Alabama legislators urge Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall to support congressional investigation into Space Command decision
On Tuesday, a bipartisan group of legislators in the Alabama House of Representatives sent a letter to U.S. Airforce Secretary Frank Kendall supporting the congressional investigation led by U.S. House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers and Congressman Dale Strong. The letter was signed by Speaker of the House Nathaniel Ledbetter, House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels, House Majority Leader Scott Stadthagan, and Speaker Pro Tem. Chris Pringle, as well as Reps. Joe Lovvorn, Danny Garrett, Wes Kitchens, Laura Hall, Parker Moore, David Cole, Rex Reynolds, Andy Whitt, James Lomax, Ritchie Whorton, and Phillip Rigsby. An NBC news report released on May 15 claimed that President Joe Biden will intervene to keep the Pentagon from moving Space Command from Colorado to Huntsville. The President’s objections to the state of Alabama are reportedly due to the state’s ban on abortion. Many speculate that the real reason could be political in that Colorado voted for Biden in 2020, while Alabama did not. Below is the text included in the attached letter: “Dear Secretary Kendall, “As members of the Huntsville and Madison delegations of the Alabama House of Representatives, and as House leadership, we are writing to you in support of the House Committee on Armed Services’ investigation into the delay in implementing the recommendation to place U.S. Space Command (SPACECOM) Headquarters at Redstone Arsenal, which is being led by U.S. House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers and Congressman Dale Strong.” “As you are aware, it has been made clear through multiple U.S. Air Force recommendations that the most strategic location for the U.S. Space Command headquarters is Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama. The Government Accountability Office and Department of Defense Inspector General have both confirmed this recommendation was made through a sound process. Huntsville has the infrastructure, the workforce, the education system, engineering base, existing military and defense apparatus, and quality of life to be the ideal location for U.S. Space Command. This is why this site has received the unanimous number one recommendation from the U.S. Air Force.” “As representatives of the communities surrounding Redstone Arsenal in the Alabama House of Representatives, we felt the need to respectfully encourage you to support and comply with the congressional investigation into the delay of this critical national security decision. We are also concerned to learn the U.S. Department of Defense was not aware, and not involved, in this change. The people of Alabama and the United States of America need and deserve transparency on the apparently revised mission requirements of SPACECOM as it relates to its decision to locate its headquarters.” “A lengthy delay in making a decision this important to national security deserves Congressional oversight, and we are thankful that Congressmen Rogers and Strong recognized this need and are taking action by launching this investigation. We greatly appreciate your service to our nation and the role that the U.S. Air Force has in keeping our country, and the world, safe from threats, and we believe that you also appreciate the need for transparency and Congressional oversight.” On Friday, Fox News published a story detailing an announcement from Rogers that he is opening an investigation into the continued delays in the selection of a permanent base for the U.S. Space Command (SPACECOM) Headquarters. “Today, I launched an investigation into the continued delays in the SPACECOM Headquarters basing decision,” said Chairman Rogers. “The fact is, the Air Force already made the correct decision well over two years ago. That decision was affirmed by the GAO and the DoD Inspector General over a year ago. This decision was based on multiple factors, and Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, was the clear winner in the Evaluation and Selection phase. I am deeply concerned that the continued delays in making this move final are politically motivated and damaging to our national security.” “I have requested that House Armed Services Committee Chairman, Mike Rogers, open a formal investigation into the Biden Administration’s failure to announce a permanent location for U.S. Space Command (SPACECOM) Headquarters,” said Rep. Strong.“The Administration’s delay risks politicizing a process which must remain fact-based. Injecting politics into America’s basing decisions serves to do unprecedented harm to our national security. American men and women in uniform must be given the very best, not the third or fourth choice. Redstone Arsenal was chosen as the preferred location after a years-long process. The decision was later confirmed not just once, but twice with the results of the Government Accountability Office and Department of Defense Inspector General investigations. It is plain and simple: Redstone Arsenal is the best possible location to host U.S. Space Command headquarters. The Air Force’s basing process established this, and it was confirmed. I thank Chairman Rogers for agreeing to this investigation. The members of the House Armed Services Committee, and our service members awaiting a final basing decision, deserve answers and swift action from the Air Force.” The letter by the State Representatives followed the announcement of the investigation by Rogers. To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
House Committee advances bill to allow mothers to receive birth certificates for a child lost from miscarriage
On Wednesday, the Alabama House Health Committee voted to give a favorable report to legislation allowing mothers whose preborn children were lost due to miscarriage or through a stillbirth to receive a state-issued birth certificate. House Bill 55 (HB55) is sponsored by State Representative Juandalynn Givan. “I have the honor today to present to you HB55, which, if entitled, will be called the Genesis Act,” Givan said. According to the synopsis, “Under existing law, a nonviable birth that occurs before the twentieth week of gestation is not reported to the Office of Vital Statistics, and a parent of a nonviable birth that occurs before the twentieth week of gestation may not request a certificate of birth. Also, under existing law, a parent of a fetal death occurring after 20 weeks of gestation may request a Certificate of Birth Resulting in Stillbirth. This bill would create the Genesis Act to require the Alabama Department of Public Health to adopt rules allowing for the parents of a nonviable birth occurring before the twentieth week of gestation to request a Certificate of Nonviable Birth.” Givan said that she is representing the mothers who have lost children before the twentieth week of gestation and that they want to be able to petition the state for documentation on the loss of that preborn child. “I want someone to know that the life that I carried mattered,” Givan said that the mothers supporting this legislation feel. “I want someone to know that that baby was loved and mattered to me.” “After 20 weeks of gestation, a parent can request a birth certificate from the Health Department,” Givan said, explaining that her bill would extend that to include pregnancies lost between ten weeks and nineteen weeks. Givan said that HB55 would permit the State Department of Health to do so and that the Health Department supports the legislation. “Dr. Scott Harris (the state health officer) shared the story of how his mother went through the same thing when young in life,” Givan said. State Rep. Paul Lee, a Republican from Dothan, chairs the House Health Committee. “Everyone received the amendment last night, and it is in your packet,” Chairman Lee said. The Committee voted to adopt the amendment. Givan explained that the Health Department would issue the nonviable birth certificate within 50 days after the request is made. “Florida was the first state to pass this into law in 2019,” Givan explained. “Other states have followed.” Rep. Phillip Rigsby motioned to give the bill a favorable report. The Committee voted unanimously to give HB55 a favorable report. HB55 could be considered by the full Alabama House of Representatives as early as Tuesday. Givan was joined in the committee hearing by a delegation of mothers whose children had been lost through miscarriage. Givan introduced the mothers to the Committee and thanked the members for the favorable report. As of Monday, 471 bills have been filed in the 2023 Alabama Regular Legislative Session. Tuesday will be day 8 of the regular session. The Alabama Constitution limits the regular session to no more than thirty legislative days during a regular session. To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
