Aloha, Friend. Congress is in a “lame duck session,” meaning the period every two years after an election and before the start of the new two-year Congress in early January.  A lame duck is always an intense time, as we try to complete the work of the current Congress and get organized and prepare for the new Congress. It is especially so when January will bring a Presidential transition, and particularly this year as so much about the Trump administration, which begins January 20, 2025, is uncertain.  My goal as always amidst the division and confusion is to remain focused on where and how I can contribute to solving our national challenges, helping our Hawai‘i and helping my constituents with your own concerns. Here I report on just some of my current activities, and again ask you in the survey below to tell me your priorities and to grade my performance as your U.S. Representative. National issues. My current focus on Capitol Hill is on completing three large legislative efforts that all impact Hawai‘i significantly. The first, as I complete my sixth year on our House Committee on Appropriations, responsible for all federal discretionary funding, is our current Fiscal Year 2025 appropriations process, where I have included many funding provisions for Hawai‘i (see here). The second is the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), our annual defense authorization measure, with key provisions for Hawai‘i and the Indo-Pacific (see here). The third is the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), with key harbor, flood control and other infrastructure provisions for Hawai‘i, including Honolulu Harbor (see here). Hawai‘i activities. In our Hawai‘i, I recently sent this report here and held an in-person open community meeting for our 100,000-plus veterans ‘ohana at the O‘ahu Veterans Center (see here for a replay of our discussion). At the request of many constituents, I also conducted a live webinar on our transition to clean renewable energy with my federal and state government partners (see here for a replay). I also sent this Kupuna Report here to my age 65+ constituents. I further joined many in welcoming Taiwan President Lai Ching-te (William Lai) to Honolulu (see here for my remarks of aloha and on our U.S./Hawai‘i/-Taiwan relationship). Constituent services. Helping you with your own questions and concerns is ongoing all year round every year regardless of our Congressional cycle. My office has passed through 1,150 individual constituent matters completed this year and 10,000 since I returned to Congress in 2019. We can especially help on issues with our federal government like veterans and Social Security benefits, immigration and taxation, but we will try to assist with any issue if and as we can. Here is more information on my Constituent Services. Your input; anonymous online survey. I continue to value and seek your input wherever and however I can. As part of my efforts, in 2024 I held 24 live in-person or online talk story community meetings, webinars and roundtables to share my efforts, answer your questions and listen to your concerns, and I will be holding six more in-person Talk Stories to kick off 2025 (details in my upcoming end-of-2024 report). I also ask for your current input through another anonymous online survey Click here for survey. In this survey, I ask for your current priorities as well as your views on specific issues I face in Congress, and for your rating of my performance as your Representative. I sincerely appreciate your participation in this survey as it will help me tremendously to continue to represent you and our Hawai‘i and country as best as I possibly can as we enter an uncertain 2025. I will continue to rely on you for your guidance and to pursue every opportunity to let you know what I’m doing on Capitol Hill, to answer your questions, and to listen to and act on your concerns. The best ways into my office and activities remain my website at case.house.gov, my email at ed.case@mail.house.gov, or my Honolulu office at (808) 650-6688. My great Capitol Hill and Honolulu staff and I wish you and yours only the best of the Holidays and New Year.