Speeches & Testimony

I rise today in support of my Boosting Long-Term U.S. Engagement in the Pacific (BLUE Pacific) Act, cosponsored by 14 of my colleagues. Scattered across the three traditional Pacific subregions of Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia are over two dozen jurisdictions collectively known as the Pacific Islands, including twelve independent states, countries in free association and… Read more »

I rise today in support of my Pacific Partnership Act, co-introduced with Congresswoman Radewagen of American Samoa and cosponsored by 21 of our colleagues. A companion version of our bill was introduced in the U.S. Senate by Senator Cortez Masto of Nevada and Senator Ernst of Iowa. Scattered across the three traditional Pacific subregions of Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia are… Read more »

I rise today in support of my Energy Transitions Initiative Authorization Act to expand resilient and reliable energy for some of our nation’s most vulnerable regions – isolated and Tribal communities. Isolated and Tribal communities often share common energy obstacles, such as limited energy infrastructure, high costs of imported energy and vulnerability to natural disasters. For… Read more »

Mr. Speaker, I rise to today to ask for the House's support for the Filipino Veterans Family Reunification Act, which I introduced with my colleague Congresswoman Jen Kiggans of Virginia. It is the companion version of the bill introduced in the U.S. Senate by Senator Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, along with twelve other Senators. In 1941, more than 250,000 Filipino soldiers responded to… Read more »

Aloha, and thank you for the opportunity to testify today on the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). I’d like to highlight for your consideration and action some specific national security challenges regarding my home state of Hawai‘i and the broader IndoPacific. The Indo-Pacific, of course, is the frontline of our generation pacing challenge led by the… Read more »

Chairman Graves, Ranking Member Larsen, and Members of the Committee: Mahalo for the opportunity to share my priorities for matters under your Committee’s jurisdiction for the 119th Congress. In particular, I ask for your continued support of the U.S. Coast Guard.  My home state of Hawai‘i relies heavily on and has benefited greatly from the presence of the Coast Guard. We… Read more »

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce legislation to ensure that the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) fully supports our small businesses establish and maintain employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs). ESOPs offer a powerful way to ensure employees become stakeholders and help run the business they've built. This wealth-generating and retirement plan approach creates a more… Read more »

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge support for my Indigenous Diplomacy and Engagement Act to ensure that our foreign affairs fully encompass and incorporate the independent interconnectedness of our world's indigenous peoples. The estimated 476 million indigenous peoples spread across all parts of our world are bound together by a common heritage, common wisdom and common challenges… Read more »

I join my colleagues in condemning what can only be seen as sheer desertion--yes, I used the word ``desertion''--of Ukraine by this President, and I deeply regret, at least to date, by my Republican colleagues in Congress. The dictator of Russia, as has already been pointed out, has not seen a better day at least since the successful death of Alexei Navalny. Let's be clear. Putin… Read more »

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to invite my House colleagues to join Congressman Joe Neguse of Colorado and me in recognizing the critical importance of the native plants of our country by cosponsoring our resolution designating the month of April as Native Plant Month. Native plants are not just a vital part of our natural landscape; they are integral to the environmental health of our… Read more »