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Speeches & Testimony

Remarks on Safe and Quiet Skies Act

| Posted in Speeches & Testimony

Madam Speaker, today I am re-introducing my Safe and Quiet Skies Act from the 116th Congress to ensure that commercial air tour flights are adequately regulated to ensure in-air and on-ground safety and address widespread and accelerating community disruption. I extend a special thanks to my colleagues, Congressmembers Nadler, Neguse, Norton, Sherman and Sires, for co-introducing this…

Remarks on Amending the Jones Act

| Posted in Speeches & Testimony

Madam Speaker, today I introduce three bills to end a century of monopolistic closed market domestic cargo shipping to and from my isolated home state of Hawai‘i as well as the other island and separated jurisdictions of our country not part of the continental United States. In doing so, we will break the stranglehold on the peoples and economies of these exposed communities and their…

Supporting Our Commitments to Our Freely Associated States Allies

| Posted in Speeches & Testimony

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…

Native Hawaiians Health Care System Tort Coverage

| Posted in Speeches & Testimony

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…

Statement on Driftnet Modernization and Bycatch Reduction Act

| Posted in Speeches & Testimony

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.…

Honoring U.S. Japan Alliance and the Contributions of Japanese Americans

| Posted in Speeches & Testimony

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…

Statement in Support of Health Care Access for Urban Native Veterans Act

| Posted in Speeches & Testimony

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…

Speech in Support of the Big Cat Safety Act

| Posted in Speeches & Testimony

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…

Supporting the Hawai'i National Forest Study Bill

| Posted in Speeches & Testimony

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…