Press Releases

“The sustained growth in hiring at Electric Boat is continuing to significantly boost the economy of our region and the entire state. As this morning’s presentation clearly showed, the pace of construction of Virginia-class submarines and the increasing work associated with the next critical phase in the Columbia-class program will continue the yard's strong hiring trend. This is not just good news for EB and southeastern Connecticut because work at the shipyard is supported by a state-wide network of nearly 500 small parts suppliers and precision manufacturing firms that are growing along with the company. Even more exciting, the Navy’s new force structure plan that calls for more submarines provides additional opportunity for growth in the years ahead."

“Achieving this milestone is no small feat for a large program like this one - and it represents years of hard work by many people, especially the men and women of Electric Boat,” Courtney said. “For eastern Connecticut, today’s news underscores the positive outlook for hiring and growth across the submarine industrial base in our region. It is also, however, really just the beginning of the hard work ahead in designing and building this submarine within the already tight timeline we face. I know that the hardworking men and women in the Navy, in industry in Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Virginia, and in countless machine shops across the country, are up to the task – and today’s decision is a vote of confidence in their efforts."

“This report documents the work done to date by the staff of the Department of Consumer Protection. As such, it accurately lays out the Commissioner’s efforts which have been laudable. Unfortunately, it totally begs the question of what needs to happen next to solve this problem, which will require the concerted effort of all levels of government. Today, local officials in 23 communities we know have impacted homes are taking the brunt of declining property assessments. This horrifying situation poses a grave threat to the housing market of a significant part of the state which will have a negative ripple effect across our state's economic recovery. My office received confirmation last August that federal resources can be applied to this problem through the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Local leaders are hard at work trying to leverage these resources, which combined with help from other stakeholders, insurers, lenders and home builders can stop the escalating harm this report identifies. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the federal delegation, area legislators and local officials to flush opportunities like these out further."

"Any suggestion that there is a substitute for the F-35 is total non-starter. This is a program that has been vetted ad nauseum by the Pentagon, the Congress and independent experts. There is simply no aircraft in production today that can compare with the F-35’s advanced avionics, networked capabilities and integrated stealth," said the members.