History of Support
Rep. Courtney is the representative of Groton, CT—the “Submarine Capital of the World.” He is the former Chairman and current Ranking Member of the House Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee, which oversees all U.S. Navy shipbuilding programs. He is also the Founder and Co-Chair of both the bipartisan Friends of Australia Caucus and the bipartisan AUKUS Working Group.
Through his leadership roles, he is successfully advancing AUKUS through diplomatic and legislative avenues.
September 2021: AUKUS Announcement Breaks News from Eastern Connecticut to Australia
When AUKUS was first announced in September 2021, Courtney stated that “The decision today to take steps towards augmenting the Australian Navy with nuclear-powered submarines is a game-changing move that will dramatically expand the reach of a key ally in a key region.” Shortly after, the Journal Inquirer’s Eric Bedner published a story titled Courtney: Electric Boat likely to figure in Australian submarine plans.
That same month, Rep. Courtney joined former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and other leaders to welcome The Honorable Scott Morrison MP, former Prime Minister of Australia, to the U.S. Capitol for a meeting on the newly announced AUKUS alliance.
April 2022: Establishing the AUKUS Working Group
Rep. Courtney was joined by Reps. Mike Gallagher (R-WI), Derek Kilmer (D-WA), and Blake Moore (R-UT) in forming the new bipartisan AUKUS Working Group, informally known as the “AUKUS Caucus”. The AUKUS Working Group was established to serve as the primary panel in the U.S. Congress for implementation and collaboration on the new undersea alliance.
December 2022: Securing Legislative Wins, Funding to Enable AUKUS
The FY23 National Defense Authorization Act—which passed the House 350-80 in December of 2022—included key provisions to advance the AUKUS mission.
First, the AUKUS Caucus worked successfully to secure the first-ever official support for AUKUS from the U.S. Congress in the NDAA. The bill included an amendment to establish 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. The amendment was authored by Rep. Courtney, and by Co-Chairs of the AUKUS Working Group, Courtney, Gallagher, Kilmer, and Moore worked together to ensure it was included in the 2023 NDAA.
Secondly, Courtney helped authorize more than $750 million in the FY23 NDAA alone that has supported supplier development, bolstered shipyard infrastructure and facilitation, and expanded skills-training programs specifically for America’s submarine workforce. These investments are particularly critical to Electric Boat shipyard in Groton as they work to hire 5,750 new employees during calendar year 2023.
March 2023: Announcing the Optimal Pathway
Rep. Courtney joined President Joe Biden, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of the United Kingdom, and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia at Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego for the announcement of the next steps for AUKUS. This was the culmination of an 18-month consultation period finalizing the path forward for the U.S. and U.K. to provide Australia with a conventionally armed, nuclear powered submarine capability—the first of the two pillars of AUKUS.
Quickly after the announcement, the Hartford Courant noted Courtney’s key role in advancing AUKUS saying, “CT’s Courtney emerges as a key figure in a boom in submarine construction and jobs”
March 2023: Accelerating AUKUS Implementation
Just nine days after the Optimal Pathway announcement, Rep. Courtney helped pass and spoke on the House floor in support of bipartisan legislation that would help understand and clear legal blockers that would delay enabling Pillar 2. As Courtney noted in his remarks, former Commander of Indo-Pacific Command said, “We could have every good intention in the world, but we could be bound up by our own regulation and our own regulatory policy.” This bill helps prevent stalling progress because of our own red tape.
June 2023: Authorizing Historic Funding for Submarine Industrial Base
In the FY24 NDAA, as Ranking Member on the Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee, Rep. Courtney helped secure historic investments in shipbuilding and the submarine industrial base. This funding is critical to meeting Navy fleet requirements and clearing the pathway to help fulfil the trilateral AUKUS agreement.
Summer 2023: Moving AUKUS Legislation through Congress
After the Optimal Pathway was announced, Rep. Courtney co-led legislation alongside House Foreign Affairs Ranking Member Meeks and Rep. Ami Bera to allow the sale of Virginia-class submarines to Australia; accept Australia’s financial commitment to the US submarine industrial base; allow the training of Australian private sector defense personnel. After the House Foreign Affairs Committee unanimously advanced a bill by 48-0 on July 27 that provided those authorities, Courtney said the Committee movement on Pillar 1 was a “positive show of progress in support of the broader AUKUS agreement.”
Courtney also applauded the Senate Foreign Relations Committee after its Members passed the same authorizing language on July 13 on a bipartisan basis.
October 2023: Co-Leading AUKUS Congressional Hearing
Rep. Courtney, Ranking Member of the Seapower Subcommittee, co-led the first Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee hearing solely focused on AUKUS and the US submarine industrial base since the Optimal Pathway was announced. During the hearing with top Departments of Defense and Navy officials, the panel emphatically supported the strategic importance of AUKUS. Moreover, Vice Admiral William Houston, the head of the US submarine force, assured Members that AUKUS would uplift the entire industrial base and serve as force multiplier, not a zero-sum loss.
October 2023: Hosting Prime Minister Albanese on the Hill
Rep. Courtney hosted Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia on Capitol Hill during his official visit to the US. The Co-Chairs of the Friends of Australia Caucus brought top Senate and House leaders with jurisdiction over AUKUS enabling legislation together for a meeting with the Prime Minister, followed by a Congress-wide reception where Members heard directly from the Prime Minister. As the Congressman said, “Prime Minister Albanese’s trip to Capitol Hill was critical in emphasizing the importance of the AUKUS enabling legislation...”
November 2023: Showcasing Electric Boat Shipyard to Australia’s Ambassador
Rep. Courtney welcomed Australian Ambassador to the U.S., Kevin Rudd, to southeastern Connecticut for a visit to Electric Boat’s Groton shipyard. As the two nations embark on the AUKUS agreement, the Aussies understand that there is no workforce more proficient than the women and men of Electric Boat to provide the necessary expertise to recapitalize Australia’s fleet.
December 2023: Key AUKUS Provisions Signed into Law
Following weeks of negotiation by Rep. Courtney as a member of the NDAA Conference Committee, the FY2024 National Defense Authorization Act, passed by Congress and signed into law by President Biden, authorized the transfer of Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines to Australia, the training of Australian private sector defense personnel, the integration of Australian financial contributions to the U.S. defense industrial base, and the sharing of technology and information between the three nations to safely streamline security cooperation.
For the first time since the launch of the USS Nautilus in 1958, the FY2024 NDAA authorized the US Navy to sell three conventionally-armed, nuclear-powered submarines to another nation—our steadfast ally Australia.
February 2024: Australian Navy Submarine Officers Arrive at Submarine Base New London
As part of the Australia-U.S. submarine officer training pipeline Rep. Courtney established in the FY2023 NDAA, the first group of Australian officers to enter the program began Submarine Officer Basic Course at the Groton Submarine Base – after they graduated from nuclear power training in January, 2024.
March 2024: On First Anniversary of AUKUS Optimal Pathway, Courtney Hosts Deputy Chief of Mission in Connecticut
On the anniversary of the Optimal Pathway, Rep. Courtney welcomed Deputy Chief of Mission for the Australian Embassy to Connecticut for a forum on AUKUS and its role in deterring China's threat. Watch it here. Courtney and Myler also toured the University of Connecticut's National Institute of Undersea Vehicle Technology, which collaborates with the U.S. Navy and has a partnership with the University of Adelaide to improve submarine performance and construction.
April 2024: Australian Navy Submarine Officers Graduate from Submarine Base New London
After arriving in February, the first three Australian officers graduated from the Submarine Officer Basic Course. Rep. Courtney marked the occasion from the House Floor, stating that, after graduation, they will go on to Pearl Harbor to work on a Virginia Class submarine."This marks another first where they will be the first ever Australian Navy personnel assigned to a US Navy vessel."
January 2024 - Ongoing: Courtney Leads Effort to Restore 2-Per-Year Virginia Class Submarine Procurement in National Defense Authorization Act
After the Navy requested only one Virginia Class submarine in the FY25 budget, Rep. Courtney led his colleagues over several months calling on both the Navy and Congress to reverse this decision. As Courtney explained time and time again, cutting a submarine would leave an unrecoverable loss to the fleet at a time when the US needs to grow its fleet and as the US prepares to sell Australia the first of three submarines in 2032 under the AUKUS agreement. Restoring the second submarine in the FY25 Committee-passed NDAA, by a vote of 57-1, through incremental funding demonstrates the Armed Services Committee's ironclad commitment to fulfilling AUKUS. Efforts are still underway to ensure the funding for two submarines included in the Committee-passed NDAA is reflected in the final Fiscal Year 2025 budget, a process expected to take several months.
October 2024: Royal Australian Navy Enlisted Submariners Graduate from U.S. Navy Nuclear Power School
For the first time under AUKUS, thanks to the Courtney-Gallagher amendment in the 2023 NDAA, seven Royal Australian Navy enlisted sailors graduated from the U.S. Navy's Nuclear Power School at Joint Base Charleston-Naval Weapons Station. This is another critical step to ensuring Australia is ready to operate its sovereign Virginia class submarines, which are typically crewed by 15 officers and 117 enlisted submariners, by the early 2030s.
As of October 2024, there are six Royal Australian Navy officers serving aboard or assigned to U.S. Navy Virginia-class submarines, 12 officers and 28 enlisted sailors within the naval nuclear power training pipeline with an additional 19 enlisted sailors completing Basic Enlisted Submarine School in Groton, Connecticut. Additionally, 39 personnel from ASC Pty Ltd. (formerly known as the Australian Submarine Corporation) are training at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, to prepare them for future roles in maintaining nuclear-powered submarines for the Royal Australian Navy.