Aloha, Friend.Last night, for my seventh time, I sat in the chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives among colleagues and other leaders of our government as our President addressed the State of the Union here (last year’s, my eighth, was remote). As always, I reflected on the hundreds of millions of fellow citizens and the billions around the world who looked on that night to that room, to our government, and to our country for leadership.Leadership is demanded and forged far more in times of change and challenge than of stability and calm. By that measure, amidst a changing and unstable world, there have been few times in our history where we have been so called upon to lead a better way forward.President Biden started where he needed to: Russia’s premeditated, unprovoked, malicious invasion of the sovereign and independent country of Ukraine. This attack not only breached a peace that has largely held in Europe for three generations since the Second World War, but violates every principle of the international rules-based order that for those three generations has largely kept that peace and fostered advancement around the world.Russia attacked not only the people of Ukraine; it attacked democracy and the foundations of our government and way of life and of those around the world who share our path. As such, whether Russia’s invasion stands will determine not only the fate of Ukraine and its incredibly brave peoples, but the direction of our world for generations. For if it does stand, we will certainly see more Ukraines by Russia and its autocratic friends.All of this matters not only for our world and country, but for our Hawai’i specifically. Our past, present and future lie with our ‘ohana throughout the Indo-Pacific, where China and other countries are increasingly following the same path of Russia, a far different path that we have pursued with our friends and allies and all who share our values and goals. As the Indo-Pacific goes on these two paths, so will we be directly affected. So yes, Ukraine matters to us.In the past week not only has much of our world come together to oppose Russia’s actions, but so has our divided and polarized government. Just hours ago the U.S. House passed this resolution here affirming our full support for the people of Ukraine. We are supporting the delivery of assistance in all forms to Ukraine, from defense to economic and humanitarian, and the imposition of the most severe sanctions on Russia. In the coming weeks, through my Appropriations Committee and otherwise, we will fund further emergency assistance to Ukraine to support them through what will be an even more difficult phase of this invasion.As President Biden emphasized directly, all of this will come at costs to us, for in an interconnected world sanctions on others also have a negative effect back home. We can expect direct impacts in areas like the prices of energy and other goods where we are cutting off imports from Russia, and in areas of our economy (mostly not in Hawai’i) that are dependent on exports to Russia. Putin and others are betting that we will not stay the course on sanctions because of those effects, but the bottom line is that the consequences of letting this stand will be far worse to us over time than the consequences of opposing Russia now.In other parts of his speech, President Biden addressed directly the difficult real-world issues families and communities are facing across the country, from crippling inflation to a still-shaky economy to a fraying social safety net for those in need to rising crime to just facing too much uncertainty and anxiety every day. It would have been a mistake to sugar-coat any of these, as politicians sometimes do. He didn’t make that mistake, but instead acknowledged them and offered specific plans to address them. But as the old saying goes, “the President proposes, but Congress disposes," and it is our kuleana to continue to work with the administration and our country to determine and implement the specifics.Speaking of which, for me the President was at his best when he spoke to our ability, if not the necessity, of moving forward together, especially as we begin to truly emerge from the shadow of COVID-19. In just the last year, the President and Congress worked on a bipartisan basis to pass the American Rescue Plan, which saw us through the darkest days of the pandemic, and the $1.2 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Package, which is already yielding hundreds of millions of dollars to Hawai’i to upgrade our crumbling infrastructure. He rightly asked: if we can overcome polarization and division to achieve these clear successes, if we can unite against Russia, then why can’t we do the same for our most intractable challenges, like climate change, or immigration reform, voting rights, federal deficits and debt, growing inequality and tax fairness. I believe we must, and I believe we can. I will continue to need and welcome your guidance, input and questions as I pursue these goals.February 2022 Congressional Survey ResultsIn that regard, in my last newsletter here I again asked you to assist me by responding to another anonymous survey. I deeply appreciate the many of you who read my e-newsletter and responded, and assure you that I also read the many individual comments. As with previous surveys, I share the results along with some quick comments. Please note especially that this survey went out February 7th and a lot has changed in just the past few weeks. Still, the results show again how broad and diverse are the perspectives and needs of the some 750,000 Americans I represent in the U.S. House, and are invaluable to my own work. Mahalo!What are your top five priorities/concerns for our country and Hawai’i? (You were asked to check no more than five; here are the top fifteen.)Inflation/cost of living                                                  37%Environment (including climate change)                     36%Crime and public safety                                              33%Economy and jobs                                                      29%Political division/polarization/gridlock                         24%Housing                                                                      22%Federal budget/deficits/debt                                       22%Education                                                                    22%Civil rights and justice                                                 22%Health care                                                                 21%COVID-19                                                                   21%Size and cost of government                                      20%Immigration                                                                 19%Social security/Medicare                                             18%Taxes                                                                          17%(These match my own priorities, except that I would especially add national defense, which I believe would be a much higher priority if asked today. I have pursued various actions in each of these and many other areas. For more information, please see my website at case.house.gov or contact me ed.case@mail.house.gov.)              How much are you being affected by inflation and higher costs of living?Somewhat affected                                                      52%Seriously affected                                                        36%Not affected                                                                 10%Other                                                                             2%(Clearly, with some 90% of us affected in some way by inflation and the accelerating cost of living in Hawai’i, this must remain one of our most urgent priorities. As I discussed in my last e-newsletter here, there is no one silver bullet and we must pursue various solutions to various parts of the problem all at once.)If you are being affected by inflation and higher living costs, which areas are affecting you most? (You were asked to check all that apply.)Food                                                                            83%Transportation/auto/gas                                              64%Household goods and supplies                                   62%Utilities/electricity                                                         47%Housing                                                                       36%Health care                                                                  28%Recreation                                                                   11%Education                                                                      7%Other                                                                             7%(This confirmed for me the specific areas and related initiatives to be pursued. But I do note again that in each area there are specific initiatives at the state and county level, which for me means that it is all the more important to coordinate my efforts with my colleagues back home.)Which one of the following describes your job status?Other (mostly retired or self-employed)                      37%Employed and not looking for another job                  37%Employed but looking for another job/change            12%Not employed but not looking for a job                       11%Not employed and looking for a job                             3%(This response matches the rest of our country, where although many have returned to good work and work is available, there remain too many jobs which do not provide adequately, as well as too many jobs going unfilled. Federal policies are key to addressing both challenges.) What is your view on current COVID restrictions?Should be maintained at current levels                      37%Should not be any restrictions                                    22%Should be loosened                                                   19%Should be expanded and tightened                           11%Other                                                                          11%(I suspect this answer may be different today, as the last few weeks have seen a rapid decline in COVID infections nationally and in Hawai’i, which has been (I believe correctly) followed by loosened guidelines and restrictions at the federal, state and local level. Still, it also emphasizes that we cannot let down our guard altogether as we are certainly not out of the pandemic.) Which one of the following describes your current COVID-19 booster status?Got a booster shot                                                      78%Haven’t gotten any vaccination shots                           7%Haven’t gotten yet because don’t think need                7%Other                                                                             7%Haven’t gotten yet: not enough time yet                       1%Haven’t gotten yet: haven’t gone yet                            1%Haven’t gotten yet: don’t know how                              1%(Here the percentage saying you had a booster is higher than the actual number (56% of eligible residents), meaning that folks responding to my survey were boosted more than overall or that they thought it meant any shot. Regardless, the point is that vaccination information, availability and application was widespread, as a result of which Hawai’i has very high vaccination rates, including the highest rate of fully vaccinated adults 18-64, the second highest for children 12-17, and the 4th highest booster rates among the states. This was and remains key to our progress through COVID-19.)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.