Source: United States Senator for Florida Marco Rubio
Rubio pitches White House on space debris sanctions bill
Bryan Bender
April 19, 2022
Politico
GOP Sen. Marco Rubio is lobbying the Biden administration on new legislation that would require sanctions on those responsible for creating dangerous space debris, arguing that efforts to compel Russia and China to refrain from more destructive anti-satellite tests must go beyond diplomacy.
The move comes a day after Vice President Kamala Harris pledged that the United States will not test its ability to hit satellites using missiles and urged other nations to follow suit.
“I am glad the Biden Administration is calling attention to the national security risks, but it will take more than naming and shaming Moscow and Beijing to change their behavior,” Rubio said in a statement to POLITICO on Tuesday. “There needs to be accountability and consequences.”
His Deterring Errant Behavior Risking International Space, or DEBRIS, Act would establish a sanctions structure for foreign persons for creating space debris….
“My DEBRIS Act is the type of commonsense bill that could pass the Senate without much delay, especially if the Biden Administration comes out in support,” Rubio told POLITICO. “I am hopeful we can move fast on this and protect American astronauts and assets in orbit.”
The White House National Space Council did not immediately respond to a request to comment on the Rubio proposal.
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