S.Amdt. 2846

SA 2846. Mr. HICKENLOOPER (for himself and Mr. Bennet) submitted an
amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 4638, to
authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2025 for military activities
of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for
defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military
personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which
was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

Strike section 515 and insert the following:

SEC. 515. TRANSFER TO THE SPACE FORCE OF COVERED SPACE
FUNCTIONS OF THE AIR NATIONAL GUARD OF THE
UNITED STATES.

(a) Transfer of Covered Space Functions.--
(1) In general.--During the transition period, the
Secretary of the Air Force shall transfer to the Space Force
the covered space functions of the Air National Guard of the
United States. The transfer--
(A) shall occur without regard to section 104 of title 32,
United States Code, or section 18238 of title 10, United
States Code; and
(B) shall be undertaken on a one-time basis based on these
specific circumstances and shall not be interpreted as
setting a future precedent regarding a waiver of any
requirements under title 32, United States Code.
(2) Sustained consultations.--The transfer provided for
under paragraph (1) shall only occur after sustained
consultation with the Governors of affected States, as well
as the covered members of the Air National Guard.
(3) Personnel billets limitations.--With regard to
personnel billets, the statutory

[[Page S5072]]

waiver under paragraph (1) is limited to 578 personnel
billets from across the Air National Guard to the Space Force
as follows:
(A) 33 personnel from the State of Alaska.
(B) 126 personnel from the State of California.
(C) 119 personnel from the State of Colorado.
(D) 75 personnel from the State of Florida.
(E) 130 personnel from the State of Hawaii.
(F) 69 personnel from the State of Ohio.
(G) 26 personnel assigned to Headquarters, Air National
Guard
(b) Transfer of Units.--Upon the transfer to the Space
Force of the covered space functions of a unit of the Air
National Guard of the United States, the Secretary of the Air
Force may--
(1) change the status of the unit from a unit of the Air
National Guard of the United States to a unit of the United
States Space Force;
(2) deactivate the unit; or
(3) assign the unit a new Federal mission.
(c) Transfer of Covered Members.--
(1) Officers.--During the transition period, the Secretary
of Defense may, with the officer's consent, transfer a
covered officer of the Air National Guard of the United
States to, and appoint the officer in, the Space Force.
(2) Enlisted members.--During the transition period, the
Secretary of the Air Force may transfer each covered enlisted
member of the Air National Guard of the United States to the
Space Force, other than those members who do not consent to
transfer. Upon such a transfer, the transferred member ceases
to be a member of the Air National Guard of the United States
and is discharged from the member's enlistment as a Reserve
of the Air Force.
(3) Effective date of transfers.--Each transfer under this
subsection shall be effective on the date specified by the
Secretary of Defense, in the case of an officer, or the
Secretary of the Air Force, in the case of an enlisted
member, but not later than the last day of the transition
period.
(4) Limitations.--For any covered officer or covered
enlisted member affected by paragraphs (1) or (2), each
officer or member shall have--
(A) not less than one year from the date of the enactment
of this Act or the period of time the Secretary concerned
considers appropriate, whichever is longer, to elect to
transfer to the Space Force; and
(B) to the maximum extent practicable, 3 years of location
stability--
(i) in the location where the officer or member is assigned
on the date the officer or member elects to transfer to the
Space Force; and
(ii) commencing on the first date the officer or member
reports as an officer or member of the Space Force.
(d) Regulations.--Transfers under subsection (c) shall be
carried out under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of
Defense. In the case of an officer, applicable regulations
shall include those prescribed pursuant to section 716 of
title 10, United States Code.
(e) Term of Initial Enlistment in the Space Force.--In the
case of a covered enlisted member who is transferred to the
Space Force in accordance with subsection (c), the Secretary
of the Air Force may accept the initial enlistment of the
member in the Space Force for a period of less than 2 years,
but only if the period of enlistment in the Space Force is
not less than the period remaining, as of the date of the
transfer, in the member's term of enlistment in a reserve
component of the Air Force.
(f) End Strength Adjustments Upon Transfers From the Air
National Guard of the United States.--During the transition
period, upon the transfer to the Space Force of a covered
space function of the Air National Guard of the United
States, the end strength authorized for the Space Force
pursuant to section 115(a)(1)(A) of title 10, United States
Code, for the fiscal year during which the transfer occurs
shall be increased by the number of billets associated with
that mission.
(g) Development of Follow-on Mission for Air National
Guard.--The Secretary of Defense shall develop a follow-on
mission to replace the loss of the space mission of the Air
National Guard effected by this section.
(h) Administrative Provisions.--For purposes of the
transfer of covered members of the Air National Guard of the
United States in accordance with subsection (c)--
(1) the Air National Guard of the United States and the
Space Force shall be considered to be components of the same
Armed Force; and
(2) the Space Force officer list shall be considered to be
an active-duty list of an Armed Force.
(i) Retraining and Reassignment for Members Not
Transferring.--If a covered member of the Air National Guard
of the United States does not consent to transfer to the
Space Force in accordance with subsection (c), the Secretary
of the Air Force shall, as determined appropriate by the
Secretary in the case of the individual member, provide the
member retraining and reassignment within the reserve
component of the Air Force.
(j) Protection of Rank and Pay.--The Secretary of the Air
Force shall ensure that any member of the Air National Guard
who joins the Space Force as a result of a transfer under
subsection (c) will not lose rank or pay upon transferring to
the Space Force.
(k) Space Force Units in Affected States.--In order to
reduce the cost of transferring to the Space Force the
covered space functions of the Air National Guard of the
United States, and to reduce the impact of such transfer on
the affected State, the following provisions apply:
(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), after a covered
space function is transferred to the Space Force from the Air
National Guard of the United States, the Space Force shall
continue to perform the covered space function within the
affected State for a period of not less than 10 years
following the effective date of such transfer.
(2) Except when the Secretary of the Air Force determines
that it would not be in the best interests of the United
States, the Secretary may not move the Space Force unit,
equipment, or billets associated with the covered space
function out of the affected State during the 10-year period
following the transfer of such unit, equipment, or billets
into the Space Force until--
(A) the Secretary of the Air Force has notified the
congressional defense committees and the members of Congress
from affected States of the details of such move and provided
an explanation regarding why the move is necessary to support
the National Defense Strategy; and
(B) a period of 120 days has elapsed after the notification
has been received by those committees.
(3) Except when the Secretary of the Air Force determines
that it would not be in the best interests of the United
States, the Secretary shall seek to enter into an agreement
with the governor of an affected State, to provide for the
Space Force to become a tenant organization on an
installation of the National Guard of the affected State at
which a covered space function was executed.
(l) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Affected state.--The term ``affected State'' means the
States of Alaska, California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, and
Ohio;
(2) Covered member.--The term ``covered member'', with
respect to a member of the Air National Guard of the United
States, has the meaning given the term in section 1733(g) of
the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024
(Public Law 118-31; 137 Stat. 676);
(3) Covered space functions of the air national guard of
the united states.--The term ``covered space functions of the
Air National Guard of the United States'' means the following
units of the Air National Guard of the United States
associated with the performance of a space-related function,
including their personnel, equipment, and resources:
(A) 213th Space Warning Squadron, Alaska Air National
Guard.
(B) 148th Space Operations Squadron, California Air
National Guard.
(C) 216th Electromagnetic Warfare Squadron, California Air
National Guard.
(D) 137th Space Warning Squadron, Colorado Air National
Guard.
(E) 138th Electromagnetic Warfare Squadron, Colorado Air
National Guard.
(F) 114th Electromagnetic Warfare Squadron, Florida Air
National Guard.
(G) 150th Electromagnetic Warfare Squadron, Hawaii Air
National Guard.
(H) 109th Electromagnetic Warfare Squadron, Hawaii Air
National Guard.
(I) 126th Intelligence Squadron, Ohio Air National Guard.
(4) Transition period.--The term ``transition period''
means the period beginning on the date of the enactment of
this Act and ending on the later of--
(A) the last day of the eighth fiscal year beginning after
the date of the enactment of this Act; or
(B) completion of the consultation process required under
subsection (a)(2).
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