Defense & National Security

One of the primary focuses of our subcommittee has been ensuring that the Navy and Marine Corps are properly sized and equipped to meet their critical and growing requirements around the globe. I am most proud that we have worked year after year to reverse a steady decline in the fleet and in shipbuilding rates. In the last eight years, we helped to double the number of ships under contract compared to the prior eight years – arresting a steady decline the fleet and putting us on a path to grow our Navy. I think it speaks volumes to the work that we do here that the 2017 defense funding bill we will vote on today adopts many of the changes this panel first proposed last year.

“Our moderate allies from Muslim-majority nations have repeatedly warned President Trump that these rash orders damage our standing to lead the anti-ISIS collation and other counter-terrorism activities around the globe,” said Courtney. “Whatever advantage the Trump administration thinks they have gained with tweaking the prior order is not going to change the backlash we will inevitably experience overseas.”

“A Russian spy ship patrolling 30 miles from the Groton SUBASE underscores that the threats posed by a resurgent Russia are real,” said Courtney. “This unacceptable, aggressive action, combined with the buzzing of US Navy ships in the Red Sea yesterday are clearly testing the resolve of a new administration. While I have total confidence in our Navy’s vigilant, responsible readiness, the White House needs to move past their seeming infatuation with Putin and treat him like the serious threat to global peace and security that he has been for the last five years."

“I am pleased to return as ranking member of the Seapower subcommittee once again in the 115th Congress,” said Courtney. “Over the past ten years serving on the Seapower subcommittee, I have found that this panel has earned its reputation as one of the most bipartisan and productive in Congress. Our panel oversees some of the most critical capabilities on, below, and above the seas at a time when our nation needs them most. I am particularly excited that Congressman Rob Wittman, a friend and colleague with whom I have worked closely on bipartisan shipbuilding issues for the last decade, will serve as our new chairman. This session promises to be busier than ever as we work to implement the new force structure plan released last year to achieve a larger Navy fleet. Implementing this new plan will require us to focus on maximizing our industrial base capacity, ensuring that we complete necessary maintenance of our current fleet, and expanding the reach of our ships through increased capabilities. We need an all-of-the-above approach to achieving this larger fleet, and our bipartisan work to this point has set a strong framework for moving ahead."