Ranking Member Courtney Votes to Advance Bipartisan Annual Defense Authorization Bill Out of House Armed Services Committee
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Rep. Joe Courtney (CT-02), Ranking Member of the Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee, voted to advance the bipartisan FY26 National Defense Authorization Act out of the House Armed Services Committee (55-2). After a chaotic 2026 defense budget process left a shortfall for the Virginia-class submarine program, the committee-passed bill includes the Courtney amendment which boosted the Virginia program by $1 billion to close the funding gap and ensure a 2-per-year build rate.
“Since January, the Trump Administration’s defense budget process has posed an unprecedented challenge. The delivery of the budget to Congress was the latest in history and was fragmented into two separate legislative vehicles – the reconciliation bill and base budget bill. Fixing this Frankenstein contraption left the House Armed Services Committee with significant clean-up work in this year’s NDAA. Once again, the House Armed Services Committee showed itself to be a sturdy haven of bipartisanship in overcoming this unique challenge,” Courtney said. “At a critical moment for our submarine industrial base, the committee-passed NDAA addresses funding gaps for submarine construction with a $1 billion plus-up for the Virginia program and provides incremental funding authority for the Columbia program – our Navy’s top acquisition priority. With the persistent demand signal for the undersea fleet and the need to executive on AUKUS Pillar One, we cannot afford a production slow-down caused by this chaotic budget process. The bill also renews our nation’s commitment to the brave people of Ukraine, who deserve the support of freedom loving people.
“Our military and the defense industrial base need stability in federal budgets to do their jobs effectively. They have not gotten that this year,” Courtney continued. “I’m thankful to Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, Seapower Subcommittee Chairman Trent Kelly, and the diligence of Armed Services Committee Members to advance an NDAA that achieves our bipartisan mission and Congress’ duty in Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution to “provide and maintain a Navy”. However, the ongoing uncertainty caused by the fragmented funding process leaves an unacceptable number of unanswered questions just four months from the start of the 2027 fiscal year.”
Courtney-led priorities included in the committee-passed Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act:
Addressing a Shortfall to Maintain Funding for Two Virginia-Class Submarines: Rep. Courtney’s amendment authorizes an increase in Virginia-class submarine program funding by $1 billion. This plus-up is needed to address a Virgina-class program funding shortfall in the President’s budget and to maintain funding for two Virginia-class submarines in Fiscal Year 2026.
Keeping the Columbia-Class Program on Track: The committee-passed NDAA includes an incremental funding authorization for the Columbia-class submarine program and authorizes the Navy to continue contracting for the Columbia-class in FY26.
Eastern Connecticut & State Priorities:
Authorizing Funding for the Subsea and Seabed Warfare Program: Authorizes a $225 million increase in funding for a modified Virginia-class platform, led by Electric Boat, to focus on combating adversarial efforts to challenge U.S. undersea dominance.
Blackhawk Multi-year Procurement Authority: Rep. Courtney’s amendment provides the Secretary of the Army with multiyear procurement authority for the UH-60 Blackhawk aircraft, beginning in 2027. Continuing multiyear authority for the Blackhawk will lower per-unit cost for the Army and provide the defense industrial base with the stability to invest in supply chains and workforce at Sikorsky and their suppliers.
Blackhawk Modernization: Authorizes a $100 million increase to Blackhawk modernization and keep Blackhawk ready for the next 40 years of service life.
Supporting Eastern Connecticut Students and Schools: Rep. Courtney secured $35 million increase in authorized funds for Department of Defense Impact Aid and $10 million for Impact Aid for Children with Disabilities. Eastern Connecticut schools with a high proportion of military families rely on DoD Impact Aid.
Outpost Uncrewed Surveillance Systems: Authorizes a $10 million increase in funding for procurement of the outpost uncrewed surveillance systems, developed by Groton’s Thayer Mahan, to deliver maritime awareness and supports urgent national security needs.
Academic Partnerships for Undersea Vessels: Authorizes a $2.5 million increase in funding to continue deeper collaboration and coordination between the Navy, industry, and academia to address technology and workforce needs for the nationwide large naval ecosystem, including the National Institute for Undersea Vehicle Technology at the University of Connecticut.
C-130J Propeller Modernization: The bill includes a requirement to study maintenance costs and life cycles of 6-bladed propellers and 8-bladed propellers on tanker aircraft, as the Air Force finishes retrofit of the entire C-130H fleet this year with an 8-bladed propeller system, built by Collins Aerospace, and the C-130J variants currently operates with a 6-bladed propeller system.
More Courtney-led Priorities
Improving Public Service Loan Forgiveness for Military Servicemembers: Rep. Courtney’s amendment directs the Secretary of Defense to provide a briefing to the House Armed Services Committee on efforts to ensure service members receive credit for their years of military service towards Public Service Loan Forgiveness.
Revitalizing American Shipyards: Rep. Courtney’s amendment directs the Secretary of the Navy, in coordination with the Administrator of MARAD, to report to Congress on whether providing contracts to underutilized repair shipyards can improve ship maintenance efficiency and lower cost.
Protecting the Maritime Industrial Base Office: Rep. Courtney’s amendment prevents funds from being used to relocate or remove the Maritime Industrial Base Program from under the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development, and Acquisitions, ensuring the Maritime Industrial Base program continues to remain agile and minimize bureaucracy issues.
Supporting Military Contractors with Disabilities: Two of Rep. Courtney’s amendments require the Secretary of Defense to study an incentive system for contractors to increase hiring of individuals with disabilities and to conduct a yearly audit of the Department’s goal for contractors to reach 7% employment of individuals with disabilities.
Improvements to the APEX Accelerator Program: Rep. Courtney’s amendment continues improvements to the APEX Accelerator Program by allowing the Secretary of Defense to accept and use funds from other Federal agencies for this program, providing authority for a pilot program to award funding for national program staff for cooperative agreements, and expands the definition of by increasing the funding cap to $1.5 million for Native American APEX programs serving more than one service territory and expanding applicable definitions covered in the program.
Navy Unmanned Maritime Autonomy Architecture: Rep. Courtney secured a requirement for the Navy to brief the Armed Services Committee on efforts to acquire commercial unmanned maritime systems.
SUBSAFE Work Reform: Rep. Courtney secured a requirement for the Navy to brief the Armed Services Committee on efforts to increase competition for contracts on the Submarine Safety Program, or SUBSAFE, and foster increased participating from contractors. SUBSAFE is a quality assurance program to maintain submarine hull integrity.
Torpedo Tube Launch and Recovery Capable Small UUVs: Rep Courtney secured an additional $15 million for unmanned undersea vessels capable of torpedo-tube-launch-and-recovery, furthering mine detection and other strategic control mission goals for the Navy.
For a video and transcript of Ranking Member Courtney’s remarks during the Committee markup, click here.