Strategic Forces Subcommittee, House Armed Services Committee

Under the House Armed Services Subcommittee, the Strategic Forces Subcommittee oversees nuclear and strategic forces, ballistic missile defense; intelligence programs, space programs, information warfare programs; and Department of Energy defense-related nuclear and environmental programs. It oversees the United States Strategic Command.

The subcommittee also is concerned with the industrial base supporting these areas, which involves balancing the commercial business that keeps aerospace firms healthy, and protecting sensitive technology. 2008, While the intentions of the move might have been good, the results were disastrous. According to a report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the U.S. dominated the global satellite export market at over 70% of worldwide share in 1995. Three years later, Congress passed a law that moved put export controls over commercial communications satellites to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) regime. Contract awards for commercial communications satellite manufacturing dropped over 20% by 2000, and by 2005 the U.S.’s worldwide share of the global satellite export market stood at a mere 25%