Bipartisan Texas Delegation Unites Behind Bid to Bring U.S. Space Academy to Texas

HOUSTON, TX — A bipartisan coalition of the Texas congressional delegation is speaking with one voice on where the United States Space Academy belongs: Texas.

Today, Rep. Christian D. Menefee (TX-18) led a coalition of Democratic members of the Texas delegation in sending a letter to the Presidential Commission on the United States Space Academy, urging the Commission to locate the new institution in Texas. The letter adds Democratic support to a case that Republican members of the delegation have also publicly championed in recent weeks, uniting Texans across party lines behind the state's bid.

Texas is home to NASA's Johnson Space Center, which has trained every American astronaut and run Mission Control for more than sixty years. It is home to the only state where the full space industry, developing, building, testing, launching, and operating spacecraft, comes together in one place. And it is home to a network of universities and research institutions, from the University of Texas System to Texas A&M, already training the engineers and scientists the Academy will need.

The Democratic letter also points to Texas's role as the energy capital of the world and the skilled workforce that comes with it, along with the state's rapidly growing and diverse population as an asset for the Academy's future student body.

"Texas has the history, the infrastructure, and the workforce this Academy needs on day one," said Congressman Menefee. "That is true regardless of party, and it is why members from across the Texas delegation are making the same case to the Commission."

The letter was co-signed by Reps. Henry Cuellar (TX-28), Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Marc Veasey (TX-33), Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07), Veronica Escobar (TX-16), Sylvia Garcia (TX-29), Jasmine Crockett (TX-30), Vicente Gonzalez (TX-34), Greg Casar (TX-35), Lloyd Doggett (TX-37), and Julie Johnson (TX-32).     

Texas is competing against several other states, including Alabama, Colorado, and Florida, to host the Academy. The Presidential Commission is expected to use responses to its Request for Information, due October 26, to help select a permanent location, with a goal of breaking ground by 2027 and welcoming its first class of students in 2028.

Click HERE to read the full letter. 

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