This 116th Congress (2019-2020) is not even three months old yet, but both my office and Congress have ramped up to full speed.

My mission as your United States Congressman is to (1) contribute to responsible and sound national leadership for our country and world, (2) assure that Hawaii's needs are addressed by our federal government, and (3) assist you and your communities with your individual concerns. These all require that I say in close contact with you, keep you informed of my thoughts and activities, and listen to your views and concerns wherever and however I can.

This is to update you on some of my activities, let you know how to contact me, and ask for your input. please also visit my web site at https://case.house.gov, sign up for my regular e-newsletter at https://case.house.gov/contact, and join me at my April Talk Story with Congressman Ed Case events throughout our district. Details are below.

Friday, April 5, 2019

Time: 6:30-8:30PM Location: Central Middle School Cafeteria, 1302 Queen Emma Street, Honolulu

Saturday, April 6, 2019

Time: 9:30-11:30AM Location: ‘Āina Haina Elementary School Cafeteria, 801 West Hind Drive, Honolulu

Time: 1:30-3:30PM Location: Farrington High School Cafeteria, 1564 North King Street, Honolulu

Sunday, April 7, 2019

Time: 9:30-11:30AM Location: August Ahrens Elementary School, Cafeteria, 94-1170 Waipahu St, Waipahu         

Time: 1:30-3:30PM Location: Campbell High School Cafeteria, 91-980 North Rd, ‘Ewa Beach/Kapolei

Right after I took the oath of office on January 3^rd, I followed up on my commitment to fixing our broken government by co-introducing the very first piece of legislation in this new Congress – HR 1, the “For the People Act". For a description of the bill, please click here. This historic reform package seeks to restore the consent of the governed to our democracy. When it came before the full House, I offered a floor amendment that essentially takes power away from large amount insider donors. Please click here for my floor remarks and floor speech. My amendment was approved, HR 1 passed the House, and I will continue to work with all my colleagues and others who believe we must find a better way forward in governance.

Protecting a Fair Appropriations Process and Hawaii's Critical Needs

Under our Constitution, federal spending must originate in Congress and annual appropriations must begin in the House. The House Appropriations Committee, of which I am a member, is responsible for fairly prioritizing and allocating about $1.4 trillion in federal spending each year. Congress' responsibilities were challenged when the President declared an emergency on our southern border and then asserted authority to divert billions in already-appropriated federal military spending priorities to pay for his proposed border security, including close to $500 million in critical Hawai‘i projects. I joined a majority of my House and Senate colleagues on both sides of the aisle in formal disagreement with the emergency declaration, and also spoke against the diversion of funding in Appropriations Committee hearings (click on link to my questioning here) My fears were realized when the Waiawa water pipeline that provides most of the fresh water to more than 90,000 people living and working at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam broke. It was this very pipeline that was one of the critical already-appropriated projects that the President identified for funding diversion. After inspecting the break, I personally called Phyllis L. Bayer, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Energy, Installations, and Environment, and communicated how critical this project is to our military and civilian communities, and to emphasize the importance of maintaining full funding. Other examples of my work on Appropriations are on my web site at https://case.house.gov.

Protecting our Natural Heritage

In addition to Appropriations, I serve on the Committee on Natural Resources, with jurisdiction over interests critical to our island home, including oceans, wilderness areas national parks and endangered species.  As a member of Natural Resources, I supported what became the most sweeping measure to protect our national heritage in at least a decade.  The Natural Resources Management Act will protect approximately 1.3 million acres of wilderness and close to 700,000 acres of recreation and conservation lands nationwide.

The other item of interest is the designation of the Arizona Memorial as a separate site within the National Park Service. The Memorial, together with the Visitor Center, the memorials to the USS Utah and USS Oklahoma, and other structures in Pearl Harbor, will now be able to function as one unit which will greatly improve their operations. Other examples of my work on Natural Resources are on my website at https://case.house.gov.

I am also taking aim at returning our country to the same fiscally sustainable path that every responsible business and household must follow for their financial health and survival. Our national debt has now surpassed $22 trillion, an increase of fully $13 trillion over the $9 trillion debt when I least served in Congress in 2007 and growing at about $1 trillion annually. How bad is it? The interest on our debt is the fastest growing part of our budget - not defense, not education, not Medicare.

As the co-chair of a Task Force on Fiscal Responsibility and Government Reform, I called on my House colleagues at a recent hearing convened by the Budget Committee (click on the link here) to adopt a fiscally responsible budget for the upcoming Fiscal Year 2020. Such a budget would focus our core functions and discretionary priorities within our means. It would require whole-budget, long-term approach with bipartisan solutions to one of the most challenging issues facing our country.