NEW: House Moves Toward Restoring Submarine Production
Wednesday, May 09, 2012
As a result of efforts led by Congressmen Jim Langevin (D-RI) and Joe Courtney (D-CT), the House Armed Services Committee is poised to pass legislation today to prevent the Administration from cutting funds for the exceptional Virginia Class Submarines built by General Dynamics Electric Boat in Quonset, RI and Groton, CT. Consideration of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which directs the military to continue its two-boat-per-year production level, follows action by the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee Tuesday to allocate the funding necessary for the Navy to obtain them.
The military’s recently released Future Years Defense Plan (FYDP) called for purchasing only one of the submarines in Fiscal Year (FY) 2014. While working on rectifying this cut in the NDAA, Langevin and Courtney also wrote to the Appropriations Committee responsible for defense funding in March, asking them to consider “alternative strategies that would sustain submarine construction at two a year in 2014 and through [the military’s five year plan].”
“Last week’s news that Electric Boat delivered the most recent Virginia Class Submarine 363 days ahead of schedule and $60 million under budget demonstrates the ability to achieve tremendous production efficiencies and cost savings in this program,” said Langevin. “With the actions taken this week, we are all but assured that the measures necessary to prevent a cut will come to the House floor with broad support, and I look forward to continue advocating for them.
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In pushing for this legislation, Langevin has noted that the military’s top leaders have affirmed this boat’s vital role in our new national security strategy’s focus on the Asia-Pacific region, where China is boosting its naval presence. In response to Langevin’s concerns about the proposed cut, the leader of the Navy’s Pacific fleet, Admiral Robert Willard, told the Armed Services Committee, “The Virginia class submarine is our newest, most formidable and provides increased capacities in some cases that we very much need.”
