A bipartisan group of Congressmen are lobbying the House Appropriations Committee to increase funding levels for the U.S. Navy submarine fleet.

In a letter addressed to Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX), chairman of the subcommittee on defense appropriations and ranking member Rep. Peter Visclosky (D-IN), 36 members of the Congressional Submarine Caucus asked for increased construction funding to match the funding levels in the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

“As you complete the final appropriations bill, we strongly encourage you to fund the Virginia-class program in line with NDAA authorized-levels to the maximum extent possible,” the Congressmen wrote.

“While the undersea industrial base is preparing to begin work on the new Columbia-class submarine, we believe that there is sufficient capacity to increase production of the Virginia-class submarine to help meet demand for undersea capabilities in the fleet, ramp up an efficient workforce to tackle Columbia, and boost our supplier network.”

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