Letter to Congress on the Fiscal Year 2026 Appropriations for the Department of Defense

Dear Chair Collins and Vice Chair Murray:

As the Committee considers Fiscal Year 2026 appropriations for the Department of Defense, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (“Chamber”) strongly supports expanding Combatant Commander (COCOM) access to commercial remote sensing data and analytics, as outlined in Senate Report 119-52.

The Chamber is encouraged by the growing partnership between the U.S. Space Force (USSF) and commercial industry. The Tactical Surveillance, Reconnaissance, and Tracking (TacSRT) program stands out as a model initiative that enables COCOMs to access tactically relevant, shareable remote sensing data through a competitive marketplace. This program advances congressional intent for the Pentagon to leverage private sector innovation that meets mission requirements.

Programs like TacSRT are especially valuable in conflicts with near-peer adversaries, where proliferated commercial remote sensing constellations can deliver high revisit and persistent monitoring over broad areas, augmenting airborne assets and other platforms that are denied or have limited access to hostile areas.

Senate Report 119-52 also recommends additional funding for commercial imagery acquisition of data and analytics. This allows the USSF to support emerging COCOM missions not covered under the Electro-Optical Commercial Layer (EOCL) contract. The Chamber strongly supports this language and urges inclusion of both this provision and sufficient funding in the final FY26 Defense Appropriations Act.

While the Chamber supports Congress’ actions to establish TacSRT as a program of record, the Chamber also recommends:

1. Comprehensive Scope: Ensure TacSRT includes all available commercial remote sensing phenomenologies, including electro-optical (EO), synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and radio frequency (RF) capabilities to address operational and intelligence gaps.
2. Consistent Funding: Maintain predictable support to guarantee COCOMs reliable access to commercial data and to encourage continued industry innovation.
3. Updated Language and Funding Tables: Reflect the full range of available commercial remote sensing datasets and ensure sustained funding to meet evolving national security needs.

These investments are critical to equipping our warfighters, strengthening U.S. national security, and supporting our allies. Thank you for your continued support of the commercial space industry’s role in defending our nation.

Sincerely,

Christopher Roberti
Senior Vice-President
U.S. Chamber of Commerce

John Neal
Vice-President
U.S. Chamber of Commerce