Rep. Courtney Applauds Movement on AUKUS
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02), Co-Chair of the AUKUS Working Group and the Friends of Australia Caucus, issued the following statement after the House Foreign Affairs Committee voted to advance legislation in support of the AUKUS security agreement.
“In March, when the leaders of the U.S., U.K, and Australia met to announce the optimal pathway for the AUKUS security agreement, Prime Minister Albanese pledged a $3 billion investment to expand the capacity of the U.S. submarine industrial base—a historic show of commitment.
“Today, the House Foreign Relations Committee took an important step to reciprocate Australia’s commitment to AUKUS by advancing bipartisan enabling legislation.
“The amended Pillar I legislation advanced today is a result of strong bipartisan cooperation and the leadership of Chairman McCaul and Ranking Member Meeks. I particularly appreciate their willingness to address concerns I raised about the original version of the bill, and am proud to lend my support to the bipartisan product passed today.
“Importantly, spelling out the transfer and sale of submarines and allowing the U.S. to accept Australia’s $3 billion investment will prove critical to not only fulfilling AUKUS, but increasing the capacity and capability of U.S. shipyards to meet our undersea warfare requirements. This step builds on the work already underway to expand and bolster our submarine production and maintenance capabilities, which will help achieve the sustained two-per-year build rate and needed operational availability of attack submarines in the period when this transfer could occur. AUKUS is essential to these goals, and I applaud the strong bipartisan statement sent through today’s vote.
“While there is still work to do to achieve bipartisan consensus on Pillar II, the movement today is nonetheless a positive show of progress in support of the broader AUKUS agreement. I look forward to continuing working with my colleagues to achieve our shared goal: allowing for the swift, seamless, and secure transfer and collaboration on critical defense technologies and capabilities with our most trusted allies.”