Rep. Courtney Meets with Defense Minister Richard Marles, Applauds Australia’s $500M Payment to U.S.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Joe Courtney AO (CT-02), Co-Chair of the Friends of Australia Caucus, issued the following statement after meeting with Australia’s Defense Minister, Richard Marles, to discuss Congress’s ongoing commitment to strengthening the U.S.-Australia alliance as well as Australia’s $500 million investment into the U.S. submarine industrial base announced this morning. 

“Deputy Prime Minister Marles’ visit to Washington demonstrates Australia’s enduring commitment to strengthening our two nation’s alliance. We discussed Australia’s newly announced $500 million investment into the U.S. submarine industrial base, which was made possible by a law the Friends of Australia Caucus championed in the 2024 annual defense bill. Today’s payment strengthened the ties of our two nations and the AUKUS agreement, ensuring the mission will endure and the U.S. submarine industrial base can meet the demands of the security agreement. At every step of the way Australia has demonstrated AUKUS is a true partnership that the U.S. benefits from as much as our partners and allies in the region. I look forward to working with my counterparts on the Seapower Subcommittee to ensure this new investment is expeditiously made available to expand the supply chain, skill-up a talented workforce, and advance manufacturing technology.” 

 

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