US Congress has taken a significant step toward facilitating the transfer of highly classified military intelligence to Australia.

Democrat congressman Joe Courtney, along with Gregory Meeks and Ami Bera, introduced the AUKUS Undersea Defence Act on Friday (Saturday AEST).

The proposed legislation aims to provide the necessary legal authority for the transfer of nuclear-powered submarines, specifically Virginia-class submarines, to Australia.

The bill includes provisions for the training of Australian private sector defence personnel and the integration of Australian financial contributions to the US defence industrial base. 

Congressman Courtney, an influential advocate for the AUKUS intelligence-sharing pact between the US, Australia, and the UK, previously sponsored the first-ever AUKUS-related legislation, which established a submarine officer training pipeline between the two nations.

Congressman Courtney expressed his confidence in the bill, stating; “Passage of this commonsense bill, which was crafted in collaboration with the Department of Defense, will demonstrate the commitment of the US Congress to the AUKUS mission”.

In a parallel move last month, Republican senators Jim Risch and Bill Hagerty introduced the TORPEDO (Truncating Onerous Regulations for Partners and Enhancing Deterrence Operations) Act. 

This legislation seeks to expedite the export and reexport process for certain US defence items and technology to Australia.

Senator Risch highlighted the importance of AUKUS and the TORPEDO Act, saying; “The TORPEDO Act aims to speed up the [AUKUS] implementation process by reforming the US regulatory system so we can cooperate in a timely and efficient manner on the capabilities we and our partners need”.

In March, US President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced plans for the sale of up to five Virginia-class nuclear submarines to Australia, as well as the sharing of nuclear propulsion technology for future Australian-built submarines.