House Appropriations Subcommittee Advances Funding Bill That Supports President Biden's Historic Submarine Construction Request

Press Release

Today, Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02), Chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces, made the following statement after the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense completed its markup of the FY 2022 defense appropriations bill. The Subcommittee's defense funding plan provides strong backing to President Joe Biden's FY 2022 shipbuilding budget request for submarines--a request that represents the largest investment in America's undersea fleet since the 1980s. Specifically, the Subcommittee's defense funding plan provides $6.4 billion for two Virginia-class submarines and advanced procurement for future submarines. The funding bill also includes $4.6 billion to continue work on the Columbia-class submarine.

The Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense advanced its FY 2022 defense appropriations bill out of subcommittee today by voice vote. It will be considered by the full House Appropriations Committee in a legislative markup session in the coming weeks, before receiving a final vote in the House.

"The Subcommittee's support for submarine construction in this funding bill is another endorsement of President Biden's clear-eyed and forward-thinking defense priorities," said Congressman Courtney. "America's national security priorities are shifting towards the Indo-Pacific and Arctic, and as that shift takes place our combatant commanders have repeatedly hammered home the importance of our undersea fleet. That's why President Biden's budget request included more funding for submarine construction than any since the 1980s, and I'm encouraged to see that the Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense has worked hard to meet that request. Their mark sends a strong message that the House is committed, along with President Biden, to fulfilling the national security priorities of our U.S. Navy."

In April, Rep. Courtney penned a letter to Reps. Betty McCollum (MN-04) and Ken Calvert (CA-42), the Chair and Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, encouraging strong, bipartisan support for the Virginia-class attack submarine and the Columbia-class sea-based deterrence submarine. Courtney was joined in pressing for support of these programs by Reps. Rob Wittman (VA-01), Ranking Member of the Seapower Subcommittee, Jim Langevin (RI-02), and the letter was signed by nearly 100 bipartisan Members of Congress. Click here to read more.

The Subcommittee's FY 2022 defense appropriations bill also includes full funding for a second DDG-51 Flight III destroyer. The President's initial budget request had included a reduction in planned orders for, from two to one. As Chairman of the House Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee, which oversees U.S. Navy shipbuilding, Courtney immediately began working to restore the second destroyer, which provides important capabilities to the Navy's fleet.

Source