Press Releases

Today, U.S. Representative Rick Larsen (WA-02) released the following statement:

“In my conversations with Northwest Washington veterans, the Major Richard Star Act has consistently been a top priority. It is just common sense that veterans forced to retire with combat injuries before reaching 20 years of service deserve retirement pay and disability pay. Passing the Major Richard Star Act is a big win for the 47,000 veterans I represent, and I urge my colleagues in the Senate to quickly pass the bill and send it to the President’s desk.”

Yesterday, the House of Representatives passed the Major Richard Star Act by a vote of 392 to 18, after Rep. Larsen worked with his colleagues to force a vote on the bill. Rep. Larsen cosponsors the Major Richard Star Act, which corrects the unfair offset in benefits for combat-injured veterans.

Larsen Continues to Fight for Veterans in Northwest Washington

In his time in Congress, Rep. Larsen has hosted more than 70 forums to hear directly from Northwest Washington state veterans about their needs, including five roundtables in September 2025. Following those conversations, he published ‘Listening to Veterans in Northwest Washington,’ a report capturing local veterans’ most pressing challenges and outlining policy recommendations for Congress and VA to address these concerns. Rep. Larsen submitted this report to the VA and House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs (HVAC) to ensure Northwest Washington veterans’ voices are heard in the policy-making process.

After hearing from local veterans about the lack of transportation options to VA health facilities, Rep. Larsen introduced the Veterans Access to Transit Act last December to establish a Department of Transportation (DOT) pilot program to provide veterans with public transportation to VA facilities and veterans organizations. Rep. Larsen’s BUILD America 250 Act, which passed the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in May, makes funding available to provide veterans with public transportation to VA facilities and veterans organizations, like the Everett and Mount Vernon Community Based Outpatient Clinics.

Last August, Rep. Larsen reintroduced the Veteran Families Health Services Act, which would expand the fertility treatments and family-building services that are covered under servicemembers’ and veterans’ health care. Rep. Larsen also introduced the Mammography Access for Veterans Act this February, which would expand veterans’ access to lifesaving breast cancer screenings through the VA. Last month, he introduced Veteran Breast Cancer Fairness Act to restore male breast cancer as a presumptive illness under the Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act (PACT Act).

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