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Colorado lawmakers pen letter to Biden asking for review of Space Command decision

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Posted at 4:17 PM, Jan 26, 2021
and last updated 2021-02-23 13:33:19-05

COLORADO SPRINGS — On Tuesday, a number of prominent Colorado lawmakers added their signatures to a letter requesting that President Joe Biden conduct a thorough review of the Trump administration's decision to move the home of Space Command from Colorado Springs to Huntsville, Alabama.

The letter asks that the President suspend the move until a review of the decision can be completed, saying the move "undermines our ability to respond to the threats in space and is disruptive to the current mission."

It goes on to say that "significant evidence exists that the process was neither fair nor impartial and that President Trump’s political considerations influenced the final decision."

Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper signed the letter, as did Representatives Doug Lamborn, Joe Neguse, Diana DeGette, Ed Perlmutter, Jason Crow, Ken Buck, and Lauren Boebert.

The full letter can be found here.

The letter lays out five points in detail arguing why the move should not be made. Those points are national security, personnel, political influence, lack of transparency, and lack of sufficient data.

It then goes on to discuss how Colorado Springs is already home to a number of space assets and missions, including the National Space Defense Center, U.S. Northern Command, North American Aerospace Defense Command, Cheyenne Mountain Air Station, and the U.S. Air Force Academy. Colorado is also already home to eight of the nine current Space Force Deltas. The state also boasts the nation’s largest aerospace economy on a per capita basis and has demonstrated an unfailing commitment to service members, veterans, and their families, the letter said.

The letter concludes with the request to pause the move until a review can be completed.

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