Aloha, Friend.
I returned to Capitol Hill this week following a very full August district work period
back home to face various critical issues in the remainder of the current 119th
Congress (which ends January 3, 2027). Here is a quick report on just a few of
those issues and a request that you take my anonymous survey below on what
you think.
Appropriations. For my House Appropriations Committee, which funds our federal
government, our most urgent matter was to prevent another government shutdown
when our current fiscal year ends September 30th. We did forge and pass a
continuing resolution which will keep the government open, all employees
employed and all programs funded through December 11th, which will give us time
to complete our regular appropriations measures for upcoming Fiscal Year (FY)
2027. There’s more on my FY 2027 appropriations efforts across the federal
government here: https://case.house.gov/news/.
Affordability/Cost of Living. Amidst all of the various issues and noise, my own
priority remains our unacceptably high cost of living, especially in our Hawai‘i. My
focus remains threefold: (1) breaking down the overall cost into its individual
causes and then going after each cause (such as unacceptably high shipping
costs which affect everything else, and opposing the Trump tariffs which drive up
costs across the board); 2) maximizing federal support for our Hawai‘i wherever
and however possible to ease cost burdens; and 3) improving our economy and
jobs both nationally and throughout Hawai‘i to help us all with affordability. Here’s
more on my Congressional efforts to address this top concern:
https://case.house.gov/issues/issue/?IssueID=14945.
Mail-In Voting. Hawai‘i has led the country in safe, reliable, secure and convenient
mail-in voting, with some 98% of our voting by mail. Unfortunately, the Trump
administration has made various false claims about mail-in voting and has
consistently sought to undermine it. Its latest effort is to mandate the U.S. Postal
Service (USPS) to take certain actions which would obstruct mail-in voting;
besides being bad policy, this preempts Congress’ exclusive authority over voting.
Various entities including the State of Hawai‘i have sued to prevent this effort and
allow us to continue as we have. I have joined other colleagues in filing an amicus
brief in court as Members of Congress supporting this lawsuit, and separately in
directing USPS not to proceed with the effort. See the copy of our letter to USPS:
https://case.house.gov/uploadedfiles/uspsletter.pdf.
Trump Opposition. More broadly, I continue to work with the current administration
and Congressional majority where I can. But I have also continued to oppose them
across a broad range of issues, from my votes in my Appropriations Committee
and full House, my proposed legislation, my speeches and other public
statements, and my joint initiatives with like-minded House colleagues, to my
joining legal actions against the administration and more. Here is a 288-page
summary of some of my opposing actions:
https://case.house.gov/uploadedfiles/trump_joint_letters_key_votes_20260902.pdf.
What Do You Think? Confidential Districtwide Constituent Survey. I need to know
what you, as a fellow citizen who I represent in Congress, think about these and
other issues. I especially want to check in on your own priorities, concerns and
questions. Will you please help me by completing this anonymous online survey
here (https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MWH2GZC)? Please note that, as this is
an anonymous survey, I will not be able to respond directly to your comments, so
please email me at ed.case@mail.house.gov if you would like a response.
Mahalo for your continued engagement and guidance. The best way to keep up
with what I’m doing, provide your concerns, get your questions answered and ask
for assistance is by visiting my website at https://case.house.gov/. Please also feel
free to call my Honolulu office at (808) 650-6688 or email me at
ed.case@mail.house.gov.
