Connecticut Sen. Cathy Osten (D-Sprague) has proposed a bill that seeks to boost the state’s investment in manufacturing jobs within the defense sector.
The Submarine Jobs and Opportunities Building Success Act would allocate $100 million in funds in the next five years to infrastructure development efforts to help address submarine contracts-related requirements, the Connecticut Senate Democrats said Wednesday.
The proposed legislation would also spend $50 million over a decade on workforce programs, high schools and community colleges to help meet the demand for submarine design, repair and maintenance and construction work as part of defense contracts.
“It is an undeniable fact that building submarines is big business for hundreds of Connecticut’s small businesses, and ensuring that our state has a highly skilled and well prepared workforce is critically important in order to meet demand,†Osten said.
She noted that General Dynamics’ Electric Boat subsidiary has approximately 450 Connecticut-based suppliers.
Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney (D-New Haven) said the proposed Submarine JOBS Act comes as Electric Boat prepares to employ up to 15,000 workers in the next 15 years and establish new facilities to support development work on Columbia-class submarines.
