Submitted by Patrick Cassidy
GROTON, CT—This morning, Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02), a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, was joined by defense industry leaders, business owners, and stakeholders for General Dynamics Electric Boat’s (EB) annual Legislative Update Meeting, hosted by EB President Kevin Graney. Following his first term as Chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces in the 116th Congress—a panel that has jurisdiction over much of the activity at hand and on the horizon for Connecticut’s defense manufacturing industry—Rep. Courtney provided an overview of the opportunities that lie ahead for eastern Connecticut’s workforce and industrial base following several key successes in 2019 and 2020.
“This morning’s update from Electric Boat President Kevin Graney confirmed that 2021 looks to be another remarkable chapter for the submarine capital of the world,” Courtney said. “This year will see a significant ramp-up in work and activity in the shipyard, fueled by the historic wins for our submarine industry in last year’s NDAA and spending package. None of this work would be possible without the thousands of hard-working men and women who have bought in to the future of Electric Boat and our region. Their specialized skills and attention to detail have resulted in submarine after submarine that our nation can be proud of. I’m proud to boast about their work in Washington and look forward to continuing to work in Congress to ensure they have the tools and support they need to build our nation’s unrivaled undersea fleet.”
As Chairman of the Seapower Subcommittee in 2019 and 2020, Rep. Courtney worked across the aisle to support our armed services and eastern Connecticut’s defense manufacturing sector. In 2020, Courtney worked successfully to reverse the Trump Administrations’ budget proposal that would have scrapped construction of an entire Virginia-class submarine, and to fully restore construction of the second sub in 2021. Courtney also welcomed the official contract award by the U.S. Navy to General Dynamics Electric Boat to construct the first ever, next-generation Columbia-class submarine, a program that Courtney helped to launch and navigate to the starting line. The award to begin construction was only made possible thanks to a provision that Chairman Courtney worked to include in the short-term Continuing Appropriations Act (CR) (H.R. 8337), which passed the House on September 22nd.
On January 1st, Courtney and the U.S. House and Senate voted to override President Trump’s veto of the bipartisan 2021 NDAA, making the bill law once and for all. The 2021 NDAA contained numerous priorities that are important to Connecticut and the nation, including $4 billion to initiate construction of the Columbia-class program, $6.8 billion for the Virginia-class submarine program (an increase of $2.6 billion over the budget request that Courtney secured to restore a second submarine), $20 million to support training programs to help support expansion of the skilled submarine workforce as the industrial base ramps up construction of new submarines, and much more.
