Courtney Secures Historic Funding for Submarine Construction, Workforce Development, Shipyard Recapitalization, and More in Final 2023 NDAA

WASHINGTON, DC — Today, Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02), Chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces, voted to pass the Fiscal Year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) (H.R. 7776). The House passed the 2023 NDAA in a bipartisan vote of 350-80, and it will now move on to the Senate for final consideration before being signed into law by the President. 

“The House of Representatives came together today for the 62^nd year in a row to pass a bipartisan defense authorization for the United States. Many people wonder whether Congress can still work together to get big things done for our country—well here’s hard evidence that it can,” said Congressman Courtney. “The NDAA provides our nation with the resources we need to assure our allies, deter conflict, and protect our homeland. Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution charges Congress with the responsibility to ‘provide and maintain a Navy,’ and as Chairman of the Seapower Subcommittee, our panel’s work emphatically adhered to that mission by expanding the shipbuilding budget request from 8 to 11, making well-informed and independent decisions about the needs of our sea services and our industrial base.” 

The 2023 NDAA authorizes new forms of support for American servicemembers and their families, as well as continued funding for a historic amount of shipbuilding and submarine procurement and research efforts. Also included is a Courtney-authored provision to address our sealift capacity by authorizing the Maritime Administration (MARAD) to carry out the design and construction of a new build sealift program of up to 10 ships for the National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF) - built at US shipyards by American workers. It also includes a Courtney-authored amendment to strengthen the AUKUS defense alliance—a provision that comes directly from Rep. Courtney’s U.S.-Australia Submarine Officer Pipeline Act that will ensure Australia’s Navy is trained and ready to pilot their nuclear-powered submarine fleet of the future. 

“The final 2023 NDAA also puts a strong emphasis on building out our long-term naval and shipbuilding efforts, which comes at a particularly exciting time for eastern Connecticut,” Rep. Courtney added. “I’ve worked in bipartisan fashion for years to increase submarine production in our region, and to build up the skilled workforce needed to produce it, have culminated in a massive expansion of the Groton shipyard and the local manufacturing supply chain that supports it. With all that already in place, and with the strong shipbuilding demand signals coming from our own Navy and through new partnerships like AUKUS, the 2023 NDAA makes sure we’ll keep the momentum going strong—both in terms of increasing submarine production, and in growing the skilled workforce and industrial base we need to build them.”

Read below for more information on Courtney-led and Second District priorities included in the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act.

Eastern Connecticut Priorities Included in the 2023 NDAA 

• Submarines and Undersea Capabilities—The HASC-passed NDAA authorizes a total of $14.7 billion for submarine procurement, repair, and research & development priorities including:
• Virginia-class Submarine—Authorizes $6.5 billion to support the sustained two-per-year build rate of new Virginia-class submarines with $4.5 billion for two submarines in 2023 and $2 billion in advance procurement to support future construction of submarines in 2024 and 2025.

• Columbia-class Submarine—Authorizes $3.1 billion in support of the second year of funding for the first Columbia class submarine and $2.8 billion in advanced procurement to support the second, in line with the contract announced in June 2020.
• Submarine Industrial Base and Workforce Development—The agreement fully  authorizes the budget request of $750 million for submarine industrial base investments $541 million for submarine supplier development, shipyard infrastructure, strategic outsourcing, and technology opportunities, as well as $227 million to support workforce development initiatives. To meet the broader needs of our shipbuilding industry as we grow our fleet, the agreement also creates special incentives in Navy shipbuilding contracts for workforce development initiatives like talent pipeline programs, retention efforts, and on-the-job training to develop key manufacturing skills for the next generation of shipbuilders. Courtney has long championed efforts to bolster workforce development efforts to support submarine construction, such as the Eastern Connecticut Manufacturing Pipeline Initiative, and recently highlighted his push to focus attention on this issue in an op-ed.
• Submarine Research and Development—The bill authorizes over $1.3 billion in research and development of future submarine capabilities, including a $188.9 million increase for developing capabilities for the next block of submarines, and about $144 million to develop the SSN(X), the planned future follow-on to the Virginia-class. These efforts are vital to sustaining the health of the design and engineering workforce at Electric Boat. 
• Academic Partnerships for Undersea Research—The bill authorizes $20 million to support partnerships with academic institutions conducting research on undersea capabilities, such as the National Institute for Undersea Vehicle Technology, a collaborative program between the University of Connecticut and the University of Rhode Island. 
• Defense Impact Aid—Authorizes $50 million requested by Courtney for the DOD supplemental impact aid program, which provides support to local school districts with high proportions of military children, including Groton public schools. This program is in addition to the primary Impact Aid program funded through the Department of Education, which does not fall within the jurisdiction of the House Armed Services Committee. 
• Naval Submarine Base New London—Authorizes $15.5 million for a military construction project to relocate the existing underwater electromagnetic measurement system due to planned construction of a floating dry dock at Electric Boat in support of the Columbia-class submarine program. The current system is used to determine if submarines need degaussing or magnetic silencing to protect from undersea mines. 
• DOD Microelectronics—Authorizes an additional $8 million for the Department of Defense to continue development and procurement of advanced technologies and critical materials required for a variety of DOD systems, like those produced at TTM Technologies in Stafford and Stafford Springs.

Seapower and Projection Forces 

Shipbuilding—Following the subcommittee's bipartisan work to examine shipbuilding industrial capacity and Navy force structure requirements, the bill as amended authorizes 11 battle force ships, three more than the budget request, including: 

• Two Virginia-class submarines 
• Three DDG 51 Arleigh Burke destroyers. The measure also includes multiyear procurement authority for up to 15 destroyers in the next block contract. 
• One guided missile Frigate (FFG) 
• One Landing Platform Dock (LPD) Flight II 
• One John Lewis Class T-AO fleet oiler 
• One T-ATS towing, salvage, and rescue ship 
• Two Expeditionary Medical Ships (EMS) 

Additionally, the bill increased the Navy's resources for shipbuilding and ship maintenance by authorizing additional funding to include:

• $250 million for large surface combatant shipyard infrastructure 
• $250 million for Advance Procurement of LPD-33 Flight II 
• $289 million for Advance Procurement of LHD-10 
• $77 million to procure a third destroyer in FY24 

Sealift & Maritime—The bill includes several Courtney-led provisions to prioritize the recapitalization and expansion of critical sealift capabilities:

• Domestic Design and Construction Program—The bill includes a provision authored by Courtney to require the Maritime Administration to carry out a program to complete the design and construction in United States shipyards of up to 10 sealift vessels for use in the National defense Reserve Fleet. 
• Tanker Security Program (TSP)—The bill fully authorizes the budget request of $60 million for the new Tanker Security Program and authorizes the program to increase to $120 million in FY24. This program was created by the Seapower Subcommittee in the FY21 NDAA to address critical gaps in at-sea refueling and logistics. 

Aircraft and Projection Forces Capabilities:

• B-21 Raider—Fully supports investments for the B-21 Raider to begin initial low-rate production and continue research and development efforts for an advanced suite of capabilities in future aircraft. 
• KC-46A—Fully supports the budget request of 15 KC-46 aerial refueling tanker aircraft to support Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and partner-nation receivers.  
• V-22 Osprey—Authorizes $212 million for two V-22 aircraft.  
• KC-130J—Authorizes $699.1 million for five KC-130J aircraft, two for the Marine Corps and three for the Navy.  
• E-2D Hawkeye—Authorizes $1.2 billion for 7 E-2D aircraft, two above the budget request.  
• Tactical Airlift & Aerial Refueling—Maintains statutory floors for the Air Force's fleet of C-130 tactical airlift aircraft and aerial refueling tankers in support of requirements established by the Department of Defense.

Support for the AUKUS Alliance

As founder and co-chair of both the Friends of Australia Caucus and the newly formed AUKUS Working Group, Courtney authored an amendment to this year's NDAA that will support the success of AUKUS by helping ensure Australia's Navy is ready to pilot nuclear-powered submarines upon delivery. It is the first-ever official action by the U.S. Congress in support of the new AUKUS alliance:

• Submariner Training Pipeline—The bill includes a Courtney provision that would require the Secretary of Defense to establish a training program for Royal Australian Navy submarine officers to begin training at Navy Nuclear Propulsion School and eventually be assigned to duty on an operational U.S. submarine in support of the trilateral partnership between the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia announced by the Biden Administration last September. This provision was adopted to the NDAA from Rep. Courtney's U.S.-Australia Submarine Officer Pipeline Act, a bill he introduced in June.

Additional Connecticut Aerospace Priorities 

• F-35 Joint Strike Fighter—Authorizes procurement of 69 F-35 aircraft for the Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps, eight aircraft above the budget request.  
• Blackhawks—Authorizes an increase of 2 UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters over the budget request, bringing the total number authorized to 27 helicopters for the Army National Guard, built at Sikorsky. 
• CH53-K—Authorizes an increase of 2 CH-53K heavy lift helicopters, bringing the total to 12 aircraft for the Marine Corps, built at Sikorsky. 
• Combat Rescue Helicopter— Authorizes an increase of 10 Combat Rescue Helicopters, bringing the total number of aircraft to 20 for the Air Force, built at Sikorsky. The bill also includes a Courtney-authored amendment from the House Full Committee markup to prohibit the Air Force from using FY23 funds for shutdown or planned shutdown activities for the aircraft's production line.  
• CT National Guard—Authorizes an increase of $107 million for modernization of Air National Guard C-130H airlift aircraft, which includes avionics and cockpit upgrades to replace aging, unreliable equipment and add capability enhancements.

Support for Servicemembers and Their Families 

• Pay Raise—Authorizes a 4.6% pay increase for all military personnel. 
• Basic Allowance for Housing – Authorizes an increase of $494 million for the DoD to increase servicemember housing allowance by 2%.  
• Basic Needs Allowance – Increases the threshold to be eligible for the Basic Needs Allowance, now up to 150% of the federal poverty line. 
• Commissaries – Authorizes an increase of $224 million to fully fund DoD commissaries to help cut the costs of groceries for servicemembers.

Other Notable Provisions 

• Ukraine—The bill includes several provisions related to Ukraine, including a $500 million increase to the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which has been critical in providing resources to Ukraine. The bill also authorizes an additional $2.1 billion for the European Defense Initiative and invests in additional capabilities that support deterrence in the European Command area of operations.

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