[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 166 (Tuesday, November 12, 2024)]
[House]
[Page H5918]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





  HONORING THE DILIGENT SERVICE OF KEVIN GRANEY, PRESIDENT OF GENERAL 
                         DYNAMICS ELECTRIC BOAT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Fong). The Chair recognizes the 
gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Courtney) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the diligent and 
honorable service of the president of General Dynamics Electric Boat, 
Mr. Kevin Graney of Stonington, Connecticut.
  On December 1, in a couple weeks, Kevin is slated to retire from his 
eventful and impactful 5-year term as the shipyard lead for the United 
States Navy's submarine force, and it is more than fitting that this 
Chamber take a moment to recognize his extraordinary service to our 
Nation.
  A native of Cheektowaga, New York, Kevin's career spans nearly 40 
years of service to the Navy's shipbuilding enterprise. His 
intelligence, patriotism, and leadership qualities stood out at an 
early age, foreshadowing a promising career as a naval officer.
  Upon graduating high school, he attended State University of New York 
Maritime College, earning a bachelor's degree in marine engineering and 
nuclear science, which would serve him well as a submariner and 
instructor at the Naval Nuclear Power Training Unit in Ballston Spa, 
New York.
  Following a distinguished career at sea, Kevin began his shipbuilding 
career at General Dynamics Electric Boat in 1995 as a senior engineer 
working on critical power components for the Virginia-class submarine 
program.
  Following his assignment at Electric Boat, he moved to Newport News 
Shipbuilding in Virginia to design the reactor plant for the next-
generation aircraft carrier, the CVN-78 program. He then moved overseas 
and managed Electric Boat engineers to assist our allies in the U.K. as 
they built their British Astute-class nuclear submarine program. 
Eventually, he returned to Electric Boat and began his last term over 
the last 5 years in 2019 as CEO of the shipyard.
  During his time, the 120-year-old EB shipyard experienced a massive 
generational transformation with new and improved infrastructure, 
increased hiring, and new operations to dramatically improve 
performance and efficiency in the submarine industrial base.
  In 2023, Electric Boat hired nearly 5,400 new workers, the biggest 
number in its history, even surpassing its growth in World War II and 
the Cold War. The total workforce today now exceeds 23,000, and they 
are still hiring today.
  If that was not challenging enough, 5 months into Kevin's ascension 
to president, the shipyard was confronted with the global COVID 
pandemic. It is hard to visualize how difficult it is to manage an 
airborne pathogen in a shipyard, particularly a submarine shipyard 
where, again, the quarters are so tight.
  Nonetheless, they kept the shipyard open. They did not close for a 
single day during the pandemic, and that is because Kevin Graney 
overcame this crisis and skillfully managed operations to continue as a 
critical industry in our Nation's security.
  After performance across the shipyard and the nationwide industrial 
base was stabilized, it was then faced with increased rates of 
retirement of senior workers and a corresponding reduction in the 
supervisory trade workforce.
  Since then, Kevin has spearheaded recovery efforts that have 
transformed the shipyard in just a short time. A few months ago, he 
signed a 5-year Metal Trades collective bargaining agreement with the 
Metal Trades Council, which represents machinists, electricians, 
carpenters, teamsters, and boilermakers that increased their pay by 25 
percent, retaining their pension and health benefits at the same time.
  Next to me is the USS Iowa, the 24th Virginia-class submarine, which 
was delivered to the Navy a couple of weeks ago. As I stand here today, 
it is undergoing sea trials and will be commissioned to the U.S. Navy 
in a few months or so.
  Mr. Speaker, as ranking member and chair of the House Armed Services' 
Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee and the Congressman 
representing EB's facility in Groton, Connecticut, I have had a front-
row seat to Kevin's tenure. It was not an easy time.
  Through it all, though, he maintained a steady level of confidence 
from his peers and overcame adversities that were not anticipated at 
the start of his tenure.
  I haven't even talked about the AUKUS security agreement, which last 
December this Congress voted to sell three Virginia-class nuclear-
powered submarines to our great ally, Australia, the first time in 
history our country has ever made that commitment.
  He has built the foundation, and it will be incredibly difficult to 
replace him, but we welcome the next president of Electric Boat, Mark 
Rayha, who I am sure will continue in Kevin's steps.
  Mr. Speaker, I congratulate Kevin as he enters this new era of 
retirement with his wife, Cheryl, and his daughter, Katherine. I ask 
that my colleagues in the House, and particularly those who serve on 
the House Armed Services Committee along with me, join me in 
recognizing his life of service to the Navy and the United States by 
submitting his legacy into the permanence of the Congressional Record.

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