Representative Ed Case

Aloha, Friend.Every year on Capitol Hill and every two-year Congress have their rhythms and activity peaks, driven largely by the federal funding cycle and, in the second year of each Congress, by the impending elections and end of that Congress. And that's before we address the unexpected, like COVID-19 and Ukraine. This spring and into this summer are the busiest time of the current 117th Congress (2021-2022) for all of those reasons. Here are some of my current activities:1. Funding Hawaiʻi in Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 Appropriations. Even as we completed a very successful FY 22 federal appropriations cycle in funding for Hawaiʻi (click here), my office and I were already months into prepping our requests and other efforts for the fiscal year which begins this coming October 1st (FY23). Formal requests are all due later this week, and we have been working with partners throughout Hawai'i and reviewing our own outreach to our communities on needs to pursue. Our House Committee on Appropriations, on which I'm serving my fourth year, is responsible for taking the President's $5.8 trillion FY23 budget and all Member requests and molding them into an overall appropriations package for the year. We are aiming for U.S. House passage of that package by the end of June, and my Appropriations subcommittees are already deep into hearings and other deliberations toward that goal.2. Standing with Ukraine. Against the early odds, Russia's unprovoked, unjustified, inexcusable and tragic invasion of Ukraine has not resulted in the collapse of Ukraine, as incredibly brave and motivated Ukrainians are fighting into their third month to defend their sovereign, independent country. And against Russia's projections, most of the world has held together with increasingly severe sanctions, and with defense, and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine. Since the war began on February 24th, I have joined the great majority of my colleagues in Congress to pass several measures including suspending energy imports from Russia (click here), suspending normal trade relations with Russia and its wartime ally Belarus (click here), and authorizing a now-total $13.6 billion in assistance for Ukraine (click here), including the $800 million just released by Biden. This week the House will take up a further measure already passed by the Senate to create a Lend-Lease program authorizing quick resupply of Ukraine's war needs like the program that helped us win World War II. We must continue and increase all of these efforts, not just for Ukraine but to deter similar efforts by Russia and other authoritarian regimes elsewhere in the world.3. Navigating COVID-19. It is certainly good news that with the ebb in COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations and deaths our lives are returning to some normalcy. But the recent increases from the new BA.2.121 subvariant are a stark reminder that COVID-19 will remain a reality and risk for us all. Aside from the basic precautions we have all learned, the best protection by far remains vaccination including one booster and, especially for the elderly and at-risk, a second. In Congress, we continue to fund a range of COVID-19 responses including vaccinations across the country. In Hawai‘i, you can go to here for more information and a vaccine location. There are also regular vaccination pop-up events, including upcoming: International Marketplace (via Queen’s) every Thursday and Saturday; and the Filipino Community Center (via Kaiser) on Thursday, May 12th. For more information or assistance, please visit my website here or contact me at ed.case@mail.house.gov. 4. Tackling Inflation. We all are painfully aware of the great toll inflation is taking on our budgets and families. The national inflation rate now stands at 8.5% annually, with gas/energy, housing and food the largest contributors; in Hawai‘i we’ve seen 2.5% increases in just the last two months, and much higher in some areas. There’s no silver bullet that will end inflation now, as it is resulting from a number of related factors including increased demand, continuing shortages in housing and goods and supply chain disruptions, the war in Ukraine, low interest rates and federal COVID-19 emergency assistance still in our economy. It will take continued focus on each of these factors to bring inflation under control. In Congress, I’m focused on opening up supply chains both nationally and to Hawai‘i, especially oil/gas/food imports, on curbing unjustifiable price increases like prescription drugs, and on very careful further federal spending not to worsen inflation. 5. Preventing Crime. We are all also painfully aware of the disturbing increase in crime, especially violent crime, across our Hawai‘i. Although the prevention and prosecution of crime is largely the responsibility of state and local governments, our federal government has a major role in assisting with the funding and other tools of effective crime prevention and law enforcement. I have focused in my Appropriations Committee on assuring that federal crime prevention programs are fully funded and operating. These include, in our recently enacted FY22 appropriations measure, $3.9 billion in grants to state and local law enforcement, including $675 million for Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grants and $512 million for Community Oriented Policing Program (COPS) grants, and $297 million to the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Program (HIDTA), which are major sources of funding for our Honolulu Police Department and their partners statewide. 6. Representing Our Country Abroad. A critical part of my job is representing Congress and our country overseas, where the USA is largely welcomed and missed, where we can compare concerns and efforts and forge and strengthen partnerships on common goals, and where we can learn and bring home lessons on key issues for our own work. With COVID-19 subsiding internationally, I recently joined two bipartisan Congressional delegations to critical parts of our world. The first, as described here, I co-led to the Philippines, Papua New Guinea and Palau as Co-Chair of my House Pacific Islands Caucus to address Indo-Pacific issues, especially the challenge of China, with our friends and partners. The second, to Kenya, I joined as a member of my House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Oceans and Wildlife and our International Conservation Caucus, to see and talk firsthand with our partners about our joint efforts to save our earth’s endangered wildlife and how best to strengthen our laws and treaties to preserve our precious natural resources. In the remainder of this Congress I hope to return to the Indo-Pacific on other delegations as this is where our country’s past, present and future lie and our Hawai‘i has an inescapable central role.7. Reopening U.S. Capitol Tours. On the bright side, our U.S. Capitol and my office are now fully open again for visitors and tours. If you are planning a visit to Washington, D.C., we are happy to host you in my office (including time with me if I’m here), to help arrange a Capitol tour for you, or to just answer your questions on visiting our nation’s capital. More information here.As always, my office and I welcome your questions and comments and stand ready to assist you and yours wherever and however we can. Please go to our website at case.house.gov, email us at ed.case@mail.house.gov, or call us at (808) 650-6688.Best safe and be well.

Aloha, Friend.

Every year on Capitol Hill and every two-year Congress have their rhythms and activity peaks, driven largely by the federal funding cycle and, in the second year of each Congress, by the impending elections and end of that Congress. And that's before we address the unexpected, like COVID-19 and Ukraine. This spring and into this summer are the busiest time of the current 117th Congress (2021-2022) for all of those reasons. Here are some of my current activities:

1. Funding Hawaiʻi in Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 Appropriations. Even as we completed a very successful FY 22 federal appropriations cycle in funding for Hawaiʻi (click here), my office and I were already months into prepping our requests and other efforts for the fiscal year which begins this coming October 1st (FY23). Formal requests are all due later this week, and we have been working with partners throughout Hawai'i and reviewing our own outreach to our communities on needs to pursue. Our House Committee on Appropriations, on which I'm serving my fourth year, is responsible for taking the President's $5.8 trillion FY23 budget and all Member requests and molding them into an overall appropriations package for the year. We are aiming for U.S. House passage of that package by the end of June, and my Appropriations subcommittees are already deep into hearings and other deliberations toward that goal.

2. Standing with Ukraine. Against the early odds, Russia's unprovoked, unjustified, inexcusable and tragic invasion of Ukraine has not resulted in the collapse of Ukraine, as incredibly brave and motivated Ukrainians are fighting into their third month to defend their sovereign, independent country. And against Russia's projections, most of the world has held together with increasingly severe sanctions, and with defense, and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine. Since the war began on February 24th, I have joined the great majority of my colleagues in Congress to pass several measures including suspending energy imports from Russia (click here), suspending normal trade relations with Russia and its wartime ally Belarus (click here), and authorizing a now-total $13.6 billion in assistance for Ukraine (click here), including the $800 million just released by Biden. This week the House will take up a further measure already passed by the Senate to create a Lend-Lease program authorizing quick resupply of Ukraine's war needs like the program that helped us win World War II. We must continue and increase all of these efforts, not just for Ukraine but to deter similar efforts by Russia and other authoritarian regimes elsewhere in the world.

3. Navigating COVID-19. It is certainly good news that with the ebb in COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations and deaths our lives are returning to some normalcy. But the recent increases from the new BA.2.121 subvariant are a stark reminder that COVID-19 will remain a reality and risk for us all. Aside from the basic precautions we have all learned, the best protection by far remains vaccination including one booster and, especially for the elderly and at-risk, a second. In Congress, we continue to fund a range of COVID-19 responses including vaccinations across the country. In Hawai‘i, you can go to here for more information and a vaccine location. There are also regular vaccination pop-up events, including upcoming: International Marketplace (via Queen’s) every Thursday and Saturday; and the Filipino Community Center (via Kaiser) on Thursday, May 12th. For more information or assistance, please visit my website here or contact me at ed.case@mail.house.gov.

4. Tackling Inflation. We all are painfully aware of the great toll inflation is taking on our budgets and families. The national inflation rate now stands at 8.5% annually, with gas/energy, housing and food the largest contributors; in Hawai‘i we’ve seen 2.5% increases in just the last two months, and much higher in some areas. There’s no silver bullet that will end inflation now, as it is resulting from a number of related factors including increased demand, continuing shortages in housing and goods and supply chain disruptions, the war in Ukraine, low interest rates and federal COVID-19 emergency assistance still in our economy. It will take continued focus on each of these factors to bring inflation under control. In Congress, I’m focused on opening up supply chains both nationally and to Hawai‘i, especially oil/gas/food imports, on curbing unjustifiable price increases like prescription drugs, and on very careful further federal spending not to worsen inflation.

5. Preventing Crime. We are all also painfully aware of the disturbing increase in crime, especially violent crime, across our Hawai‘i. Although the prevention and prosecution of crime is largely the responsibility of state and local governments, our federal government has a major role in assisting with the funding and other tools of effective crime prevention and law enforcement. I have focused in my Appropriations Committee on assuring that federal crime prevention programs are fully funded and operating. These include, in our recently enacted FY22 appropriations measure, $3.9 billion in grants to state and local law enforcement, including $675 million for Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grants and $512 million for Community Oriented Policing Program (COPS) grants, and $297 million to the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Program (HIDTA), which are major sources of funding for our Honolulu Police Department and their partners statewide.

6. Representing Our Country Abroad. A critical part of my job is representing Congress and our country overseas, where the USA is largely welcomed and missed, where we can compare concerns and efforts and forge and strengthen partnerships on common goals, and where we can learn and bring home lessons on key issues for our own work. With COVID-19 subsiding internationally, I recently joined two bipartisan Congressional delegations to critical parts of our world. The first, as described here, I co-led to the Philippines, Papua New Guinea and Palau as Co-Chair of my House Pacific Islands Caucus to address Indo-Pacific issues, especially the challenge of China, with our friends and partners. The second, to Kenya, I joined as a member of my House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Oceans and Wildlife and our International Conservation Caucus, to see and talk firsthand with our partners about our joint efforts to save our earth’s endangered wildlife and how best to strengthen our laws and treaties to preserve our precious natural resources. In the remainder of this Congress I hope to return to the Indo-Pacific on other delegations as this is where our country’s past, present and future lie and our Hawai‘i has an inescapable central role.

7. Reopening U.S. Capitol Tours. On the bright side, our U.S. Capitol and my office are now fully open again for visitors and tours. If you are planning a visit to Washington, D.C., we are happy to host you in my office (including time with me if I’m here), to help arrange a Capitol tour for you, or to just answer your questions on visiting our nation’s capital. More information here.

As always, my office and I welcome your questions and comments and stand ready to assist you and yours wherever and however we can. Please go to our website at case.house.gov, email us at ed.case@mail.house.gov, or call us at (808) 650-6688.

Best safe and be well.

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