Courtney Leads 133 Bipartisan Lawmakers in Sending Resounding Message to Appropriators, Navy

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Ranking Member Joe Courtney (D-CT), alongside Reps. Wittman (R-VA), Magaziner (D-RI), Kiggans (R-VA), and 128 additional bipartisan Members of the House of Representatives, sent a letter to Defense Appropriators urging them to restore the two-per-year procurement cadence in the FY25 budget to strengthen U.S. undersea supremacy and prevent destabilizing the industrial base.

The letter’s broad support sends a resounding message to the Navy – just before the Department is set to testify in front of the Armed Services Committee – that Congress will maintain steady procurement of Virginia Class submarines.  

On the national security implications, the Members wrote: “In recent years, Congress has heard consistent and alarming testimony about the growing capabilities and increased undersea activity of competitors like Russia and China. For example, in the last month, the House Armed Services Committee heard from the Commanders of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, U.S. European Command, and U.S. Northern Command that their requirements for attack submarine missions extend beyond the current inventory of submarines available in the U.S. Navy’s inventory.”

On the consequences on the industrial base, the Members said, “Preserving a consistent production schedule is essential for shipyard and industrial base stability, and to meet the Navy’s operational requirements. This is exactly why Congress has strongly supported and defended the consistent two-per-year build rate of Virginia Class attack submarines since 2011. … While the FY25 budget request includes substantial investments in the nationwide submarine industrial base, there is no alternative to stabilize the supply chain other than consistent procurement of two Virginia Class submarines in FY 2025.” 

“To that end, we respectfully request that you fully restore procurement for two Virginia Class submarines in FY 2025,” the members requested.

*This release was updated on June 4 to reflect the additional 13 Members who signed the letter*

To read the full letter, click here.

To read the letter HASC leaders, including Chairman Rogers and Ranking Member Smith, sent to the White House in January on the importance of steady Virginia Class procurement, click here.

To read a memo Courtney sent to HASC colleagues on the consequences of cutting procurement, click here.

A total of 133 Members of the House of Representatives signed the letter, including Representatives: Adams, Alma; Alford, Mark; Allred, Colin; Amo, Gabe; Bacon, Don; Bean, Aaron; Bergman, Jack; Beyer, Donald; Blunt Rochester, Lisa; Boyle, Brendan; Bucshon, Larry; Carbajal, Salud; Cárdenas, Tony; Carey, Mike; Carl, Jerry; Carson, André; Carter, Earl; Carter, Troy; Casten, Sean; Cherfilus-McCormick, Sheila; Connolly, Gerald; Courtney, Joe; Crow, Jason; Davids, Sharice; Davis, Donald; Dean, Madeleine; DelBene, Suzan; Deluzio, Christopher; Dunn, Neal; Escobar, Veronica; Evans, Dwight; Ezell, Mike; Ferguson, A.; Finstad, Brad; Fitzgerald, Scott; Fitzpatrick, Brian; Foster, Bill; Fulcher, Russ; Gallego, Ruben; Garamendi, John; Garbarino, Andrew; Golden, Jared; Gottheimer, Josh; Hayes, Jahana; Himes, James; Horsford, Steven; Houlahan, Chrissy; Hudson, Richard; Huizenga, Bill; Jackson, Ronny; Joyce, John; Kean, Thomas; Keating, William; Kelly, Mike; Kelly, Trent; Kiggans, Jennifer; Kildee, Daniel; Kim, Andy; Kim, Young; Krishnamoorthi, Raja; Kuster, Ann; LaLota, Nick; Lamborn, Doug; Landsman, Greg; Langworthy, Nicholas; Larsen, Rick; Larson, John; Lucas, Frank; Luetkemeyer, Blaine; Lynch, Stephen; Mace, Nancy; Magaziner, Seth; McBath, Lucy; McCaul, Michael; McClellan, Jennifer; McCormick, Richard; McGarvey, Morgan; McGovern, James; Menendez, Robert; Meuser, Daniel; Miller, Carol; Miller, Max; Mills, Cory; Molinaro, Marcus; Moskowitz, Jared; Moulton, Seth; Moylan, James; Mrvan, Frank; Napolitano, Grace; Neal, Richard; Norcross, Donald; Panetta, Jimmy; Pappas, Chris; Pascrell, Bill; Peters, Scott; Pettersen, Brittany; Phillips, Dean; Pingree, Chellie; Porter, Katie; Posey, Bill; Radewagen, Aumua Amata; Rodgers, Cathy; Ryan, Patrick; Sánchez, Linda; Scanlon, Mary; Scholten, Hillary; Scott, David; Scott, Robert; Sessions, Pete; Sewell, Terri; Sherrill, Mikie; Slotkin, Elissa; Smucker, Lloyd; Spanberger, Abigail; Stevens, Haley; Strickland, Marilyn; Takano, Mark; Tenney, Claudia; Thompson, Glenn; Tokuda, Jill; Tonko, Paul; Trahan, Lori; Turner, Michael; Wagner, Ann; Waltz, Michael; Wenstrup, Brad; Wild, Susan; Williams, Brandon; Wilson, Joe; Wittman, Robert; Yakym, Rudy

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