Alabama Sens. Katie Britt and Tommy Tuberville explained how their committee assignments and proposed legislation will impact the state this year during a panel with the Alabama League of Municipalities in Washington this week.
Space Command, an ever-popular topic with Alabamians, was also discussed.
Space Command update
The Alabama delegation met last week to talk about the latest on Space Command headquarters coming to Huntsville, Britt said. She said they don’t want to get ahead of themselves but said, “things look really good.”
“We hope we get Space Command back,” Tuberville said. “That’s not a done deal, but we’re trying, and (Sen. Britt) and I are fighting for that every day.”
Movement on the possible relocation of the headquarters to Redstone Arsenal is expected after the Secretary of Air Force is confirmed. No confirmation hearing date has been set yet for the position.
“We believe that moving forward, once the Secretary of the Air Force is in place and he does the assessment, that decision will be made, and that we believe President Trump will act quickly on it,” Britt said.
As she’s traveled to different countries, Britt said foreign leaders understand the defense work done in Alabama, and she expects that will only grow.
“I think this makes sure that national defense, yes, means a lot to Alabama, but that the world knows that Alabama means a great deal to national defense,” Britt said.
The Air Force announced in January 2021 that a study of criteria such as mission capability and costs resulted in Redstone ranking No. 1 as a location. The U.S. Department of Defense Inspector General and the U.S. Government Accountability Office conducted a review of the selection process. The DoD IG review found that the search “was reasonable in identifying Huntsville as the preferred permanent location.”
In 2023, President Joe Biden decided to keep the headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colorado to not jeopardize military readiness. Colorado Springs was ranked fifth in the Air Force assessment.
Committees
Britt, who sits on the appropriations, judiciary, banking and rules committees, highlighted her role as chair of the subcommittee on housing and her efforts to bring down costs for potential home buyers. Britt said she wanted to roll back regulations that she attributed to increasing the costs of homes.
“President Trump has said, for every one regulation we put in place, he’s going to roll back 10,” Britt said. “(I’m) pretty pumped about that. So I think housing is a great place to start with that.”
Also as a member of the Banking Committee, Britt said she’s focused on rolling back the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which the Department of Government Efficiency is targeting, and how it’s “hurting our main streets.” She also touted her spot on the Committee on Appropriations as letting her secure federal dollars for the state.
On the Judiciary Committee, Britt highlighted her push with Tuberville to bring FBI jobs to Redstone Arsenal and her work to address the fentanyl crisis.
Tuberville, whose committee assignments include armed services, veterans affairs and health, education, labor and pensions, often called HELP, praised Elon Musk’s efforts to shrink the federal government. He said he thinks that work will open up more funding to communities.
“We gotta have something to give you, and that’s the reason that President Trump is trying to cut back on this leaking of our money to areas that it should never go to,” Tuberville said.
On the HELP committee, Tuberville said he’s focused on improving education and health outcomes through his support of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services.
He’s also on the Agriculture Committee and said he is working to “save our farmers.”
As a member of the Armed Services Committee he touted how the “FBI is going to bloom” after FBI Director Kash Patel announced 500 FBI jobs will move to Huntsville.
Legislation
Tackling child care costs, protecting children on social media and combatting fentanyl in the United States are some of the pieces of legislation Britt is championing this year.
Britt introduced a bipartisan childcare legislation package with two bills. One is aimed at increasing tax credits for families with child care expenses. The other bill would create a grant program to help boost pay for child care workers.
The Senate is in the process of advancing the HALT Fentanyl Act which would classify the substance as one of the most deadliest drugs. The bill passed out of the judiciary committee.
“There’s no community that I visited in Alabama when I was on the campaign trail that I didn’t have somebody tell me about losing a daughter or losing an uncle, or losing a son or a father to a fentanyl overdose or poisoning, and so getting to the bottom … and the crux of that will be important on that committee,” Britt said.
She also mentioned the need to save rural hospitalists. Nineteen of Alabama’s rural hospitals are at risk of closing, according to a report from the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform. Britt reintroduced the Rural Obstetrics Readiness Act which would offer training programs and support for obstetric emergencies at rural hospitals.
Tuberville is supporting the Access to Credit for our Rural Economy Act aimed at offering farmers and rural communities increased access to credit. He also joined Sen. John Boozman, R-AR, in introducing legislation to support veterans with disabilities by making it easier to get their benefits if they are defrauded.
Tuberville is also pushing for the BITCOIN Act, Boosting Innovation, Technology, and Competitiveness through Optimized Investment Nationwide to codify President Donald Trumps’ executive order on cryptocurrency. The bill calls for the creation of a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
He also introduced the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act but it failed to advance in the Senate last week.
Local angle
Fairhope Mayor Sherry Sullivan, vice president of the league, was one of the local leaders in Washington to advocate for communities. Alabama brought the second largest state delegation to the national conference. She said the leaders were focused on discussing infrastructure and municipal bonds with federal lawmakers as the state continues to grow.
Sullivan said the league is specifically interested in maintaining the tax-exempt status for municipal bonds as Congress looks at possible tax cuts.
“Those are things that we use to fund roads, bridges, utility infrastructure, broadband, whatever it might be, quality of life projects, but all the things that are important to our local communities,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan said as mayor she was also focused on advocating for appropriations that would go toward water and wastewater infrastructure in Fairhope, such as water towers.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Mary Sell and originally published by Alabama Daily News.
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