Mike Levin: “on behalf of Senator Nelson of Florida and Senator Allard, I offer an amendment which sets forth the sense of the Senate…”

“on behalf of Senator Nelson of Florida and Senator Allard, I offer an amendment which sets forth the sense of the Senate that maintaining assured access to space is in the national security interest and that the Under Secretary of the Air Force should evaluate all options to maintain such access. The amendment is as follows: (Purpose: To express the sense of Congress regarding assured access to space) At the end of subtitle D of title I, add the following: SEC. 135. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING ASSURED ACCESS TO SPACE. (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings: (1) Assured access to space is a vital national security interest of the United States. (2) The Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle program of the Department of Defense is a critical element of the Department's plans for assuring United States access to space. (3) Significant contractions in the commercial space launch marketplace have eroded the overall viability of the United States space launch industrial base and could hamper the ability of the Department of Defense to provide assured access to space in the future.”