Chairman Courtney Statement On President Biden's 2023 Budget Request For Submarines, Seapower Programs

Statement

Today, Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02), Chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces, issued the following statement in response to the release of the White House's budget request for Fiscal Year 2023:

"President Biden's budget request continues to prioritize investment in one of the most critical pieces of our nation's defense: our undersea platforms and capabilities," Chairman Courtney said. "Building on last year's record request for submarine funding, the 2023 request again continues the steady two-a-year build rate for Virginia submarines in 2023 through 2027, keeps the Columbia program continuing on pace, and accelerates work on advanced undersea capabilities."

"Most notably, the budget requests nearly three-quarters of a billion dollars towards shoring up our industrial base and workforces development efforts, which have long been top priorities of mine and the Subcommittee," Courtney continued. "In eastern Connecticut, we have already been hard at work growing the supplier base and investing in developing the trained workforce that Electric Boat--and our nationwide submarine industrial base--needs to meet the rising tide of submarine work in the coming decades. President Biden has made the exact right call in prioritizing this in his budget."

Submarine-related Components of the 2023 Budget Request:

$6.6 billion for two Virginia-class submarines in 2023 and advanced procurement for two submarines each in 2024 and 2025.
$5.8 billion to continue work on the Columbia-class submarine program, supporting continued construction of the first new boat and advanced work on the second, expected to start in 2024.
$307 million for research and development of the SSN(X), the future replacement of the Virginia-class.
$750 million to invest in developing the submarine industrial base and augment workforce development efforts. This move follows President Biden's signing of a presidential determination last December to strengthen the U.S. submarine industrial base
"With regards to the overall shipbuilding budget, it's important to recognize that the total amount requested is higher than the 2022 enacted funding levels--the first time that has happened in at least five years," Chairman Courtney added. "That said, there are going to be many elements of the request that we will closely examine in the coming weeks as we build the next NDAA, including sustaining Marine Corps amphibious capabilities, evaluating the procurement of large unmanned vessels, and proposals to retire additional ships. I also remain skeptical of the budget's continued "used only' approach to recapitalizing our sealift fleet.

"We've worked hard on the Seapower Subcommittee to earn our record of bipartisan scrutiny and action on the shipbuilding budget--regardless of who holds the White House, we're going to make sure that resources are being maximized to fit the Navy's priorities. There's no doubt we'll give this request the same close scrutiny we always do, and I'm confident we'll get the job done again in bipartisan fashion this year."

Source