Environment

Protecting our precious environment is one of my top priorities. My assignments on the House Committee on Appropriations provides me with specific responsibilities and opportunities to combat climate change, safeguard our oceans and public lands and oppose attempts to roll back critical environmental protections.

Climate Change & Clean Energy

As Hawai‘i and the rest of our planet confront the reality and impacts of climate change, we must increase our efforts to respond to this global crisis. Greenhouse gas emissions cause some of the most pressing concerns from climate change, all of which can be felt in Hawai‘i. You can watch examples of my statements in both my Appropriations Committee and the full House on the issue of climate change here. 
 
We must pivot our nation to a clean and renewable energy future that will reduce carbon emissions and address global warming. To accelerate our transition to clean energy, I supported the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which was our nation’s largest-ever investment in the fight against climate change. The bill sought to invest billions to set our country on the path to reduce 40% of our emissions by 2030. The IRA also included $2.6 billion to conserve and restore coastal habitats, support healthy forests and help communities implement climate resilience and adaptation activities. Click here to learn more about the IRA, why I supported it and how it was designed to help our Hawai‘i. 

The current administration has frozen IRA funds and led the effort to repeal much of the IRA through the partisan budget reconciliation act, which I strongly opposed. The attacks against the IRA are deeply disappointing given the serious threats of climate change, the increasing threat of natural disasters and our obvious needs for a clean energy transition.

Despite this setback, I am committing to supporting and advocating for relevant legislation in the 119th Congress. As just one example, I am an original cosponsor of the Energy Resilient Communities Act, which would support clean energy microgrid grants for communities often left behind in the transition to a clean energy future. These grants will help combat power outages and rolling blackouts, reduce pollution, create green jobs and fight the climate crisis. 

I have also introduced legislation to codify into law a federal program that helps expand energy resilience and reliability for isolated island, Native Hawaiian and Tribal communities. These communities often face common and unique energy obstacles including limited energy infrastructure, high costs of imported energy and vulnerability to natural disasters. My Energy Transitions Initiative Authorization Act would ensure continued federal support for Hawaii’s effort to transition to clean, affordable energy sources in ways that address our unique challenges, with a focus on isolated area and indigenous communities. You can learn more about the bill here.

Oceans

From warmer temperatures and acidification to nonpoint-source pollution, trash, overfishing and beyond, our oceans are on an unsustainable path and desperately need our help to save them. I’ve worked with several of my colleagues to advance legislation to modernize our laws that govern coral, fisheries conservation and the deep ocean. 

The Sustaining America’s Fisheries for the Future Act, which I authored with House Natural Resources Water, Oceans and Wildlife Subcommittee Chairman Jared Huffman, would reauthorize the Magnuson-Stevens Act, which governs all of our nation’s fisheries. The legislation makes much needed updates to the law to ensure we deal with climate change and shifting stocks, modernize fisheries data systems, support fishing communities, encourage cooperation between industry and managers and increase accountability in fisheries management. If you would like to learn more about our legislation which we hope to reintroduce this Congress, I encourage you to read Chairman Huffman’s press release here.

I have also introduced legislation to ban mining on our deep seabed, a potentially catastrophic practice which could irreversibly damage our ocean ecosystems and the communities that rely on them. The American Seabed Protection Act and International Seabed Protection Act will protect our fragile oceans from the severe risks of seabed mining by imposing moratoria on mining unless and until its consequences are understood and an appropriate protective regulatory regime is established. Paired together, the bills establish the United States as an international leader in protecting our precious oceans through a responsible process to address the potentially devastating effects of widespread, unregulated deep seabed mining. You can read more about my introduction of this legislation here.

In a similar effort to safeguard marine ecosystems, I also introduced the Saving Natural Ecosystems and Marine Organisms (NEMO) Act to protect the world’s coral reefs from destructive harvesting practices. Coral reefs support nearly a quarter of all ocean life, but the high demand for ornamental reef fish and coral has led to overcollection and harmful methods like the use of explosives and poison, often in regions with little regulatory oversight. As the largest importer of ornamental reef species, the United States has both a responsibility and an opportunity to lead. The Saving NEMO Act would prohibit the import of protected reef species collected through unsustainable means and establish enforcement mechanisms to ensure responsible, sustainable collection practices. You can read more about this legislation here.

Finally, I am committed to protecting our Pacific marine sanctuaries and monuments, which safeguard some of the world’s most unique and vital ocean biodiversity. I advocated and contributed to the successful 2025 designation of Papahanaumokuakea as a national marine sanctuary, a significant milestone for ocean conservation. You can read about some of my efforts here and here. The designation builds upon the existing protections of the marine national monument by adding stronger management tools and safeguards, while ensuring continued partnership with co-managers like the Office of Hawaiian affairs, as well as deep engagement with Native Hawaiian cultural leaders and community members. Crucially, the sanctuary status reinforces existing protections and prevents them from being undone by presidential action alone.

I’ve also been a proud advocate for the designation of a National Marine Sanctuary in the Pacific Remote Islands Marine. This proposed designation would not only protect the marine environment from commercial exploitation but also be a meaningful step towards climate resilience and help preserve one of the last wild and healthy marine ecosystems in the world. You can read my letter to the President in support of the monument’s expansion here and the President’s announcement of the sanctuary’s designation process here.

Protecting our natural environment has always been one of my top priorities in Congress, and that includes advancing meaningful land conservation efforts across Hawai‘i. I’ve introduced and successfully passed legislation to begin the process of establishing both a national forest and a national heritage area in our state. These designations would not only recognize the unique ecological and cultural significance of Hawaii’s landscapes, but also unlock critical federal resources for land management. That means greater support for conservation, restoration, wildfire prevention and local economic development tied to heritage tourism and recreation.

Through my role on the House Appropriations Committee, I’ve also worked to secure millions of dollars in federal funding for conservation projects in Hawai‘i. This includes efforts to save our critically endangered native bird species, expand and improve stewardship of our national parks and support community-led conservation initiatives that preserve both cultural heritage and natural ecosystems. These investments support both biodiversity and local communities, ensuring that future generations will be able to experience the beauty and richness of Hawaii’s natural heritage.