U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, who heads the U.S. House subcommittee with oversight of Navy shipbuilding, applauded Monday the Navy’s decision to award a more than $125 million contract for maintenance on the USS Hartford (SSN-768) to Electric Boat.

The contract is expected to support work at the Groton shipyard through February 2022, Courtney's office said in a news release Monday.

“Groton is home to some of the most talented shipbuilders in the world, and today’s announcement by the Navy is another endorsement of the value that they and other private shipyards contribute to the readiness of our submarine force,” Courtney said in a statement.

Courtney, in his role as chairman of the Seapower and Projection Services Subcommittee in the House, has pushed the Navy to award more of this maintenance work to the private shipyards such as EB as opposed to the Navy’s public shipyards, which are overburdened with work at a time when demand for submarines is increasing.

U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Chris Murphy released a statement Wednesday applauding the work.

“This powerfully welcome news is another strong vote of confidence in EB‘s world class workforce. Maintaining and repairing our subs is as important as building them— vital to our national security. Honoring our Capitol City’s namesake, this major investment provides significant job stability to thousands of skilled, dedicated workers and their families. We look forward to congratulating them personally,” the Democratic senators said in the joint statement.