Defense & National Security

My heart goes out to the families, friends, and shipmates of the US Navy sailors who lost their lives or remain missing after the USS JOHN S. MCCAIN collided with a commercial vessel earlier this week,” said Courtney. “The men and women of the Navy are asked to operate in contested waters each day to protect the national security interests of the United States. We owe it to these sailors to make sure that they have the tools, training, and support they need to carry out their duties safely and successfully."

“President Trump’s statement apparently banning transgender members of the military, even those now serving, is the height of irresponsibility. His tweet was issued at the same time the Department of Defense is undergoing a six-month comprehensive review of the policy allowing transgender Americans to serve in the military. Undercutting their work, and setting military policy by tweet, is reckless and disrespectful in the extreme."

“As the ranking member of the Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee, I am proud to the bipartisan work we have done in this bill to grow our Navy fleet,” Courtney said. “While the stage was set for the 2018 to be a starting point on the path to a 355-ship navy, the budget we received fell far short. I am proud to say that working in a bipartisan way, we produced a better budget than the one that came over from the White House. Among other things, the bill explicitly makes it the policy of our nation to achieve a 355-ship Navy and adds five new ships in 2018 to get us moving to the larger fleet that both the Obama and Trump administrations have signaled we need. This bill demonstrates if our defense leaders and the administration will not prioritize the national goal of growing the fleet, we will."

“Since I first came to Congress, I have worked hard on a bipartisan basis to grow our submarine fleet and respond to the undersea needs of our Navy and our nation. Whether it was doubling submarine production in 2007, or passing the authority needed to enact the largest shipbuilding contract in American history, I have been proud to lead the way in pushing for the funding and support needed to grow our submarine force and invest in our industrial base. As ranking member of the seapower subcommittee, I have helped keep these issues front and center in the debate over our defense budget priorities. This bill continues that effort, and responds to three years of strategic analysis by the Navy and Congress as well as a chorus of testimony from our top military commanders stationed overseas that we need more attack submarines, as fast as possible, to meet growing demands around the world. Building on the current two a year production rate of Virginia class submarines, this measure helps the Navy to go even higher in the next block contract by authorizing up to 13 attack submarines between 2019 and 2023. We have laid out an aggressive but realistic plan to build as many as three submarines a year for the first time in decades, and I look forward to continuing to work with my committee colleagues, the shipyards and the Navy to make this a reality.”