WASHINGTON — Congress passed a massive national defense bill Friday, including billions in investment in new submarines and aircraft made in Connecticut.
Despite veto threats from President Donald Trump, the Senate passed the National Defense Authorization Act 84-13 Friday afternoon, clearing the 67 vote threshold needed to override a veto. The U.S. House of Representatives approved the measure on Tuesday by a vote of 335-78 with one member voting “present.”
Trump informed Congress that he intends to veto the bipartisan defense bill because it does not contain a provision to eliminate liability protections for social media companies for content and speech on their sites. Lawmakers of both parties said that the defense bill is not the venue to make major internet policy changes and they will attempt to override Trump’s veto if necessary. The vote margins in both chambers indicate they probably could succeed with an override.
The massive defense policy legislation has big implications for Connecticut’s defense industry.
The bill ensures that General Dynamics Electric Boat in Groton will construct two Virginia class submarines in 2021, as it has in past years, after the Trump administration attempted to cut the number down to one. It also authorizes $4 billion for Electric Boat to start building a new class of submarines, the Columbia. It supports workforce training programs around Electric Boat.
“The Virginia-class submarine we successfully restored to the NDAA will be in the water for the next forty years, and shipbuilders in Groton will be developing the Columbia-class for the next thirty years—these aren’t just priorities for our U.S. Navy, they’re generational opportunities for thousands of manufacturers and engineers in eastern Connecticut,” said U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2.
The bill also invests in military aircraft that are manufactured in part by Connecticut’s Pratt and Whitney and Kaman Aerospace.
In addition, the legislation increases funding for the U.S. Coast Guard, which has a base and academy in New London. It supports the development of a National Coast Guard Museum in the town as well.
The NDAA increases pay for U.S. troops and establishes a commission charged with modifying or removing names and monuments associated with the Confederacy from Department of Defense property.
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