Final House-Passed Defense Funding Bill Includes Courtney-Led Effort to Maintain 2-Per-Year Virginia-class Procurement

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02), Ranking Member of the House Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee, released the following statement on House-passage of a $1.9 billion funding plus-up for the Virginia-class submarine program in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026 (H.R. 7148).

"The Virginia-class program is receiving a $1.9 billion Congressional plus-up to avoid a funding gap that President Trump's budget request would have created," Courtney said. "The Seapower Subcommittee flagged this issue in June 2025, and passage of this spending bill today will ensure that Virginia-class production will not run into a halt work order. With this plus-up, the submarine industrial base can continue its work to maintain undersea supremacy for the U.S. Navy and our AUKUS allies in the Indo-Pacific."

BACKGROUND

In May 2025, Rep. Courtney led a letter, signed by over 100 Members of Congress, to the House Appropriations Committee urging full funding for the Virginia and Columbia-class programs in the FY 2026 budget.

In June 2025, the Navy notified Congress of a funding shortfall for the Virginia-class program in President Trump's FY 2026 budget request.

In July 2025, during the House Armed Services Committee's markup of the FY 2026 NDAA, the Committee unanimously adopted Ranking Member Courtney's amendment to authorize a $1.0 billion funding increase for the Virginia-class submarine program to address this shortfall in the President's budget.

In December 2025, Congress passed and the President signed into law the final FY 2026 NDAA, which included a $1.9 billion funding authorization increase for the Virginia-class submarine program. The additional $900 million, on top of Courtney's initial $1.0 billion increase, was included following the bill's topline negotiations between the House and the Senate.

Today, the House passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026 (H.R. 7148), a larger funding package which includes FY 2026 Defense Appropriations and the $1.9 billion funding increase for the Virginia-class submarine program, mirroring the $1.9 billion authorization in the FY 2026 NDAA.

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