Aloha, Friend.
I’m wrapping up a busy August district work period back home and returning to Capitol Hill soon for a full September. With just four months remaining in the current 117th Congress (2021-2023), my top priority remains to advance the work of my House Committee on Appropriations on our upcoming Fiscal Year 2023 federal government funding measures, especially the many provisions benefiting Hawai’i. (Please review my recent news releases here for more information on my appropriations efforts.) I’m also focused on achieving other legislative goals I’ve worked on throughout the current and prior Congresses.
In this e-newsletter back to you, I summarize my Tele-Talk Story of last Thursday, September 1st, highlight the assistance my office offers and delivers to my constituents on individual questions and needs, and remind you that, under the rules of Congress, I cannot send you any further e-newsletters until after the general election unless you sign up here to receive them.
September 1st Tele-Talk Story.
A sincere mahalo to the thousands of you who joined another of my Tele-Talk Stories last Thursday evening. I truly value these opportunities to report back to you on my activities as your Congressman, get your guidance on issues we’re facing and answer your questions. Here is a full replay of my talk story. My introduction is until 8:37, then (8:37-16:00) I summarize the three parts of my job, then (16:00-37:00) I address the issues you have told me and I agree are most important (economy, crime/gun violence, inflation, environment/climate change, political division, Red Hill), then (37:00-1:30:00) I answer over thirty of your live questions. I welcome your further questions and comments at ed.case@mail.house.gov.
Highlighting Constituent Services.
My mission in Congress is to contribute to national leadership for our country and world, assure our Hawaii’s own needs are met, and help those I serve back home with your own questions and concerns. Here I’d like to highlight that third part of my job, which we call constituent services or sometimes casework.
All of us have some interaction with our government, whether refuse pickup or driver’s license issuance or tax payments or Social Security and Medicare benefits and more. Hopefully most of the time that goes pretty smoothly; our questions get answered and we get the services and benefits we paid for and need. But clearly some of the time that doesn’t happen; we can’t get answers to our questions, or government doesn’t provide what we think it should.
My office offers my constituents assistance in addressing unanswered and unresolved questions and needs. We can especially assist with issues with our federal government as I am your federal representative. These issues most commonly include Social Security, Medicare, veterans benefits, immigration and federal taxation, but they range right across the board. And while we don’t have as direct a role in state and local government issues, we can at least inquire for you or point you to the right contact including your state and county representatives.
Over the past three-and-a-half years, we have assisted some 6,900 constituents with their own cases. These are mostly individuals and their families, but also include businesses, non-profits and other organizations and community groups.
We cannot get government to make a decision that is contrary to law or regulations or standard policies. But we can help you get answers and action and help assure you’re being treated fairly and fully. And often, helping you guides us to needed reforms in the law or government programs which we then pursue in D.C.
There is one U.S. House rule we must follow: except in very narrow situations, I cannot provide individual casework services to someone who is not my direct constituent, meaning a resident of Hawaii’s First Congressional District (Urban Honolulu from Makapu’u to Mililani and Ko ‘Olina). In that case, we can still assist by referring you to our two U.S. Senators or your own U.S. Representative.
If you have any individual questions or needs you think we might be able to help you with, please feel free to contact us here. My office includes staff who specialize in assisting constituents with such issues, especially with federal agencies. We look forward to hearing from you.
Last E-Newsletter Until Our General Election Unless You Sign Up.
The Congressional “blackout period,” during which a Member cannot send out any official mass communications like this e-newsletter or texts or print mailers, is the sixty days before any election. However, e-newsletters can still be sent to folks who have signed up to receive them, and I can still contact and respond to individual constituents.
Since Hawaii’s general election is now just over sixty days away, I will not be sending any further print mail or text, and I will only send further e-newsletters to you if you are already signed up or sign up now. I hope you do so I can still keep in touch however I can throughout the blackout. Here’s how: E-Newsletter signup.
As always, I deeply appreciate your consideration and assistance as we all work to find the best way forward for our country and Hawai‘i. For more information on my efforts, and how we can help you, please visit my website at case.house.gov. If I can help you and yours with your own questions and needs, email us at ed.case@mail.house.gov, or call us at (808) 650-6688.
Be safe and be well.
