Press Releases

Today U.S. Representative Rick Larsen (WA-02) voted to temporarily release nearly 10 percent of the government’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve to increase the supply of oil available and help bring down gas prices for American consumers. The Consumer Energy Supply Act (H.R. 6578) failed to pass the House today by a vote of 268 to 157.  The bill was considered under a suspension… Read more »

U.S. Representative Rick Larsen (WA-02) voted today to ensure that the Highway Trust Fund – the primary source of federal funding for highways and bridges – has the funding needed to maintain our infrastructure and help keep our economy moving. The Highway Trust Fund Restoration Act (H.R. 6532) passed the House today by a vote of 387-37. “Restoring the Highway Trust… Read more »

Today U.S. Representative Rick Larsen joined a majority of his colleagues in the House to pass the most comprehensive housing legislation in a generation to restore confidence in the housing market, help families facing foreclosure keep their homes, and protect the largest and most important investment for millions of American families. Senate passage is expected, and earlier… Read more »

International trade and investments in transportation are critical to Washington state’s economy, U.S. Representative Rick Larsen (WA-02) told the Everett Chamber of Commerce in his keynote address today.   “In Washington state, trade and transportation investments create jobs,” said Larsen. In his remarks, Larsen announced his support for a free trade… Read more »

Today U.S. Representative Rick Larsen (WA-02) voted to help get gas prices under control by making oil producers “use or lose” land they have already leased, and by increasing our domestic supply of oil from land already designated for energy production. The legislation (H.R. 6515) failed to pass the House today under a suspension of the rules which requires a two-thirds… Read more »

Today the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee of the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee held a hearing on the Coast Guard’s capabilities in the Arctic region, as U.S. Representative Rick Larsen (WA-02) had requested earlier this year. Larsen called for the hearing due to concerns that the Coast Guard’s polar icebreaking fleet is ill-equipped to… Read more »

U.S. Representative Rick Larsen (WA-02) released the following statement on the announcement made today by Defense Secretary Robert Gates and top Air Force officials regarding the procurement process for the approximately $35 billion tanker program.  Larsen is a member of the House Armed Services Committee and his district is home to Boeing’s Everett plant where Boeing would… Read more »

U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and U.S. Representative Rick Larsen (WA-02) were joined today in Mount Vernon by VA Puget Sound Health Care System director Stan Johnson and local veterans and leaders to announce the permanent site of the Northwest Washington Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC). For a number of years, Murray and Larsen have pressed the VA to open a… Read more »

U.S. Representative Rick Larsen (WA-02) has secured federal dollars for Skagit County priorities in a House funding bill passed by the Appropriations Committee this week. The Energy and Water appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2009 includes $250,000 for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to continue the Skagit Flood Control General Investigation Study and $380,000 for the U.S. Army Corps… Read more »

U.S. Representative Rick Larsen (WA-02) has secured one million dollars in federal funding for Snohomish County’s new Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in a House funding bill passed by the Appropriations Committee this week. The Homeland Security appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2009 – which includes the EOC funding for Snohomish County -- must pass the House and Senate… Read more »