Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the University of Hawaii Rainbow Wahine women's volleyball head coach, Dave Shoji. The American Volleyball Coaches Association Hall of Fame recently announced that Coach Shoji will be inducted in December 2010 for his work at the University of Hawaii and for the success of the Rainbow Wahine women's volleyball team.

Coach Shoji is only the second coach in NCAA Division I women's volleyball history to reach the 1,000-win mark. He achieved this feat in 2009 and he continues to lead his team to victory. Throughout his years with the University of Hawaii, Coach Shoji captured four women's volleyball national championships, three NCAA Division I Crowns, and an AIAW title. It is evident that Coach Shoji's leadership and devotion to his team contributed to the 18 seasons with 30 or more wins for the Rainbow Wahine. He, personally, received 10 conference coach of the year awards, two AVCA National Coach of the Year awards, and an All- time Great Coach Award in the Donald Shondell Contemporary Division by USA Volleyball.

On behalf of the students, faculty, and citizens of the 1st Congressional District of Hawaii, I would like to extend my congratulations to Coach Shoji for his amazing achievements throughout his coaching career at the University of Hawaii.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H. Con. Res. 286, which was introduced by my friends from Texas, Mr. Edwards and Mr. Carter. This resolution recognizes the 235th birthday of the United States Army and honors the valor, commitment, and sacrifice that members of the United States Army, their families, and Army civilians have displayed throughout the history of the United States Army.

I personally also want to note what the recognition of the Army birthday means to myself and my district. Three things I want to point out to the floor: First off, of course, it is my honor to represent Hawaii's First Congressional District, which is home to the 25th Infantry Division of the United States Army. It is also home of U.S. Army Pacific, Tripler Army Medical Center, Fort Shafter and of course my Army Reserve unit. All of which I take great pride in representing here in the Congress.

Second, I think it speaks to the strength and vitality and greatness of our Nation and our Nation's Army that I, for myself, a child of immigrants from Thailand and China, had the privilege of calling myself an officer in the United States Army Reserve. It is a true testimony of the greatness of our Nation and the greatness of our Armed Forces that the child of immigrants would be allowed to serve as an officer in the most powerful fighting force the world has ever known.

Third and finally, of course, I am enormously humbled to call myself a Member of the House of Representatives, and I think it is also testimony of the greatness of our military, Armed Forces, and for the United States Army that I had the privilege earlier today of sitting in a hearing with General Petraeus discussing current actions and operations going on in Afghanistan.

I think one of the beauties of our Army today is the fact that our Army is professional; it is well-trained; and it also is under civilian control; and that even four-star generals have to answer to the elected officials of our Nation's people.

As a Member of the House Armed Services Committee and as a captain in the Reserve, I'm proud to speak in very strong support of this resolution.

On June 14, 1775, in Philadelphia, a weary group of Continental Congressmen worked by candlelight to lay out the provisions to form an Army. The result was a simple paragraph order for the colonial States to provide men and arms to continue an uphill fight against England. That simple paragraph order or resolution authorized the formation of 10 rifle companies, and thus began the formation and the beginnings of our United States Army.

Today, 235 years later, we continue to honor the commitment and duty of the Army soldiers who have risked their lives to preserve our freedom. They have left a lasting mark on this Nation. During the Army's 235-year history, tens of thousands of these brave young men and women have selflessly served on distant battlefields to keep our Nation safe.

I am particularly proud of the residents of Hawaii who have served and continue to serve in the Army on behalf of our Nation, as well as the many Reservists and Guardsmen, many of whom are my personal friends with whom I have served with honor and distinction. I salute them for their service to our great Nation.

Today, as our Nation continues to fight the global war on terror, the Army has been key to providing the military capabilities it needs to persist in the struggle for liberty and democracy. Through the efforts of the U.S. Army, the world has been made a more secure, prosperous, and better place for all of mankind. The courage and dedication of those soldiers and their families are an inspiration to us all, and may the rest of us endeavor to be ``Army Strong'' in our own lives.

I am honored to speak in favor of this resolution and urge my colleagues to join me in support of H. Con. Res. 286 and recognize the 235th birthday of the United States Army.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to my colleague from Texas (Mr. Carter).

Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, last month I left the Honolulu City Council for the great honor of entering this Chamber as a Member of the United State House of Representatives. Last week, my former chamber, the Honolulu City Council, passed its annual budget. The budget was $3.5 billion. My position is that the Honolulu City Council budget is too big, increased taxes by too much, and increased government size by far more than the citizens of the city and county of Honolulu could afford. But at least the city and county of Honolulu passed a budget. It was $3.5 billion. The Federal Government will spend that money in about 5 minutes.

Here today in mid-June, the United States Congress still has yet to pass a budget. If the Honolulu City Council, which I just departed, can pass a budget for $3.5 billion, which the Federal Government will spend in just a few minutes, it is the responsibility of our government here in the United States Congress to pass a budget. We are spending far too much money. Even worse than that, we are spending far too much money on programs that are not working. Even worse than that, we have no plans to pay it back. Let us get to work and pass a budget.

Mr. Speaker and colleagues, I'm rising to speak very briefly on the fiscal situation facing our Nation today.

Mr. Speaker and colleagues, I have the privilege of having won a special election in the State of Hawaii just a couple weeks ago. I'm the junior-most Member, of course, right now in the U.S. House of Representatives. But I ran on a very simple platform: that we need to put our fiscal house in order, that our government is spending far too much money, and the mentality here in Congress today is that of spend, spend, and spend some more and if that doesn't fix the problem, throw more money at it. That is, I believe, a recipe for a fiscal disaster.

I pledged to my constituents in the State of Hawaii that I will never ever forget that every single dollar the government spends comes from a family like yours. And right now, we're spending far too much of that money.

Mr. Speaker and colleagues, I want to highlight what transpired yesterday in the Budget Committee in the hearing by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.

In that hearing, during which I had the privilege of questioning the Federal Reserve chair, I thought he highlighted some very important measures that our Nation should take note of and this Congress must take note of.

The Federal Reserve chairman pointed out that currently our budget deficit here in the U.S. Congress, in his words, is not sustainable. The Federal Reserve chairman clearly articulated that we need more fiscal restraint, and right now unless the Federal Government gets a control of its enormous budget deficit, major problems and consequences will occur to our national economy.

The Federal Reserve chair pointed out to all of us right now that although a Federal budget deficit of hundreds of

billions of dollars--or in our case right now, trillions of dollars-- might be okay in the short term if there is a fix, over the long term it will seriously damage our Nation's economic growth prospects.

The Federal Reserve chair, when I asked him, pointed out that perhaps a budget deficit of about $300 billion could be sustained. We are, of course, looking today at a Federal budget deficit well in excess of $1 trillion--with no end in sight. And what's even more troubling to me is the Federal Reserve chairman pointed out to this Congress that we have no fix in place.

Mr. Speaker and colleagues, I want to reiterate and further urge all of the Members of this Congress as we go through this budgeting process--and it is a tragedy that this Congress has still yet to pass a budget--we have to exercise greater fiscal restraint, reduce the amount of enormous spending going on in this government. If we do not take care of our Nation's budget deficit, this budget deficit will take care of us.

I remind all of the Members of this Chamber we do not have to look any further than what's happening in the nation of Greece right now and the fiscal and enormous financial problems going on in Europe. If our Nation and our Congress do not restrain the spending, reduce taxes, and limit government, we will be in the same mess.

Mr. Speaker, I stand here today to encourage and request the United States Congress to immediately pass the free trade agreement with South Korea. This is an important measure that has languished too long before this Congress.

First and foremost, we need to pass this because it is important for our economy. Expanding free trade and opportunities for commerce for our Nation is critical in this time of an economic recession.

For my district in Hawaii, expanding free trade will directly help the tourist industry, the number one sector of my district. Second, South Korea has been a strong ally of the United States. It's important right now we stand alongside our important allies in the foreign fields. And third and finally, Mr. Speaker, given the recent instability in the Korean Peninsula and the aggression taken by North Korea, and as a Congressman who represents the first Congressional District in the flight arc of North Korea's missiles, it is important that we right now stand beside South Korea and pass this free trade agreement and pass it now.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of H.R. 5136, the fiscal year 2011 Defense Authorization Act, as approved unanimously by the Armed Services Committee. I am pleased today to give my first substantive speech as a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives.

It is a great honor to speak on the Defense Authorization Act, not only as a Member of Congress, but also as the Member who represents Hawaii's First Congressional District,the home of the U.S. Pacific Command, and speaking also, of course, as an Army Reservist. It is also my honor to be speaking on this measure the week before Memorial Day.

To defend America, we need the best-trained and best-equipped United States Armed Forces. I am pleased this bill attempts to ensure that the Department of Defense is fully equipped and well prepared to fight all of our current and future battles on behalf of our Nation.

I am pleased to support this particular resolution, which contains important measures for the Pacific Command, particularly, of course, for myself, representing Hawaii's First Congressional District, home of the United States Navy's Pacific Fleet, the U.S. Air Force's Pacific Air Force, and the 25th Infantry Division of the United States Army.

These measures and provisions contained in here will help defend the United States and the Asia-Pacific region from the looming threats to our national security, in particular the region right now in the Korean Peninsula, which I believe deserves our Nation's critical attention.

I am happy also to support the Republican efforts to deploy a comprehensive missile defense system. As the Representative from Hawaii, the one region which is in the flight arc of North Korea's ballistic missiles, this is an important development and something that I encourage the United States Congress to continue to develop further.

Madam Speaker, Leader Boehner, my colleague Congresswoman Hirono, Members of the House of Representatives, aloha.

Today, I am extraordinarily humbled to have the incredible honor of entering the United States House of Representatives. And I understand with this incredible honor comes incredible responsibility, and I feel privileged to call myself a colleague of all of yours.

The reason I am here today, however, is not because of anything that I have done but, instead, thanks must go to a whole bunch of individuals who put an enormous effort to helping me become a Member.

First and foremost, I want to thank my family, my parents, who raised me, my wonderful children, Nicholas, Victoria and Alexandria. They are the reason I get up every morning and consider myself so blessed to have so much and driven to do so much more. And most of all, my wife, Stacey, who is my confidante, my best friend, my most trusted adviser and the reason I go on every day and the reason I am so successful.

Second, of course, I want to thank all of my hardworking volunteers. It is only because of their enormous amount of hard work, standing with me in the hot sun, doing the unique Hawaiian practice of sign waving, coupled with going door to door with me and phone-banking, that I was able to communicate my message to the voters of Hawaii.

Third, I want to thank the voters from Hawaii for bestowing upon me this incredible privilege. I want all of the voters to know that every single day I have the privilege of serving them I will never, ever forget the trust and confidence they have vested in me.

And, finally, I want to thank the American people. It is a testimony to the greatness of the United States of America that I, a son of immigrants from China and Thailand, have the privilege of calling myself a Member of the United States Congress.

It is a testimony to the greatness of our Nation that, had I been born in the home nation of either one of my parents, the idea of calling myself the maker of laws in my parents' home nation would be laughable. But it is because of the good fortune that I was born and today call myself an American that I have this amazing privilege.

I am eager to start work, eager to work with all of you. I look forward to beginning the hard work of doing good, bringing change and restoring our Nation to prosperity. Thank you all very much.

And as we say in Hawaii, mahalo aloha, best wishes.