Legislative Proposal 480, which the Defense Department submitted for consideration to the Senate Armed Services Committee, has drawn a storm of criticism and strong opposition in the ranks of the US National Guard and among state governors. On April 29, 53 governors of all US states and territories signed a letter to US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin demanding him to retract the submission of the LP 480 as it would break the law and "deeply damage the relationship between states and the federal government." The governors estimated that the proposed change would affect the lives of about 1,000 people in the Air National Guard space units across seven US states, including Colorado, Alaska, California, Hawaii and Florida.