SE Connecticut News

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On July 12, Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02), Ranking Member of the House Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee, delivered the following remarks on the House Floor on the FY24 National Defense Authorization Act.

“Thank you, Mister Speaker. I rise today in support of the bipartisan efforts of Chairman Rogers and Ranking Member Smith to pass this year’s NDAA. The base bill before us today represents a strong, bipartisan accomplishment that was crafted and passed out of the Committee with a 58-1 vote. I commend Mr. Rogers and Mr. Smith for their balanced approach in ensuring a bipartisan outcome from committee markup. Today, that is the clear path forward for this bill – and I urge my colleagues to focus on germane amendments that expand our national defense capabilities and readiness, not divisive, partisan poison pills that distract from the mission of the NDAA, which is to provide a common defense. 

“Mister Speaker, Article 1 Section 8 of the Constitution mandates that Congress “shall provide and maintain a Navy”. The Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee’s work clearly meets this mandate. Our mark makes clear that our maritime nation will maintain its role as the most formidable Sea Power in the world.  

“It authorizes procurement of 10 battle force ships, building on the steady investment in shipbuilding that this subcommittee has consistently authorized in prior bills and places a strong emphasis on maintaining superiority of our undersea fleet. Specifically, our mark authorizes $16.5 billion for submarine procurement – fully funding the Columbia and Virginia-class submarine programs with an additional $743 million investment in the workforce and supply chain of our national submarine industrial base, which is growing day by day picking up the pace of production from the depths of COVID.

“We also included multiyear procurement authority for the next block of Virginia-class submarines, totaling 13 submarines in the next five-year contract. This sends a clear signal to the US submarine industrial to increase our production cadence above two submarines per year to bolster our Navy’s inventory, as well as supporting the trilateral AUKUS agreement. That historic measure’s centerpiece calls for the US to assist the recapitalization of Australia’s undersea fleet with conventionally-armed, nuclear-powered submarines, including the sale of three Virginia-class submarines in the early 2030s.

“Adopting this measure is a healthy serious signal of commitment to AUKUS as other committees in congress begin their work to act on legislative framework necessary to execute that program.

“This bill also requires the Navy to complete the design for a new-build sealift vessel program of ten ships which will be modeled after a cost-effective, commercial practice, now happening in real time at the Philly Shipyard, to boost domestic shipbuilding right here in the United States.  

“Mister Speaker, I’d like to thank my colleagues on the subcommittee, particularly Chairman Trent Kelly, who has been an outstanding leader of this panel and a great friend. I commend him for his bipartisan approach in his first year as Chair that all members have appreciated. I’d also like to thank the outstanding staff – Phil MacNaughton, Ian Bennitt, Kyle Noyes, Kelly Goggin, and Ethan Pelissier – all who have worked so hard on this bill to get us here today.  

“I urge my colleagues to join me in working to keep this bill true to the bipartisan spirt that the House Armed Services Committee showed in passing a strong defense authorization bill, and reject extreme amendments that threaten its passage.”

To read Rep. Courtney’s statement on the FY24 NDAA Committee passage, click here.

To read more about the priorities Rep. Courtney secured to support eastern Connecticut in the FY24 NDAA, click here.

To read more about the priorities Rep. Courtney secured to support our seapower capabilities in the FY24 NDAA, click here.

Original source can be found here.