Courtney Statement on House-Passed Government Funding Bills

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02) released the following statement after the House passed a package of government funding bills and a homeland security funding bill. Courtney voted to pass the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026 (H.R. 7148) and voted "no" on the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2026 (H.R. 7147).

"Given the highly dysfunctional record of this Congress, when majority leadership has refused to work on a bipartisan basis, the funding bills in H.R. 7148 are the product of rare negotiation from both sides," Courtney said. "The defense funding bill delivers full funding for Virginia and Columbia-class submarines, plus additional needed funding to fill a $1.9 billion shortfall in the Trump Navy budget submitted last summer. This spending bill will maintain the robust growth in hiring at the Groton shipyard and keep Connecticut's entire defense manufacturing industry on a growth trajectory. The other spending bills in H.R. 7148 - health, education, transportation, and housing - go a great distance to stabilize basic need services and important programs amid Trump Administration cuts. I'm particularly pleased that H.R. 7148 protects funding for NIH medical research grants from Trump cuts so that our country can continue to lead the world in fighting cancer, Alzheimer's, heart disease, and other devastating illnesses."

"The DHS funding bill, H.R. 7147, unfortunately falls way short of putting urgently needed checks and oversight on Kristi Noem's ICE," Courtney continued. "This bill offered a golden opportunity to enact meaningful protections for U.S. citizens, documented immigrants, and minor children from getting ensnared by indiscriminate ICE arrest quotas. During its mass sweeps, ICE has shown little or no professionalism or physical restraint as a law enforcement agency, enflaming tension and conflict in the communities they operate in. Sadly, this bill simply perpetuates a dangerous status quo."

For a fact sheet on Connecticut defense priorities included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026 (H.R. 7148), click here.

For a fact sheet on stabilizing basic need services and protecting important programs in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026 (H.R. 7148), click here.

BACKGROUND ON THE COURTNEY-LED EFFORT TO INCREASE VIRGINIA-CLASS SUBMARINE FUNDING IN THE FY 2026 BUDGET

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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