Rep. Rick Larsen, WA-02, successfully attached several key provisions to a defense bill the House of Representatives passed today. Larsen’s provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2014 will support the Northwest economy and improve the national defense. Larsen is a member of the House Armed Services Committee which wrote the bill.

“This defense bill meets the needs of our sailors and aviators in Northwest Washington and our troops around the world,” Larsen said. “The provisions I included in this bill will strengthen the economy in Northwest Washington and make our nation stronger.”

The bill includes:

• The language of Larsen’s bill to help small- and medium-sized businesses secure government contracts. More information on Larsen’s bill is available here.
• A Larsen amendment to designate a senior official within the Department of Defense to facilitate the transfer of prisoners detained at Guantanamo Bay.
• A Larsen amendment to restore funding to research and development in the nuclear nonproliferation budgets at the Department of Energy and Department of Defense.
• Full funding ($3.2 billion) for the P-8A Poseidon program The Navy recently announced its plan to base all seven Pacific squadrons of the Boeing-built Poseidons at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island.
• Full funding ($1.6 billion) for the KC-46 refueling tanker. The KC-46 is being constructed at Boeing’s Everett Factory.
• Full funding for three construction projects at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, including $32.482 million for EA-18G facility improvements, $85.176 million for P-8A facilities and $10 million to replace the fuel pier breakwater.

Larsen also strongly supported an amendment to accelerate the withdrawal from Afghanistan. That measure passed with a bipartisan vote of 305 to 121.