House defense bill includes billions for submarines.

The House’s version of the 2018 defense policy bill, passed Friday, would authorize $8 billion for submarine programs.

It authorizes $6.2 billion for the Virginia-class attack submarine program. Of that, $3.3 billion would go to purchasing the last two Virginia-class submarines in Block IV. And $2.9 billion in advanced procurement funds would go toward buying materials in advance. That’s $943 million more than what the Trump administration requested.

The House’s bill also includes language authorizing the Navy to build up to 13 Virginia submarines in Block V from 2019 to 2023 at a minimum procurement rate of two per year, with the possibility of building three attack submarines in 2020, 2022 and 2023.

There were no amendments to strike that language, which was written by the House Armed Services Committee, from the bill, which “speaks volumes that we’ve gotten way past the question of why we need submarines,” said U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District.

“There’s strong bipartisan support for the work people do in our region and its importance to the country,” Courtney added.

The measure also includes $1.9 billion for the development and design of the first Columbia-class submarines. The Columbia submarines will replace the aging fleet of Ohioclass ballistic-missile submarines. Of the $1.9 billion, $1 billion would go to research and development and $843 million would support continued design of the submarine and other development efforts.

There’s also language in the bill directing the Navy to provide a plan for addressing the backlog in submarine maintenance, directing the secretary of defense to provide a briefing to both the Senate and House committees by Dec. 1 on efforts to shorten the security clearance review process.