Kaine Statement on Awarding of Submarine Contracts to Newport News Shipbuilding

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) and Ranking Member of the SASC Subcommittee on Seapower, released the following statement after the Department of the Navy awarded two contracts of $76.6 billion for the construction of Virginia - and Columbia -class submarines. A significant part of the work will be carried out at Huntington Ingalls Industries – Newport News Shipbuilding. “We’ve made substantial federal investments to boost our submarine industrial base, support our shipbuilders, and get our nation’s shipbuilding programs back on track,” said Kaine. “I’m glad to see that the Navy has awarded these contracts so that our shipbuilders, including Newport News Shipbuilding, can start building more Virginia - and Columbia -class submarines. These platforms are critical to maintaining our edge over our adversaries, particularly an increasingly aggressive China, and I’ll keep working to ensure that we’re able to maintain, repair, and build the platforms we need to protect our national security and maintain our maritime dominance.” Kaine has played a key role in securing more resources for the submarine industrial base , including additional funding for the Virginia - and Columbia -class submarine programs . The on-time completion of Virginia -class submarines, which are built in Virginia and Connecticut, is critical to fulfill the Australia-U.K.-U.S. (AUKUS) partnership , through which the U.S. will sell at least two Virginia -class submarines to Australia to boost security and freedom of navigation in the Indo-Pacific, and counter Chinese military aggression in the region. Kaine has been a strong champion of AUKUS in Congress and has helped get signed into law provisions to implement and strengthen AUKUS . ###