WASHINGTON — The chairman and ranking member of the House subcommittee that oversees U.S. Navy shipbuilding are optimistic that the industrial base is up to the task of delivering the Columbia-class ballistic-missile submarine on time while adding construction of more attack submarines.

“I am confident we can do this,” said Rob Wittman, R-Va., chairman of the House Armed Services seapower and projection forces subcommittee, who, along with ranking member Rep. Joe Courtney, D-Conn., spoke May 2 at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank. “The key is charting the right path and putting us on the right ramp speed to get there. How do make sure that we send the demand signal to industry to where they have the certainty to say, ‘You’re serious about going from whatever to two-to-three Virginia-class submarines each year,’ that we’re going to make the investment to make sure we’re going to deliver Columbia on time.”

Wittman stressed the importance of congressional oversight to keeping the submarine programs on schedule and on budget.

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