SE Connecticut News

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On May 24, in response to Rep. Courtney (CT-02) at a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing, a top Department of Defense official reinforced the importance of Congress acting expeditiously to fulfill the AUKUS agreement. Specifically, Rep. Courtney and Mara Karlin, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategies, Plans, and Capabilities, called on Congress to act on recent legislative proposals President Biden sent to lawmakers. 

Three of the proposals would take action to fulfill Pilar I of AUKUS, including allowing the United States to accept Australia’s investment in the U.S.’ submarine industrial base, train Australian private industry personnel, and transfer Virginia-class submarines to Australia.

In response to the Pillar I proposals, Rep. Courtney recently said, "The Department of Defense's legislative proposals are the latest example of President Biden’s commitment to fulfilling the AUKUS agreement. Importantly, the proposals spell out a clear path forward to facilitate the transfer of Virginia-class submarines to Australia while ensuring we have the necessary authorities to accept the Australian Government’s investments to enhance our submarine industrial base capacity and provide training for Australian personnel. I look forward to working with all my colleagues in Congress to fulfill these goals.”

Assistant Secretary Karlin said today that enacting these proposals

 is “a signal to our commitment to AUKUS, which is critical for generating deterrence…. Acting now sends a message to our defense industrial base as well that there will be a persistent flow of business to come… and really ensuring that the submarine industrial base is able to start taking the steps that it needs with Australia’s contributions…. Absent this legislative proposal we actually don’t have a way to take that money in.”

Another proposal ensures the United States is poised to share technology and critical materials with AUKUS partners in Pillar II by changing the definition of “domestic source” under the Defense Production Act to include Australia and the United Kingdom.

Rep. Courtney recently said, “By expanding the definition of a “domestic source” to include both Australia and the United Kingdom, we can accelerate innovation in critical technologies to fulfill the goals of the AUKUS security agreement. While last year’s negotiated FY23 NDAA did not include my House-passed amendment that would have accomplished this goal, I am confident that, with a strong endorsement from President Biden and Prime Minister Albanese, we will see this legislative proposal signed into law.”

“Pillar II…is a generational opportunity. The announcement the President made this weekend really highlighted how this change would accelerate and strengthen AUKUS implementation…,” Assistant Secretary Karlin said today.

Background

Rep. Courtney has been a leading voice in Congress on AUKUS. He sponsored the first-ever AUKUS-related legislation in the 2022 NDAA, which established a submarine officer training pipeline between the U.S. and Australia, helping ensure that Australia’s Navy is trained and ready to pilot their nuclear-powered submarine fleet upon delivery.

Earlier this year, Courtney championed legislation (H.R. 1093)  in the House that would direct the U.S. Department of State to identify key parts of U.S. export controls that Congress must navigate and amend. The bill passed the House on a strong bipartisan basis of 393-4. 

Original source can be found here.