WITA Webinar: U.S.-China Relations in a Post-Covid-19 World, Discussion with Congressman Rick Larsen (D-WA)

Rick represents the Second Congressional District of Washington state, which includes portions of Snohomish, Skagit and Whatcom counties and all of Island and San Juan counties.

Rick serves on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the House Armed Services Committee. These committees enable Rick to focus on creating jobs and opportunity to meet the local needs of Northwest Washington.

As a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Rick is committed to investing in transportation to drive job growth and keep the economy moving. Rick will continue to fight for strong investments in roads, bridges, highways and transit to build a foundation for future economic growth. Rail safety is another priority issue for Rick, and he has worked hard to push for better safety standards for crude oil traveling by rail.

Rick is the Chair, the most senior Democratic member, of the Aviation Subcommittee. The work of the Subcommittee is critical to jobs and the economy in Washington state and the Second District. He says, “the Pacific Northwest is the aerospace capital of the world, and I will work hard to make sure the United States invests in our aviation future. Aviation means jobs in Northwest Washington. Anything I can do to support the growth and safety of air travel will bring good jobs to our communities.”

The Second District is home to Naval Station Everett and Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, which are vital to the region’s economy and national security. As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, Rick works hard to support these military bases. He is pushing to make sure our men and women in uniform get the pay and benefits they have earned and the equipment they need to keep our country safe. Rick is also focused on ensuring that veterans have access to the resources and health care they need to help them be successful in civilian life. Rick worked hard with local veterans to open a Community Based Outpatient Clinic in Mount Vernon to make health care and services more accessible for veterans in the Second District.

Northwest Washington is one of the most beautiful areas of the country, and Rick is committed to protecting our natural resources for recreation and tourism, a major economic driver. He has led efforts to preserve public lands, restore critical salmon habitat, and combat climate change through investments in clean energy.

Rick is the co-chair of the bipartisan U.S.-China Working Group, which educates Members of Congress about U.S.-China issues through meetings and briefings with academic, business and political leaders from the United States and China. China is the largest and most rapidly growing export market for Washington state. Forty percent of all jobs in Washington state are tied to trade, and from 2000 to 2009, Washington state exports to China grew by 379 percent. Rick has visited China nine times.

Rick also co-founded the Congressional Arctic Working Group, a bipartisan group to help bring more focus to U.S. policy issues related to the Arctic. Rick is a leader on this issue because he recognizes that other countries are rapidly building their capacity to traverse icy Arctic waters with commercial, research and tourism vessels. As the U.S. prepares to take the chairmanship of the Arctic Council in 2015, Rick is committed to making sure our country lives up to its environmental, economic and strategic commitments as an Arctic nation.

The Larsen family has been building a legacy in the Second Congressional District for more than a century. Rick and his wife, Tiia, are the proud parents of two sons, Robert and Per (pronounced “Pair”), who represent the fifth generation of Larsens in the district.