Madam Speaker, last year, I was proud to help create the first-ever Congressional Pacific Islands Caucus, which I co-chair along with four of my colleagues.
When we launched the Caucus, I noted that our country's and world's future lie in the Indo-Pacific, and that the island nations of the Pacific are a key yet too-often overlooked part of that region and future.
We have critical… Read more »
Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6585 with deep reservations.
I support the substance of the measure as addressing key concerns for American Indians and Alaska Natives. My grave concern is with the inexplicable omission of Native Hawaiians as indistinguishably indigenous peoples of this country to be treated and included the same.
I spelled out my concerns at length in a… Read more »
Mr. Speaker, as the Representative of the State with one of the largest exclusive economic zones in our country and as the Representative of the State that sits in the middle of the Pacific where we are seeing increasing overfishing, including the use of these techniques throughout our Pacific, I rise in very strong support of the Driftnet Modernization and Bycatch Reduction Act.… Read more »
Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the alliance between the United States and Japan and celebrate the extraordinary contributions of Japanese Americans across our country, especially in my home state of Hawai‘i.
Seventy-five years ago, the Second World War finally ended when Japanese and Allied representatives signed the Instrument of Surrender on the deck of the U.S.S. Missouri, the… Read more »
Madam Speaker, H.R. 4153, the Health Care Access for Urban Native Veterans Act, will ensure that Native American veterans have equal access to healthcare, regardless of their location of residence, by expanding Department of Veterans Affairs, VA, funding to include urban Indian health centers.
The Indian Health Service acts as the primary Federal agency responsible… Read more »
Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 1380, the Big Cat Public Safety Act.
At the beginning of this hectic year, many Americans were introduced to the issue before us today and this legislation for the first time through the ``Tiger King,'' which in addition to a plethora of colorful real-life characters also shined a spotlight on the dark side… Read more »
Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of my bill, H.R. 7045. This legislation would require the Secretary of Agriculture, in coordination with the Hawai‘i Department of Land and Natural Resources, to conduct a study to identify lands in the State of Hawai‘i that merit inclusion in the National Forest System.
Hawai‘i is the most isolated island chain… Read more »
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of this bipartisan, bicameral measure to treat the commissioned officers of one of our Nation's seven uniformed services, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps, with the same basic statutory recruitment, advancement, retention, and benefit structure, and with the same respect, as is accorded to… Read more »
Mr. Speaker, S. 914, the Coordinated Ocean Observations and Research Act, would reauthorize the Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act of 2009, called IOOS for short.
For over 10 years now, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, has implemented this data-driven national regional partnership to successfully improve safety, enhance the… Read more »
Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of S. 910, the National Sea Grant College Program Amendments Act of 2020.
For decades, the Sea Grant College Program has provided essential oceans-focused research and support for our communities nation-wide and especially now as we face the impacts of climate change on coastal… Read more »
