manipulation of the selection process.”
Rogers represents east-central Alabama’s third congressional district.
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