Rep. Rick Larsen (WA-02), a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, released the following statement after voting for the Conference Report for the Fiscal Year 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

“The final NDAA will strengthen military readiness, increase pay for servicemembers, help small businesses compete for defense contracts and spur innovative research to prepare for future conflicts,” said Larsen.

Larsen successfully included provisions in the conference report that will benefit the Pacific Northwest. These include: research into reducing jet noise; financial support for universities performing defense-related research; and supporting schools that educate students from military families through Impact Aid.

“I am pleased the bill was improved after it passed the House. Harmful anti-environmental riders were removed, the Everett-built KC-46A tanker is fully authorized and the required strategy for developing critical language skills has been strengthened. But it is not a perfect bill. The final NDAA did not include language to protect an important shipyard in Northwest Washington and still authorizes a potentially destabilizing lower-yield nuclear warhead. It also stripped a provision I secured in the House bill to establish a pilot program aimed at addressing combat-related infertility. I will continue to fight for these priorities on behalf of Washington’s Second District and the women and men in uniform.”

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