SpaceNotes, Edition 9, September 23, 2021
CAPITOL HILL MATTERS
Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), chairman, SAC, said a short time ago the stalemate over a temporary government funding measure and debt limit language could lead to a shutdown. “I think there is a real possibility,” Leahy said.
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), the Senate Majority Leader, said this on nominations right now before the Senate: “It will just take a little longer to get them done. Maybe nights, maybe weekends. We will focus today on pushing these nominees through for the sake of our national security.”
According to Congressional Quarterly, the House will convene at Noon and vote on about 17 NDAA amendments today and the bill will likely be passed today. The vast majority of the more than 400 amendments up for debate are grouped into four en bloc packages, likely signaling a lack of controversy or disagreement about them. Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA), chairman, HASC, calls the bill “incredibly well put together.” That said, Republican members of the House Freedom Caucus are calling on their party to oppose the NDAA because of an amendment in the bill that would allow the registration of women for the Selective Service System. Given the large number of Freedom Caucus members, this could pose a threat to the bill. We’ll have to watch this one as there are about 44 Members in this Caucus. Afghanistan will also play a huge role in the bill’s final stages. “Whenever the Senate bill moves to the floor, senators will try to update it to address recent events in Afghanistan. After that, House and Senate negotiators reconciling the two chambers’ versions of the policy bill will have more chances to do so,” .
Here’s Politico’s take on where things stand on the CR/debt limit bill with one week to go until the government runs out of money: “Publicly, Senate Democrats’ preferred option is to continue pressuring Republicans to buckle and accept their proposal linking government funding and a debt ceiling increase. But failing that, they say they need to ensure they avoid a momentum-draining shutdown next week amid the pandemic and internal dissent over acting on President Joe Biden’s domestic agenda … several Democrats said in interviews that they’ll do whatever it takes to keep the government open — which would almost certainly involve dropping a borrowing limit hike from their funding package and starting negotiations with Republicans who’ve vowed to block any increase.” All of that to say OMB will send out its shutdown guidance today.
According to Punchbowl News, The Senate is likely to wait until Monday to vote on the House-passed CR funding bill, which would keep agencies open until 3 Dec. Because that legislation includes a provision suspending the debt limit until December 2022, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and his GOP colleagues will block it from being considered. That leaves just three days for the congressional leaders and the White House to find a way to keep the government open. Congress could pass a temporary funding extension to ensure federal agencies remain open while a longer-term funding bill — sans the debt limit — is cobbled together. But the debt limit issue still has to be dealt with, and that could take several weeks if Democrats choose to go it alone.”
SASC FY22 NDAA Space Summary and Highlights
US SPACE FORCE AND US SPACE COMMAND MATTERS
On the GAO study attached that was released yesterday, GAO recommends that the Space Force provide congressional committees more transparent cost and schedule risk information for Next Gen OPIR, and that DOD formalize coordination across agencies. DOD partially concurred with both recommendations. Regarding the first, GAO believes DOD’s plan will meet the intent of the recommendation; on the second, GAO maintains the importance of formalizing coordination.
- https://spacematters.info/knowledge-base/gao-report-missile-warning-satellites-sept-21/
Below is a link to a 17 September Memo from USecAF Ortiz regarding Building Occupancy and Vaccination Deadlines
- https://spacematters.info/knowledge-base/memo-undersecretary-of-the-air-force-re-covid-staffing-17-sept-21/
EVENTS
On 27 Sep at 1000, The Government Executive Media Group will hold a virtual forum, beginning on the “State of the Space Force.” Gen. John Raymond, chief of space operations, will participate in a keynote interview. For more information and to register, please visit https://d1stateofdefense.com/register/.
4-6 Oct, Space Force Association will host “Space Warfighter Industry Nights (Space WINs).” According to a release, “Join SFA for a one-of-a-kind engagement opportunity between warfighters, industry partners, and policymakers with specifically targeted programming to inspire constructive conversation and collaboration, and advance the U.S. Space Force as the dominant spacepower leader.” For more information and to register, please visit https://ussfa.org/event-4397539.
