Ironically, U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, fondly called "2 Sub Joe," voted against the $1.1 trillion federal spending bill, which funds, among other items, Department of Defense appropriations - including funds for submarine construction programs in eastern Connecticut.

The bill passed the House by a vote of 219 to 206.

Courtney, who is widely known for having successfully fought for the biggest contract in the Navy's history, which includes the production of two Virginia-class attack submarines a year, was one of 139 House Democrats who voted against the spending bill.

The congressman said he voted against the bill for reasons that have nothing to do with submarines.

Explaining his decision, Courtney cited his strong objections to provisions in the spending bill that roll back portions of the Dodd-Frank financial reform law and undermine campaign finance contribution limits.

In a statement sent to The Day late Friday, Courtney said, "House Republicans' insistence on adding special interest giveaways to an otherwise-fair spending bill is deeply disappointing. Congress came very close to passing a bipartisan, bicameral spending agreement, and I would have been willing to support it without the policy riders that benefit Wall Street banks and super-rich political donors above the middle class."

The spending bill funds the defense appropriations measure, which supports continued two-a-year production of the Virginia-class submarines.

In a news release on Friday, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy praised Courtney and U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal for their hard work in supporting the defense industry in Connecticut. The news release from Malloy came after the passage of the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act. While the defense appropriations measure, funded under the federal spending bill, provides defense funding, the NDAA sets the policies and guidelines for how that money is spent.

"I particularly want to thank Senator Blumenthal and Representative Courtney who serve on the respective Senate and House Armed Services Committees and played key roles drafting and passing this vital legislation," Malloy said in the statement.

Courtney has been a supporter of the NDAA from the beginning, and played an integral role in crafting the shipbuilding provisions included in the act, which passed the Senate late Friday by a vote of 89 to 11. The bill now goes to President Barack Obama's desk for his signature.

In a statement Friday, Courtney, who is vice chairman of the Seapower Subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee, said, "Thanks to the world-class work of the men and women at Electric Boat, Congress has again demonstrated its confidence in the Virginia Class program - as well as the Ohio Replacement and Virginia Payload Module - by fully investing in these priorities. Continuing the two-a-year build rate will stabilize the waterfront workforce and provide a sound platform for Ohio Class construction that will begin this decade. There are more than 300 job openings at EB currently, and the continued top-notch performance of our eastern Connecticut defense workforce will only strengthen that demand in the years to come."

Blumenthal, who announced Friday that he will serve as the ranking member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee when the new Congress convenes in January, released his own statement on the Senate passing the act. In addition to the building of two Virginia-class submarines a year, Blumenthal's statement added that "workers at Pratt & Whitney will build the engines for more than 30 Joint Strike Fighters, and workers at Sikorsky will build more than 100 helicopters to ensure that our servicemen and women have the best equipment in the world."

The Senate has until Wednesday night to consider the federal spending bill.

j.bergman@theday.com

Twitter: JuliaSBergman