The House Armed Services Committee will approve a national defense bill that includes several provisions important to Northwest Washington, committee member Rep. Rick Larsen, WA-02, said today. The committee will vote on the National Defense Authorization Act of 2014 tonight and the full House will consider the bill next week.

“With this bill, the House of Representatives is keeping the nation’s commitment to Northwest Washington,” Larsen said. “From the sailors and aviators at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island to the men and women working at Boeing, this bill supports those who are working to make our nation safer and our local economy stronger.”

The bill includes the following provisions:

• The P-8A Poseidon program is fully funded at $3.2 billion. The Navy recently announced its plan to base all seven Pacific squadrons of the Boeing-built Poseidons at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island.
• The Air Force KC-46 refueling tanker program is fully funded at $1.6 billion. The KC-46 is being constructed at Boeing’s Everett Factory. According to the Everett Herald, the first KC-46 will be assembled this month in Everett.
• The bill fully funds three construction projects at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island that Larsen announced in April. The bill contains $32.482 million for EA-18G facility improvements, $85.176 million for P-8A facilities and $10 million to replace the fuel pier breakwater. These funds were also included in a military construction appropriations bill passed by the House yesterday.

The bill also includes a provision that Larsen co-authored requiring the Department of Energy to develop a detailed plan for retrieval, treatment and disposition of tank farm waste at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation.

Larsen is a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee.