Washington, D.C. – Today, House Armed Services Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-WA) released the following statement about President Trump’s announcement regarding the creation of a ‘Space Force’ as a sixth branch of the military:

“It is encouraging that President Trump wants to increase our focus on space, but any change of this kind would have to be established by Congress. The House of Representatives already passed a defense bill last year mandating the creation of a Space Corps, and the final version of that bill mandated an independent assessment of what authorities would be needed. If President Trump wants to make such a change within the military services, he should come discuss his proposal with us.”

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