Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, introduced the Quad Space Act to strengthen space cooperation among the four members of the Quad: Australia, India, Japan, and the United States. Australia, India, and Japan are among the world’s leading space powers and maintain strong governmental and commercial ties with the United States.
“As China and Russia rapidly develop dangerous space capabilities and behave recklessly in space, the United States must bolster cooperation with our Quad partners to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific,” said Bennet. “The Quad Space Act will enhance our collective capacity to address shared challenges by better ensuring safe and secure space missions, tracking objects and activities in space, and fostering shared innovation.”
“Maintaining space dominance is vital to protecting the stability and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific region,” said Cramer. “The Quad’s alignment addresses shared security challenges between our countries, and we recognize the importance of space as a strategic domain. The Quad Space Act protects our interests by deepening space cooperation with trusted partners and reaffirming our commitment to advancing a free and open region.”
Specifically, the Quad Space Act:
- Requires the Secretary of Defense to initiate discussions with Quad partners to identify areas of mutual interest with regard to best practices in space, cooperation on space situational awareness, and space industrial policy; and
- Requires the Secretary of Defense to report to Congress on identified areas of cooperation and potential steps to formalize such cooperation.
The Quad evolved from the “Tsunami Core Group,” which the four countries formed in the wake of the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami to coordinate the emergency response and humanitarian assistance. The Trump administration revived the Quad in 2017 after nearly a decade of dormancy. The Biden administration then upgraded the Quad to the leaders’ level and expanded the grouping’s work. The Quad has in recent years cooperated on maritime domain awareness, critical and emerging technology, health, and climate. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s first meeting after taking office on January 21, 2025 was with the Quad foreign ministers.
Bennet is a leading advocate of continued U.S. and allied space superiority. He has since 2022 supported the Space National Guard Establishment Act to create a Space National Guard. In 2023, he passed a measure, as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), to protect funding for the U.S. Space Command headquarters in Colorado Springs.
In 2024, Bennet secured over $216 million for research, development, and deployment of national defense and aerospace technology to improve U.S. military readiness and capabilities in the space domain. As part of the NDAA, Bennet also secured passage of the Coordinating AUKUS Engagement with Japan Act, which requires the Department of Defense and State Department to determine how Japan, a crucial U.S. ally, can contribute to the AUKUS partnership between Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
Additionally, Bennet played a leading role in passing the April 2024 national security aid package, which included $8.13 billion for Indo-Pacific partners including Taiwan and the Philippines. That month, he also traveled to Japan, South Korea, and the Philippines to underscore the unwavering U.S. commitment to our allies and partners and discuss areas of future cooperation.
In late 2023, Bennet visited India to strengthen U.S.-India ties through meetings with External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar and then-Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar.
The text of the bill is available HERE.