Friend,

Virginia plays an outsized role in the U.S. submarine industrial base, which is integral to our national defense. Our skilled trades workforce in the Commonwealth’s defense industry is also a major economic driver for our state economy.

I will always use my leadership role as vice chairman of the House Armed Services Committee to advocate for the best interests of Virginia. During our most recent Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee hearing, I questioned the Navy about our industrial base's ability to support the critical security partnership between the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia, known as AUKUS.

To best support this important security pact, our submarine industrial base enterprise must be able to hire, attract, and train at least 10,000 new workforce members per year. We must improve retention across the skilled trades to ensure AUKUS's success and deter our adversaries across the globe.

Click here or below to watch the hearing exchange:

Sincerely,