Washington, DC – Today, U.S. Representative Young Kim (CA-40), Chairwoman of the Subcommittee on the Indo-Pacific, Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (TX-10), and Europe Subcommittee Chairman Tom Kean (NJ-07) introduced the Keeping Our Allies Leading in Advancement (KOALA) Act.
This bill would support Australia’s joint advanced military capabilities in implementation of the trilateral security partnership between Australia, United Kingdom, and United States (AUKUS). The AUKUS agreement, announced in September 2021, consists of two pillars:
- Pillar 1: Provide Australia with a nuclear-powered submarine capability at the earliest possible date; and,
- Pillar 2: Develop and improve joint advanced military capabilities and interoperability.
The KOALA Act intends to implement AUKUS Pillar 2 for Australia. The bill was introduced with other bills together to satisfy the AUKUS pillars for Australia and the United Kingdom.
“For the United States to continue to be a global leader, we need to show our allies we can deliver on our nation’s word. The KOALA Act will help cut through the red tape that is slowing down efforts to support Australia and implement AUKUS. This is more important than ever as the Chinese Communist Party increases aggression,” said Chairwoman Kim. “I’m proud to lead this effort to ensure the United States projects strength on the world stage and accelerate development of joint defense capabilities in critical technologies. As Chairwoman of the Indo-Pacific Subcommittee, I’m fighting to ensure we deliver for our Indo-Pacific allies against the CCP.”
Read the bill HERE.
