This week, Representative Rick Larsen (WA-02) advocated for provisions in the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to protect families and businesses Northwest Washington state.
He co-led an amendment which would allow Island Health to achieve significant cost-savings, and as a result, the hospital would be able to maintain its current services.
“Rural hospitals like Island Health (IH) are under attack because of President Trump’s Medicaid cuts,” said Rep. Larsen. “IH serves a significant number of local servicemembers and I will keep fighting to protect it so it can keep providing exceptional services."
Rep. Larsen also submitted an amendment to require the Department of Defense (DoD) to study the impact of the Trump administration’s tariffs on military readiness and small businesses that are essential to the defense industrial base.
"The Administration’s unnecessary trade wars are hurting families and businesses in Northwest Washington state,” said Rep. Larsen. “I have heard directly from an international company that shifted manufacturing work from Washington state to Canada and a maritime employer that moved a project from Bellingham to Canada because of tariff uncertainty. DoD must consider how the President’s idiotic trade wars are impacting our military capabilities."
These two provisions were not included in the House-passed version of the NDAA, but Rep. Larsen will continue to advocate for their inclusion in the final bill.
Larsen Priorities for Health Care, AI, and Ukraine Included
Several of Rep. Larsen’s additional priorities were included in the House-passed version:
A Raise for Servicemembers – The NDAA includes a 3.8% pay raise for servicemembers.
Helping Servicemembers and Veterans Start Families – Rep. Larsen’s legislation to help military families access fertility treatments and IVF is included in the NDAA. More information about the IVF for Military Families Act is available here.
AI Literacy for Members of the Military– Rep. Larsen’s legislation to require the Department of Defense to incorporate AI training into its annual cybersecurity training is included in the NDAA. More information about the Next Generation Military Education Act is available here.
Funding to Support Ukraine’s Self-Defense – The NDAA includes $400 million for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which builds Ukraine's capacity to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity, supports institutional transformation initiatives, and advances U.S. political and military objectives.
Larsen Supports Repeal of Authorizations the Use of Military Force (AUMF)
Rep. Larsen supported a bipartisan amendment to repeal two laws authorizing the use of military force in Iraq.
“I am proud to be voting for the repeal of the 1991 and 2002 AUMFs,” said Rep. Larsen. “This is just one step of many that Congress needs to take to unwind the blanket authority presidents have to conduct war without appropriate congressional oversight.”
Larsen Opposes Attacks on LGBTQI+ Individuals
Ultimately Rep. Larsen voted “no” on the House-passed NDAA.
“I opposed the NDAA because my Republican colleagues turned a bipartisan bill into extremist legislation targeting healthcare for servicemembers, their kids and the LGBTQI+ community,” said Rep. Larsen, who served for 22 years on the Armed Services Committee. “It is my hope the final version of the bill removes cruel, anti-LGBTQI+ attacks and includes bipartisan provisions that improve our servicemembers’ quality of life, strengthen our military communities and keep our commitments to our NATO allies.”
Next Steps
The Senate will soon consider its version of the annual defense policy bill. Once the Senate passes its version of the bill, the House and Senate will work out the differences in their respective versions of the bill before returning a final bill to both chambers for consideration.
