Press Releases

The State Department announced the approval of eight new U.S. direct-hire full-time permanent positions for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in China – four in Beijing, two in Shanghai and two in Guangzhou. U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL) and U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen (WA-02), co-chairs of the U.S.-China Working Group, led a product safety mission to China last August to press the… Read more »

U.S. Representative Rick Larsen congratulated Bellingham Technical College on today’s announcement of a $1.85 million federal grant to fund an initiative to expand training opportunities for workers in the advanced manufacturing industry. “This was a highly competitive grant process, and I congratulate Bellingham Technical College on their success,” said Larsen.… Read more »

In a House Armed Services Committee hearing today, Committee member U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen (WA-02) pushed the Pentagon for answers on the Air Force’s decision announced last week to award a $35 billion tanker contract to the subsidized European company Airbus. In the hearing, Larsen raised questions about the repercussions of this decision for U.S. trade policy. In response to… Read more »

U .S. Representative Rick Larsen (WA-02) released the following statement today on the Boeing Company’s announcement that they will file a formal protest on Tuesday asking the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to review the U.S. Air Force’s decision to award the aerial refueling tanker contract to the European company Airbus. Also on Tuesday, Larsen will question top… Read more »

U.S. Representative Rick Larsen (WA-02) announced today that he will question top Pentagon officials about the Air Force tanker decision at a House Armed Services subcommittee hearing next week. On Tuesday, March 11, a joint hearing of the Seapower and Expeditionary Forces Subcommittee and Air and Land Forces Subcommittee will hear testimony from top Pentagon officials including John… Read more »

U.S. Representative Rick Larsen joined a bipartisan majority in the House of Representatives today to pass landmark legislation that will end unequal insurance coverage for mental illness and help ensure that patients seeking treatment for mental illness get the care they need. The House passed the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act by a vote of 268 to… Read more »

U.S. Representative Rick Larsen (WA-02) joined a bipartisan and bicameral delegation from Washington state and Kansas -- led by U.S. Senator Patty Murray -- to call on Defense Secretary Robert Gates to ensure that the Air Force briefs Boeing this week on the justification for their tanker contract decision.  On Friday, the Air Force announced plans to award the $40 billion… Read more »

U.S. Representative Rick Larsen (WA-02) released the following statement today:  “Boeing’s tanker is the best tanker. Boeing has 75 years of experience building the tankers our military flies. Washington state's workers are second to none and so is their product. “I am very concerned that this decision means that the women and men in our military will not… Read more »

U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen (WA-02) testified before the House Budget Committee today on the importance of supporting drug courts and treatment providers and giving law enforcement the resources they need to continue their work fighting drug trafficking and criminal activity. Larsen, who serves as co-chair of the Congressional Caucus to Fight and Control Methamphetamine, has worked to… Read more »

On Tuesday, the House Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee – of which U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen (WA-02) is a member – held a hearing on the Coast Guard’s budget for the next fiscal year. The Subcommittee heard testimony from Vice Admiral Robert J. Papp, the Chief of Staff of the Coast Guard and Master Chief Charles W. Bowen, the Master Chief Petty Officer of… Read more »