A fight is looming down in Washington over whether to fund two submarines for the Navy.
U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, (D, 2nd), is among those backing a bill to fund construction for two subs. “I think this is not just sort of a hometown, parochial priority,” Courtney said.
Many congressional Republicans and the White House are backing a spending plan that would only call for one sub, though.
“This bill procures where we can, trains where we must and invests in capabilities that make our adversaries wake up every day and say, ‘today is not the day to provoke the United States of America,’” U.S. Rep. Ken Calvert, (R, California), said during debate on a spending bill last week.
A budget deal last year caps the Defense Departments budget at $886 billion, and some say that money would be better spent on fighter jets and supporting innovation in the military.
It’s not clear if the reduction in submarine building would impact orders to Groton-based Electric Boat and the company did not respond to a request for comment this week.
EB has said it wants to hire 5,000 workers are year to meet expected increases in production.
Supporters of a the two-sub plan say maintaining construction also sends a message to parts builders and suppliers.
“Electric boat supplies work for over 700 companies here in Connecticut, supports tens of thousands of jobs outside their own direct jobs,” Chris Davis, vice president of public policy for the Connecticut Business and Industry Association, said.
Courtney said ramping up the supply chain can be difficult, which is why he’s opposed past efforts to scale back construction.
He also said nuclear submarines need to be a part of a modern military, pointing to China’s stockpile of missiles capable of shooting down ships.
Courtney also noted Ukraine has been able to fend off Russia’s surface-level ships.
“It’s submarines that really, um you know, kind of change the dynamic,” he said.
That’s also part of the reason why Australia reached an agreement in 2021 with the U.S. and U.K. to buy nuclear submarines.
As part of the AUKUS deal, the U.S. agreed to sell three submarines to Australia beginning in 2032.
The president can back out if the Navy needs more subs, though. Courtney said the Navy is supposed to have 66 attacking submarines but currently only has 50, with three scheduled to be decommissioned in the next few years.
“Every time you take a sub out of inventory, in my opinion, you’re making that decision harder,” Courtney said.
The AUKUS deal included orders for Electric Boat.