Washington, DC — Representatives Gregory W. Meeks, Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Ami Bera, M.D., Ranking Member of the Indo-Pacific Subcommittee, issued the following statement welcoming the inclusion of provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of FY2024 to fully implement the “AUKUS” trilateral security partnership: 

“We welcome the inclusion of authorizing language for the transformative AUKUS agreement with Australia and the United Kingdom in the 2024 NDAA that, once signed into law, will facilitate the implementation of the Biden Administration’s landmark AUKUS security agreement. The NDAA package includes language that authorizes the transfer of new U.S. Virginia-class submarines to Australia to bolster its undersea capabilities. We are also pleased the final NDAA package includes the comparability standards and the certification process we had been advocating for, to ensure defense technology trade between our countries is safe and secure. Passage of this legislation will ensure that AUKUS further strengthens two critical U.S. alliances and reinforces U.S. efforts to preserve a free, open, and peaceful Indo-Pacific region, while simultaneously investing in American workers and submarine supply chains."