POINT CLEAR, Ala. — Several of Alabama’s well-placed members of Congress said Saturday there will be consequences if President Joe Biden doesn’t reverse his late July decision to make Colorado the permanent home of the U.S. Space Command headquarters, rather than the previously selected Huntsville.
Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Saks, said the judicial branch previously “corrected” Biden on his plan to cancel millions of dollars in student debt.
“On this issue, the legislative branch is going to correct him,” Rogers told an applauding crowd Saturday morning at the Business Council of Alabama’s Government Affairs Conference. He chairs the powerful House Armed Services Committee.
Rogers and Reps. Gary Palmer, R-Birmingham, Jerry Carl, R-Mobile, and Dale Strong, R-Huntsville, were part of panel discussion on federal issues.
The House members sit on multiple committees that are involved in the command’s placement and operations.
Palmer is on the Committee on Oversight and Accountability.
“We’re pretty good at finding documents and we think there is a little bit more to this than what the administration is telling us,” Palmer said. “I’ve gone to (committee chairman Rep. James Comer) and we intend to launch an investigation into how this decision was made, we think it was done illegally.”
Both Rogers and Palmer said there is a path for Biden to walk back the decision and name Huntsville the HQ home. But if that doesn’t happen, multiple committees will investigate.
Carl is on the House Appropriations Committee.
“From an Appropriations standpoint, every dollar that they need that I can cut off will be cut off,” Carl told the crowd. “If it’s my choice, they’re going to be walking …
“The money is going to end until we see done what is right for the state of Alabama and this country.”
Rogers said Biden’s decision was to appease swing state Colorado in advance of the 2024 presidential election.
The decision to move the installation from Colorado Springs to a permanent home Huntsville was made in early 2021 when the Air Force said the Rocket City “compared favorably across more of these factors than any other community, providing a large, qualified workforce, quality schools, superior infrastructure capacity, and low initial and recurring costs.”
Colorado Springs ranked fifth.
The Associated Press reported last month Biden was convinced by the head of Space Command, Gen. James Dickinson, that moving his headquarters now would jeopardize military readiness.
“There is no doubt that if we do what’s right for national security, Space Command will come to Alabama and our state will accept the challenge,” Strong said to another round of applause from the crowd.
The Alabama delegation, including Democratic Rep. Terri Sewell, is united on this issue, an example of its teamwork, members said. Rogers said the Alabama delegation is unique in that they all get along.
“We have an information loop, when a vote is coming up, we all let each other know how we’re going to vote, and (Sewell) is included in that,” Rogers said.
“… You’d be amazed how many delegations, the overwhelming majority of delegations, don’t talk to each other, don’t really like each other. We actually like each other.”
Alabama’s federal delegation was led for years by Senate veterans Richard Shelby and Jeff Sessions.
“With (Sewell) being on Ways and Means, me being on Energy Commerce, (Rogers) chairing Armed Services, that is extremely important to the state of Alabama,” Palmer said. “Obviously losing Shelby and Sessions — we have a couple very capable replacements we are excited about — but a lot of the power has shifted to the House.”
Palmer and Rogers are also on the body that makes committee appointments and helped get the newer members their assignments.
The congressmen also fielded questions about holding China accountable for its trade policies, including its control of much of the world’s cobalt supply, and efforts to aid Russia.
“I know a lot of people think the existential threat to our country is climate change,” said Palmer. “I will argue vigorously that it is not, that it is China.”
Carl is on the House Natural Resources committee.
“Let’s encourage American companies and American investment to start drilling and start mining our natural resources, it’s as simple as that,” he said. “These Chinese imports, we need to start looking at more tariffs…
“We’ve got to invest in America — that is our biggest threat right now.”