Aloha, Friend. With completion of the general election, the sixty-day pre-election “blackout period” during which Members of Congress cannot send mass communications to constituents is over and I can resume my districtwide e-newsletters to you. Detailed election results will take days if not weeks. However, it is clear that the upcoming two-year 120th Congress, which convenes January 3rd of next year, will bring a divided government in which one party is no longer in control of all of the Presidency, U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives. That means major change is coming to Capitol Hill in 2027. But we still have two months left of the current 119th Congress, and I return to DC with my colleagues next week for the “lame duck session” to refocus on the critical priorities facing us all. My own immediate priority, as a member of our House Committee on Appropriations responsible for federal funding, is to complete our annual appropriations process for current Fiscal Year 2027. Congress must do so by December 11th; otherwise, unless we do another temporary funding extension, we face still another government shutdown. I am fully committed to avoiding that result. My other priorities continue to be directed by your own guidance. Most recently, I greatly appreciate the thousands of you who took the time to respond to my districtwide survey just before the blackout. Here are the results: What is most concerning you? (Top ten listed)Cost of living/inflation                      59%Corruption in government               49%Trump administration                      38%Social Security/Medicare                34%Healthcare                                      30%Environment/climate                       28%         Federal deficits/debt                       27%         Iran war                                           23%         Economy/business/jobs                  20%         Civil rights/justice                            20% Which costs most concern you? (Top five listed)          Healthcare                                      64%         Food/clothing/household                63%         Housing                                          56%         Utilities                                            54%         Education                                       17% What should we do regarding Ukraine?          Increase U.S. aid for defense/humanitarian needs                        41%         Current approach (aid but no troops) adequate          31%Decrease U.S. aid to Ukraine           8%         Increase humanitarian but not defense aid                                       4%Deploy U.S. troops to Ukraine          2% What should we do regarding Iran?          Cease military action against Iran  46%         Mixed responses                            21%         Continue President’s current actions                                            17%         Continue war if Congress authorizes                                       17% All of these matters and more directly face us over the next two months of the remaining 119th Congress. For what I’ve done and am doing in Congress to address each, please go to https://case.house.gov. Clearly, though, my top overall priority remains the cost of living and inflation. There is no one silver bullet and there is no magic immediate solution. My focus remains threefold: (1) break down the overall cost into its individual causes and then go after each cause; 2) maximize federal support for our Hawai‘i wherever and however possible to ease cost burdens; and 3) improve our economy and jobs both nationally and throughout Hawai‘i to help us all with affordability. Here is a more detailed summary of my efforts on affordability: https://case.house.gov/issues/issue/?IssueID=14945.As always, I deeply value your questions and input. Please email me at ed.case@mail.house.gov with your thoughts or if my great staff and I can be of any assistance. For more on our activities and services go to: https://case.house.gov. In these times of continued challenge, I wish you and yours only the best as we come into Thanksgiving and the holiday season.