Rep. Rick Larsen, WA-02, today voted in favor of training and equipping moderate Syrian opposition forces to fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Larsen, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, has received regular briefings about ISIL and the threat it poses. He asked the administration this week to consider lessons learned from past efforts to train and… Read more »

A bill to provide continued funding to improve estuaries in the Puget Sound region that Rep. Rick Larsen, WA-02, introduced passed the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee today. Larsen introduced the bipartisan bill with Rep. Frank LoBiondo, NJ-02 earlier this summer. H.R. 5266 would reauthorize the National Estuary Program through 2018, funding local efforts to restore and… Read more »

Rep. Rick Larsen, WA-02, outlined his concerns about training and equipping Syrian opposition forces to fight against the terrorist group ISIL in a letter to President Obama. In the letter, Larsen also advocated that Congress consider a specific and separate law to authorize military operations against ISIL, rather than allowing the President to rely on the existing post-9/11… Read more »

$1.5 million grant will go to Snohomish County to help communities recover from mudslide Today, U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA), U.S. Representatives Rick Larsen (D-WA-02) and Suzan DelBene (D-WA-01), and Snohomish County Executive John Lovick announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will make a $1.5 million grant to Snohomish… Read more »

Today, the federal delegation representing Snohomish County announced that the Darrington School District has received $10,341 through a federal Project SERV grant to help offset costs the district incurred after the State Route 530 mudslide in March. The Project SERV grant will help reimburse the school district for transportation expenditures, as extra funds were needed to ensure… Read more »

Rep. Rick Larsen, WA-02, issued the following statement today following the appearance of Kenneth Bae, the Lynnwood man who has been detained in North Korea for more than a year, on CNN. “I remain deeply disappointed that North Korea continues to detain Kenneth after nearly two years. While it is positive to hear Kenneth say he is being treated ‘as humanely as possible,’… Read more »

Rep. Rick Larsen, WA-02, today called on Congress to reauthorize and update the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as nearly all Washington state schools send letters to parents required by the law indicating that the schools are failing. The U.S. Department of Education revoked Washington state’s waiver from the law, also known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB), meaning schools… Read more »

WHIDBEY ISLAND—Today Rep. Rick Larsen,WA-02, Mayor Nancy Conard and Commissioner Helen Price Johnson issued the following statement calling on the Navy to allow for more public input in light of the potential for additional EA-18G Growlers to be stationed at NAS Whidbey Island.  On July 25, the Navy announced it would expand the scope of the Environmental Impact Study to… Read more »

Rep. Rick Larsen, WA-02, released the following statement regarding President Obama’s announcement that he had authorized the U.S. military to conduct airstrikes against forces from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). This State Department-designated terrorist group has moved towards the city of Erbil, where the U.S. has a consulate, and has threatened to massacre the… Read more »

Rep. Rick Larsen, WA-02, today called on the U.S. Postal Service to designate the Shaw Island Post Office in Washington state a Part-Time Post Office. In a letter to Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe, Larsen called the USPS proposed plan to reduce operating hours at the Shaw Island Post Office to four hours a day shortsighted and inappropriate for a post office located on an island that… Read more »