Rep. Foncello Testifies on Bill Proposed to Protect State, National Security Interests

View Rep. Foncello’s Testimony:

Hartford, CT – The General Assembly’s Veterans and Military Affairs Committee held a public hearing on Thursday, February 13, 2025, on a number of proposed bills. State Representative Martin Foncello (R-Brookfield) testified on behalf of the House Republican Caucus in support of H.B. 6735, An Act Prohibiting the Sale of Real Property Near State Or Federal Military Installations To A Foreign Entity.

“I’m a retired Army officer with 28 years of service and now retired from the Department of Homeland Security, where I worked as an Intelligence Officer,” Rep. Foncello said in his introduction. “This bill is near and dear to my heart as I have worked at the federal, state, and local levels to prevent foreign actors from collecting intelligence on military installations and trying to gain a military advantage over the U.S. National security remains a top priority for Congress and should be equally important to our state legislature.”

The media has recently focused on land transactions by unfriendly foreign entities and governments, namely Russia and China. Connecticut is not immune to similar acquisitions. The state is home to the United States Coast Guard Academy, Naval Submarine Base New London, and the 103rd Airlift Wing. The Connecticut National Guard also has multiple properties around the state.

“All of these military instillations are vital assets in protecting our national security interests and the state legislature should enact legislation that protects the security of such critical military instillations,” Foncello noted.

To protect national security and military instillations from foreign influence, the House Republican caucus would like to see this bill approved to prevent the sale or acquisition of all land surrounding both state and federal military instillations throughout Connecticut to specific foreign entities such as Russia or China.

“We’re trying to prevent our enemies from learning of advances in technology that we have and prevent the theft of intellectual property. We want to prevent them from learning about troop movements, and we want to prevent them from learning if there are key individuals working on specific military matters,” Foncello said.

The bill does not specify any particular company, but Rep. Foncello noted that there are about half a dozen large companies that have significant operations in Connecticut making submarines and helicopters, and contractors for the government that may make components.

The 2025 Connecticut Legislative Session adjourns at midnight on June 4th.

###