Opening Statement (As Prepared)

Click here to stream the hearing.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Basing decisions made by the Department are sensitive and can be challenging given the level of defense community and congressional interest. For years, the Air Force has been able to navigate these challenges by using a transparent, objective, and repeatable strategic basing process where all interested parties are able to understand and accept the outcome.
 
When it comes to the basing decision for U.S. Space Command, one of the main reasons that we are here today is that the Department, for reasons I still don’t fully comprehend, appears to have departed from the norms of the Air Force strategic basing process that are codified in their own strategic basing instruction. Having a predictable and transparent process is essential to maintaining people’s faith in the rigor and fairness of the eventual result. Unfortunately, for the Space Command Headquarters basing decision, we have had an unnecessary, tortured, and opaque process that has resulted in confusion, anger, and doubt about both the process and the result. We all deserve answers about why this process went so far afield.
 
That being said, it is also time to move forward and get to work on the larger issues surrounding Space Command and space policy within the Department of Defense. It is my hope that after this hearing we will be in a position to do just that.