U.S. Representatives Mike Rogers (R-AL), Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Adam Smith (D-WA), Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee, Trent Kelly (R-MS), Chairman of the Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee, and Joe Courtney (D-CT), Ranking Member of the Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee, sent a letter to President Biden expressing their support for the continued procurement of two Virginia-class submarines per year. The letter can be found HERE.
"Today, we sent a letter to President Biden urging him to maintain the continued procurement of two Virginia-class submarines per year. At this point in time, anything less would send the wrong message to our adversaries and our submarine industrial base. The FY24 NDAA authorized the eventual sale of three Virginia-class submarines to Australia as part of the AUKUS agreement. The AUKUS partnership relies on our nation's ability to sustain a consistent build rate for attack submarines so we can fulfill our obligation to Australia while meeting our own force structure requirements. It is imperative to maintain a steady two-per-year procurement cadence to assure our partners of our ability to meet commitments and sustain our unmatched edge in the undersea domain."