Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, aloha and annyong ha shimnikka!

I rise today in strong support of H. Res. 487, which supports the goals and ideals of Korean American Day and, in doing so, recognizes the rich history of Korean immigration to our country dating back well over a century now and the broad and deep contributions of Korean Americans to all facets of our diverse American life.

The history of our country's Korean American community is commonly traced to January 13, 1903, when the SS Gaelic arrived in Honolulu Harbor carrying our first immigrants from Korea. The 56 men, 21 women, and 25 children who stepped onto my Hawaii's shores that day marked the beginning of the remarkable Korean cultural thread that has woven itself so deeply and uniquely into our American tapestry.

Today, 1.2 million Americans of Korean ancestry live throughout our Nation, with 41,000 in Hawaii alone. Korean American contributions in our Hawaii, built on the foundation of dedication and sacrifice by their predecessors, have been notable in a plethora of fields, ranging from government, law, finance, technology, medicine, and business, to arts, sports, education, and military service.

As just some examples, Chief Justice Ronald Moon of the Hawaii Supreme Court is the first Korean American in our country to serve on a state supreme court. Others are recipients of the Hawaii Korean American Foundation's 2005 Light of the Orient Award: Hawaii County Mayor Harry Kim, Honolulu City Councilwoman Ann Kobayashi, community advocates Agnes Rho Chun, Reverend Tongjin Samuel Lee, Frank Min, Evelyn Choi Shon, and Duk Hee Lee Murabayashi. And, of course, our most well-known American of Korean ancestry is professional golfer Michelle Wie.

But what proud father would not take the opportunity as well to highlight his own two favorite Korean Americans: James Kahele Case and David Espenett Case. My sons carry a quarter Korean ethnicity gifted them by their grandmother, Grace Moon, who emigrated to Hawaii from Korea shortly after the Korean War, and so join this great community in the responsibility of bringing forward this great heritage, American style, into the coming generations.

In closing, I thank Congressmen Tom Davis, Charles Rangel, Michael Capuano, and Ed Royce, the chief sponsors of this measure, for providing us all with this opportunity to recognize the many contributions of Korean Americans, past, present and future. Kamsamnida to them, and to all Korean Americans, wherever you might be.

Mr. Speaker, colleagues and fellow Americans, aloha and mabuhay.

I rise today to provide richly deserved recognition in the Halls of our Nation's Congress for a great people and culture whose century-old journey on our shores has personified the very essence of our American experience. I speak in strong support of H. Con. Res. 218 which I introduced with the co-sponsorship of many like-minded colleagues to recognize the centennial of sustained immigration from the Philippines to our country and to acknowledge the incredible contributions of Filipino-Americans to our country over the last century. And I do so with great pride and deep humility as the representative of the congressional district with the most Filipino-Americans and the State with the largest percentage of Filipino-Americans nationally and with sincere gratitude to my cosponsors, to Government Reform Chair Davis and Ranking Member Waxman, to the gentlemen from Utah and Illinois, and to our collective leadership for bringing this measure to this floor expeditiously.

Mr. Speaker, those whose heritage lies in the great archipelago of the Philippines have journeyed to our country and lived among us for centuries. But the modern day Filipino-American immigrant experience which has given rise to our current day Filipino-American community traces its roots to December 1906 when 15 Filipino contract laborers, or sakadas, arrived from Luzon aboard the ship Doric and began work in the sugar cane fields of Keaau on the Island of Hawaii.

In the same year, the first class of pensionados arrived from the Philippines to gain an education with the intent of returning home, although many stayed on.

These early sakada and pensionado roots sparked a sustained emigration from the Philippines to the United States which, over the last century, has numbered upwards of 60,000 a year, marking Filipinos as our second largest immigrant group from the Asia-Pacific region. Many continued to emigrate to Hawaii to work in the sugar

fields. The Hawaii Sugar Planters Association records reflect over 125,000 immigrants from the Philippines up to the year 1946 alone, and they form the base of today's 275,000 Filipino-Americans living in Hawaii, well over 20 percent of our total population. As previously noted, it is not just my State which has benefited from the growth and maturity of our Filipino-American community, which now numbers 2.4 million nationwide, including 1.1 million in California alone.

But it is in Hawaii where the full extent of the trials and tribulations and accomplishments and successes of Filipino-Americans has played out over the past century. Early generations worked long and back-breaking hours to bring the means to bring their families to Hawaii. And then those generations fought for basic rights and benefits on the plantations of Hawaii. And then they began to move beyond the plantations into other aspects of Hawaii society and to take advantage of the equalizing opportunity of education. And then those generations who benefited from the foundation of their forefathers built a broader base in the political, economic and social fabric of Hawaii until, a century later, the successes, both individually and collectively, are everywhere.

Just some of the past few decades in Hawaii alone: Benjamin Cayetano, Governor; Benjamin Menor, Mario Ramil, and Simeon Acoba, justices of the Hawaii Supreme Court; Daniel Kihano and Robert Bunda, speaker of the Hawaii State House and Senate, respectively; Angela Baraquio, Miss America; Antonio Taguba, general, United States Army; Eduardo Malapit and Lorraine Rodero-Inouye, mayors; Emme Tomimbang, TV news anchor; Benny Agbayani, professional baseball player.

These are just some of the more recognizable names, for Hawaii's Filipino-Americans are succeeding like their mainland counterparts throughout the full range of our society, from our military where Filipino-Americans have demonstrated decades of bravery and loyalty to our country and have one of the highest enlistment rates, to the professions, entertainment, business and well beyond.

Last weekend, Hawaii's Filipino-American community and its many admirers and friends kicked off a yearlong celebration of its centennial under the leadership of the Filipino Centennial Celebration Commission, Elias Beniga, chair. This weekend, we will dedicate a marker to the original sakadas at Keaau, where it all began. And nationally, our Smithsonian is undertaking a yearly celebration as well, titled the Filipino American Story, a Century of Challenge and Change, with commemorative events, exhibits and educational opportunities here in Washington, D.C., and at other sites nationally.

Mr. Speaker, I am sure that neither the original sakadas nor many who followed them here could have envisioned what the last century reaped for them and theirs, nor that we would all stand here today and over the next year to commemorate an incredible century, nor that we would collectively look forward with such eager anticipation to the story our Filipino-American community will write over the next century. Yet that is exactly what we are doing and should do for this is the story not just of Filipino-Americans, but the story of our America. Mahalo, dios ti agnina, and salamat po.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 798, the Methamphetamine Remediation Research Act of 2005, which I was pleased to cosponsor originally.

I commend the dedicated work of the Science Committee in bringing this bipartisan bill to the floor today. I would also like to thank Congressmen Bart Gordon, Ben Calvert, and Committee Chairman Sherwood Boehlert, the bill's chief sponsors, for their leadership on this issue.

Last year, 30 methamphetamine labs--including sites where only the chemical were found--were seized in Hawaii. While I fully understand that this number is small in comparison to other states in our country, the number of methamphetamine laboratories is unfortunately growing in our more isolated rural communities like those in Hawaii's Second Congressional District.

H.R. 798 would provide federal support and guidance to our states with rapidly expanding number of closed methamphetamine laboratory sites. The bill would require the Environmental Protection Agency to develop the voluntary guidelines for use by state and local officials and would establish a research program to address the environmental effects from contamination caused by methamphetamine labs and examine ways to clean up such labs and minimize adverse health effects. H.R. 798 would also direct the National Institute of Standards and Technology to conduct research into methamphetamine detection technologies and calls for a separate study by the National Academy of Sciences to examine research on the effects that methamphetamine labs have on the residents of the buildings in which the laboratories were located.

I look forward to continuing to work with any likeminded colleagues on our Congressional Methamphetamine Caucus and otherwise to provide the federal support we need in our collective fight against the national crisis of crystal methamphetamine.

Mahalo (thank you) for this opportunity to express support for H.R. 798.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1492, which I am truly honored, especially representing Hawaii, the State with the highest number of Americans of Japanese ancestry, to cosponsor.

I, like others, express my deepest appreciation on behalf not only of our AJAs, but all Americans, to the gentleman from California (Mr. Thomas), the gentleman from California (Mr. Honda), the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Matsui), the gentleman from California (Mr. Pombo) and the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Rahall), for bringing this vital measure before the people's House.

The internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II is a tragic and shameful chapter in our history, replete with misunderstanding by too many and courage by too few. Although AJAs on the U.S. mainland, particularly the west coast, bore the brunt of this national mistake, Japanese-Americans throughout our country were affected.

After Pearl Harbor, about 10,000 people in Hawaii were investigated, and almost 1,500, mostly AJAs, were detained on all of Hawaii's main islands. The principal camps were at Sand Island and Honouliuli on Oahu. I attach to these remarks a compelling article from the June 2, 2004, Honolulu Star-Bulletin reporting the remembrances of some of Hawaii's surviving detainees.

Mr. Speaker, it is right and appropriate that we provide for permanent memorials of this difficult time, when good people did bad things out of fear and ignorance. I especially appreciate that among these memorials will be Honouliuli, so that the people of Hawaii and elsewhere may put a place and a reality to the words of Harry Urata, of Hawaii, who said: ``They made a mistake. Everybody makes mistakes. But don't repeat that.''

Mahalo.

[From the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, June 2, 2004]

The WWII Internments--``A Sad Time . . . A Challenging Time''

(By Rosemarie Bernardo)

In March 1943, FBI agents arrived at the Honolulu Planning

Mill in Kakaako where Shozo Takahashi worked as a woodworker.

Authorities issued Takahashi a warrant for his arrest, but

allowed him to go home to pick up some of his belongings. His

brother and wife dropped him off at the FBI office, where he

was questioned.

Takahashi was then taken to the immigration station, where

he was photographed and fingerprinted. All the while, he

wondered what he had done to be treated like a criminal.

But it would take the federal government 45 years to tell

Takahashi why it detained him at the Honouliuli internment

camp.

An exhibit will open Saturday at the Japanese Cultural

Center of Hawaii, 2454 S. Beretania St., telling the story of

Takahashi and other Japanese Americans who were detained at

internment camps in Hawaii during Word War II.

Takahashi and other former internees are expected to attend

the opening from 1 to 3 p.m.

``Dark Clouds Over Paradise: The Hawaii Internees Story''

will be displayed in the center's community gallery Tuesdays

through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. until July 31.

Admission is free.

Many people are not familiar with the history of Japanese

Americans who were held in internment camps in Hawaii, said

Keiko Bonk, president and executive director of the Japanese

Cultural Center.

The detained Japanese ``had to ask themselves these serious

questions of who they were and where they belong and how

these things could be happening to them,'' Bonk said.

``It was quite a sad time, as well as a challenging time

for the Japanese community,'' she said.

The Japanese have to speak and educate people about the

injustices, Bonk added.

About 10,000 people in Hawaii were investigated shortly

after the Pearl Harbor attack. Buddhist priests, ministers,

Japanese school principals and community leaders were

detained on the night of Dec. 7, 1941. Within two years, the

FBI picked up a number of kibei--Japanese Americans who moved

to Japan during their youth to obtain an education and later

returned to the United States. An estimated 1,250 Japanese

Americans were detained in Hawaii during the war.

Japanese Americans, along with some Germans and Italians,

were held at internment camps on Maui, Kauai and the Big

Island before they were transported to a Sand Island camp in

May 1942. Officials later decided that detainees should be

held inland to avoid the possibility of an attack.

Detainees were taken to Honouliuli in Leeward Oahu on March

1, 1943. Takahashi said they were treated well.

``We all cooperate, no trouble,'' said Takahashi, whose

wife, Yuriko, assisted as an interpreter.

He noted that detainees had the opportunity to do various

jobs in the camp to earn coupons at 10 cents an hour.

Takahashi said he and another man counted spoons before and

after meals after they had heard that a detainee at Sand

Island had sharpened a spoon into the shape of a knife in an

attempt to commit suicide.

``If we miss some, gotta go all over,'' Takahashi said.

Takahashi said he took English classes, played his violin

and attended Christian services on Sundays, when he prayed

for the war to end.

At Honouliuli, Takahashi met Harry Urata, and the two

became friends.

Yuriko Takahashi, who remained in Kaimuki, sent Takahashi a

fingerprint of their first daughter, who was born in October

1943. In his excitement, Takahashi showed it to Urata. It was

only then when Urata learned that Takahashi's wife was his

former coworker.

A year later, Takahashi went on a conditional release from

Honouliuli. He was required to report to authorities once a

month until he was let go in February 1945.

Takahashi, a kibei who was educated, underwent ROTC

training and taught in Japan for 24 years before he returned

to Hawaii, wrote to the government in 1988 and requested a

copy of his internment records.

A report cited in Takahashi's 1992 autobiography ``An

Autobiography of a Kibei-Nisei'' stated he had dual

citizenship and had ``never attempted to be expatriated.'' It

further stated that he lived in Japan for more than 20 years,

where he attended school, received military training and

taught students for four years. It also mentioned that he

was a Japanese-language teacher in Honolulu for three

years.

Takahashi said the authorities thought he was pro-Japanese.

Both Takahashi and Urata, who were born in Hawaii, had

taught at the Waialae Japanese Language School at different

times before the war started.

After the internment, Takahashi worked as a carpenter with

his brother-in-law. He later returned to teaching at Japanese

schools in Honolulu, had two more children and built a house

for his family in Kaimuki, where he and his wife still live.

Takahashi, now 89, continues to take English classes once a

week.

In March 1943, Urata was called to the principal's office

at Mid-Pacific Institute, where two FBI officers were

waiting.

The officers questioned Urata for two days before he was

taken to the immigration station, where he was held for two

weeks in a shack surrounded by a barbed-wire fence.

He joined other Japanese Americans, many of them issei

(first-generation Japanese), at Honouliuli. Urata read books

in English and Japanese, played his guitar and sang songs to

occupy his time. He also played baseball, practiced kendo and

cut kiawe bushes outside the camp, which was also surrounded

by a barbed-wire fence.

``You get to go out from the wire, fresh air,'' Urata said.

While he was being held in Honouliuli, Urata said he often

wondered why he was detained because he was an American

citizen.

``Everytime I used to think like that inside the camp. I

thought it was a mistake,'' Urata said.

Urata speculated he was held at the camp because he was a

kibei who left for Japan when he was 6 and returned to Hawaii

13 years later.

Urata said he was among 69 men who were sent to the Tule

Lake internment camp from

Honouliuli in November 1944 after he described himself as

being ``hardheaded.''

After he was released from Tule Lake, he taught Japanese at

the University of Minnesota for a couple of months before

returning to Honolulu in December 1945, the year the war

ended.

Urata opened a music studio in Palama, where he taught

piano, guitar and voice lessons to generations of students.

His studio moved to a few other locations before it settled

in its current location in downtown Honolulu. He later

married and continues to give voice lessons.

More than four decades later, Takahashi, Urata and

thousands of former surviving internees each received a

$20,000 reparation check and a letter of apology from the

U.S. government for its injustice toward Japanese Americans

during the war.

Urata, 85, said he is not bitter about his experience.

``They made mistakes,'' Urata said. ``Everybody makes

mistakes. But don't repeat that.''

Madam Speaker, I also rise in full support of H.R. 3665, the Veterans Housing and Improvement Act of 2005, which addresses the critical housing needs of our Nation's disabled and Native American veterans.

I also would like to thank Representatives Boozman and Herseth for their leadership on this legislation and, of course, Veterans Committee Chair Buyer and Ranking Member Evans for expeditiously bringing this bill to the House floor.

H.R. 3665, in part, provides permanent authority for the Native American Direct Home Loan Program and extends eligibility for such loan to non-Native American spouses of Native Americans living on Native American trust and tribal lands.

The Native American Direct Home Loan Program has been a highly successful veterans effort, particularly in my Hawaii, where it applies to veterans living on lands held in trust under this Congress' own Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1920. The majority of these Hawaiian homelands in my Second Congressional District on the islands of Oahu, Kauai, Molokai, Maui, Hawaii, and Lanai.

Since the inception of this program, which was spearheaded by the great Hawaii Senator Spark Matsunaga, and continued by Senator Daniel Akaka, native Hawaiian veterans have successfully used this direct home loan program for their acute housing needs, and I am proud to say with nominal deficiencies and delinquencies.

Over $20 million has now been approved for over 200 loans in Hawaii, with 106 loans totaling $7.5 million pending. This is an incredible help not only with the needs of many veterans who would likely otherwise be precluded from quality housing, but about Hawaii's overall housing crisis.

Due to its success over the last 13 years, the Native American Direct Home Loan Program, which initially started out as a pilot program, was twice extended by Congress but is currently set to expire on December 31 of this year. It is vital to understand why this program is so important to our Native American veterans and why we should make the program permanent, as this bill proposes.

Of course, the most basic reason is the success of the overall program in honoring our commitment to our Nation's veterans. Beyond that, Congress found some years ago that during the entire history to that date of the program, not a single Native American veteran living on Indian trust lands or Hawaii homelands had in fact received the VA home loan under the VA's traditional home loan program. The reason for that was quite simple.

The unique trust status of native lands did not lend itself to conventional lending practices because banks and other financial institutions did not recognize those lands as valid collateral.

As part of our obligation to all of our Nation's veterans, that obligation being to ensure that they are all able to tap fully into VA programs, the Native American Direct Home Loan Program addressed this unique and discrete challenge facing many Native American veterans and afforded them the same opportunity of home ownership availed their comrades-in-arms.

This bill recognizes and improves upon the clear success of this effort, and I ask my colleagues to vote in favor of H.R. 3665.

Mahalo.

I thank my colleague.

Watch out, watch out, America, because the majority's and the President's spin machine is in overdrive on this bill. Yes, the majority's budget reconciliation bill brazenly and erroneously entitled the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, what a laugh, is hitting the floor, or we think it is going to hit the floor.

We will hear in coming days what a brave and revolutionary bill this is. Wrong. This is a cowardly bill, a hurtful bill, and it continues the majority's policies which, in the course of 4 short years have wrecked a once strong budget.

We will hear that this bill is the only way to go. Wrong. This is the way to go if your goal is to help the few at the expense of the rest of us and without regard to basic fiscal responsibility.

We have heard that this bill will decrease the budget. Watch the numbers on this bill. This bill does not decrease the budget deficit. This bill worsens the deficit, worsens it substantially.

This bill is really about credibility. It is a matter of credibility, of who has the best overall plan to balance our Nation's books and restore fiscal stability. Is it the same people who over the last couple of years told us that ``deficits do not matter''? I do not think so. Is it the same people who are presiding over the most rapid increase in Federal spending in 40 years? I do not think so. Is it the same people who keep raiding the Social Security trust fund for non- Social Security purposes, and then turning around and saying it is okay, saying do not worry about it, but also introducing a bill to radically reduce benefits in order to make up for the stolen amounts? I do not think so.

Is it the same people who pretend that a 1-year deficit of over $300 billion, almost $500 billion if you are counting the Social Security trust fund monies that were raided to boost up the revenues, is it those people? I do not think so. Is it the same people that increased your debt, your total debt, from $6 trillion when I joined Congress just 3 years ago to $8 trillion today and now another almost $1 trillion in this bill itself? I do not think so.

We want to balance the budget. We know that this will take careful and painful balancing of revenues and expenses. But we do not trust the majority and the administration with this bill because we do not believe that you have shown you can be trusted with America's books, that you will not put all of your sacred cows on the table just as we are willing to put our sacred cows on the table.

When you are truly ready to put everything on the table with us, then I believe that we can have a constructive discussion. Until then, your bill is junk in, junk out. When you are ready to get real about what it is going to take to truly balance our books, let us know.

Mr. Speaker, I rise proudly to join many others in offering my heartiest congratulations to the Hawaii County Economic Opportunity Council (HCEOC) on the occasion of its 40th anniversary on November 18, 2005.

Over these last four decades, HCEOC has epitomized the letter and spirit of economic opportunity envisioned by President John F. Kennedy and others. It has lifted two whole generations now of Big Islanders up and into lives of productive contributions and economic self- sufficiency, in the process advancing and enriching all of our Hawaii.

HCEOC has done so by providing good employment opportunities to those in need and by delivering to our Hawaii Island community with loyal and continued patronage for goods and services. Countless families, friends and neighbors have benefited directly from its programs, which include child development, education, housing, energy assistance, transportation services, and economic development projects.

Additionally, HCEOC has taken a leadership role in mentoring our Big Island youth and keeping them out of trouble and away from the scourge of drugs that has ravaged too many. HCEOC's after-school program, for example, has helped more than 4,000 students while unbelievably seeing only eight drop out. Not a single enrolled student has ever been arrested for drugs during or after his or her participation in the program.

Much of HCEOC's success is owed to its wonderful and dedicated staff, particularly its longtime executive director, George Yokoyama. George, indomitably optimistic and colorfully individual, has dedicated himself tirelessly and loyally over a long and illustrious career to help those too often forgotten or marginalized. George's deep commitment to his community is an inspiration to us all, and I know that I speak for all of us in thanking him for all he has done for our Hawaii.

Mahalo nui loa to HCEOC for making the Big Island, my home island, a better and more livable community. I wish each and all of you continued success over the next 40 years and beyond.

Mr. Speaker, I am very happy to join the gentleman from Hawaii (Mr. Abercrombie) in introducing this resolution. I also thank our colleagues for bringing it forward on to the floor to give us a chance to show our pride in our great Hawaii as well as our country.

I remember as a young boy being given a book by my parents. It was one of those Reader's Digest books of annotated inspirational stories, and in that book was a story of an American team who came from great odds to win the Little League World championship. I wish I could remember today what year that was or what team that was, but never in my wildest dreams would I have expected to be standing here on the floor of the House congratulating a team from my Hawaii for doing the exact same thing so many decades later.

Anybody that watched this team come through the brackets to win the championship of our Nation could not help but have incredible pride at their achievements, and anybody that watched that game watched one of the great sporting events in history when the team came back from incredible odds to tie the score and then go on through fierce determination to win the championship of the world, and a team from Ewa Beach, Hawaii. Such an amazing, amazing accomplishment for the boys from Ewa Beach. And as we watched that game, we saw not only the epitome of Little League, not only the epitome of our country, but the very epitome of team spirit and team aloha. We saw parents urging that team on. We saw willpower. We saw commitment. We saw fire coming out of that pitcher's eyes in the bottom of that last inning, and we saw that home run being hit off of sheer determination.

We are so proud in Hawaii of our Ewa Beach World Series champions. We are so proud of what we have accomplished. We are so proud to do this on behalf of our entire country.

I wish all of our team the very best as they go forward with their lives, having had the experience of their lives. And I wish to this House and to the Senate and to this Congress a great gratitude for being able to stand here and brag about the great team from Hawaii. Mahalo aloha.

Mr. Speaker, I rise with deep pride today to honor and congratulate the West Oahu Little League Baseball Team of Ewe Beach, Hawaii for winning the 2005 Little League World Series Championship in one of the most exciting championship games ever played, in any sport, any league!

It was almost a miracle that these champions, the very best of our Hawaii and country, even made it to the championship, fighting their way through some of the toughest brackets and past great teams from throughout our nation. And in the bottom of the sixth and last inning, down 6-3, their great coach, Layton Aliviado, told them: ``If you guys want it, let's go get it.''

That's exactly what the team did, scoring three runs to tie the game and send it into extra innings. Then, in the top of the first extra inning, a fiery and determined Vonn Fe'ao shut down opposing Curacao, last year's world champs, striking out the batters in order. And in the bottom of that inning, Jason Memea blasted a walk-off solo home run to win the game and world championship.

To all the members of our West Oahu team--Alaka'i Aglipay, Layson Aliviado, Sheyne Baniaga, Myron ``Kini'' Enos, Vonn Fe'ao, Quentin Guevara, Ethan Javier, Harrison Kam, Michael Memea, Zachary Ranit, Zachary Rosete, Ty Tirpak--and their coaches--Layton Aliviado, Tyron Kitashima and Clint Tirpak--mahalo nui loa--(thank you very much) for representing our state of Hawaii and the rest of our Nation with great pride and aloha that exemplifies ``one team, one dream.'' You showed the heart of champions, epitomizing the best of baseball, sport, our Hawaii and the indomitable spirit of our country.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of prompt passage of S. 264, the Hawaii Water Resources Act of 2005. Congressman Abercrombie and I co-introduced a companion bill in the House, H.R. 843. The bill is identical to one that passed the Senate in the 108th Congress by unanimous consent.

S. 264 amends the Reclamation Wastewater and Groundwater Study and Facilities Act to authorize three important water reclamation projects in my State. The three projects authorized in S. 264 would help Hawaii better manage its water resources, particularly in key areas where water is becoming increasingly scarce.

Two of the projects are in my Second District on the islands of Hawaii and Maui, and the third, which would provide a reliable source of potable water for the island of Oahu, also impacts my district, which includes most of that island except for urban Honolulu. The Honolulu Board of Water Supply has projected that on Oahu freshwater use will exceed recharge rates by 2018.

The project on Oahu would provide a reliable source of water through resource diversification to meet existing and future water demands in the Ewa area of Oahu, where water demands are exceeding the availability of drinking water. The proposed project is a 5 million gallon-per-day seawater desalination facility. Seawater Reverse Osmosis Membrane Technology is proposed, in which approximately 11 million gallons per day of seawater are needed to produce 5 million gallons per day of potable water.

The second project, north of Kona on the island of Hawaii, would address the issue of effluent being discharged into a temporary disposal sump from the Kealakehe Wastewater Treatment Plant. The effluent has a particularly high suspended solids content. The proposed project will utilize subsurface wetlands to reduce the suspended solids prior to disinfection. Retrofitting an existing lagoon and completing construction of an additional lagoon would create subsurface wetlands. An open surface wetland would also be constructed to reduce the effluent disposal, create habitat for two endangered species, and provide recreational opportunities for the public. Once the effluent water quality has been upgraded and the maximum amount of flow diverted for use onsite in the constructed wetlands, a distribution system would be needed to convey the recycled water to potential users.

The final project, in Lahaina on the island of Maui, would facilitate the use of recycled water by extending the County of Maui's main recycled water pipeline. The county has been one of the water recycling leaders in the State of Hawaii, but increased use of recycled water is limited by the lack of adequate infrastructure to distribute recycled water to additional users.

Hawaii has been experiencing drought conditions since 1998. And the National Weather Service has indicated that due to a mild El Nino effect in the Pacific Ocean, Hawaii may again experience another period of drought. Although many people have an image of Hawaii as a lush, tropical rainforest, in fact the leeward sides of all of our islands are typically dry, not unlike the high desert conditions in the western United States. A 2003 GAO report placed Hawaii among 16 States that are expected to face regional freshwater shortages in the next decade.

S. 264 builds on Senator Akaka's Hawaii Water Resources Act of 2000 (P.L. 106-566) that authorized the Bureau of Reclamation to survey irrigation and water delivery systems in Hawaii and identify new opportunities for reclamation and reuse of water and wastewater for agriculture and non-agricultural purposes. That act resulted in the development of the initial Hawaii Drought Plan in 2000, which was updated this past year to incorporate comments and recommendations made by the Bureau of Reclamation. The expertise of the Bureau of Reclamation has been invaluable in helping our State to address these vital resource issues.

I urge my colleagues to support this important bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 360, a resolution commemorating the 60th Anniversary of V-J Day and the end of World War II in the Pacific.

On Friday, September 2, 2005, a ceremony was held on the USS Missouri in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, commemorating the September 2, 1945 signing of the final surrender of Japan on her deck. Although I was in Iraq on that day, I made the following statement:

On this very ship, six decades ago, the greatest

conflagration our world has ever known and, pray God, will

ever know, came to a merciful end. As we stand here today, we

feel acutely, and with the living, breathing spirit of

history around us, that range of emotions coming to us

through these lengthening years: the depth of treachery by

some to the human spirit; the magnitude of suffering; the

breadth of bravery and sacrifice; the exhilaration of triumph

and victory; the sorrow of loss; and the faith and abiding

promise of democracy and freedom.

I so regret that I cannot be with you personally for this

moment, but I am with our troops in still another war on the

other side of our world. But please know that I am here in

spirit as we pause to remember all of this and to recommit

ourselves that we shall forever heed the lessons of World War

Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor one of my most distinguished constituents on the occasion of her 65th birthday.

Gladys Coelho Baisa was born on August 13, 1940 on the Island of Maui, Hawaii. She grew up in the plantation camps and can remember a time when no door was locked and no one was a stranger. She lost her father at an early age was raised by her mother alone. Gladys graduated from Maui High School in 1958, where she was class valedictorian and a member of the National Honor Society. Two years later she graduated as a Practical Licensed Nurse from the St. Francis School of Nursing and began her illustrious career as a Licensed Practical Nurse and then a private duty nurse.

In 1967, having taken additional education at Maui Technical School in the accounting program, she began at the Maui Memorial Medical Center in the billing department. Within two years, Gladys was recruited to join the Maui Economic Opportunity (MEO) Inc., where she has been in a leadership position for 36 years and Executive Director for 21 years.

Gladys has demonstrated the highest qualities of leadership since taking the reins of MEO in 1984. When she became Executive Director, MEO had a budget of $1.9 million and operated 17 programs under three major categories: the Community Services Block Grants, Head Start, and County of Maui Grants. There were eight key staff members and seven supervisors. Today, MEO expects to serve over 20,000 unduplicated clients through its programs and community partnerships and has 272 employees and a budget of $14.5 million.

Additionally, in 2003, the National Community Action Partnership presented Gladys and MEO with its inaugural ``Award of Excellence in Community Action'', one of only four agencies to be so honored out of over 1,100 community action agencies in the nation.

Today, under Gladys' vision and enthusiasm, MEO offers job training, microenterprise business development, family development programs, housing assistance, welfare to work opportunities, Head Start, senior citizen programs, medical and life sustaining transportation, farmworker employment and training programs, immigrant acculturation, food distribution to those in need, youth programs, reintegration of inmates back into the community, and many other innovative and far reaching programs that have been incorporated into government operations and continue to serve the community.

Gladys wasn't content with just building up MEO. She saw a need to develop the not for profit sector on Maui and took an active role in the creation of the Maui Non-Profit Directors Association. This organization of over 50 dues paying members has become an important force in public policy discussions affecting Maui County, and a forum for training and information designed to strengthen each agency in their mission.

For almost four decades Gladys has selflessly given her passion, energy, and unending desire to assist the people of Maui and Hawaii. She has long been a leading source of ``best practices'' management and her colleagues honored her with their very first ``Executive Director of the Year'' award.

Gladys will soon retire from MEO for well-deserved rest and time with her family. I know this will be merely an informal retirement and she will continue to stay involved in assisting the Maui community and will continue to live by MEO's motto: ``Helping People. Changing Lives.''

Hauoli La Hanau, Gladys, and many many more!

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce the proposed North Maui Coastal Preservation Act of 2005, a bill directing the National Park Service to assess the feasibility of designating certain coastal lands on the north shore of the Island of Maui between the towns of Pa'ia and Sprecklesville as a unit of the National Park Service. This area is fully worthy of designation as a National Seashore, National Historic Park, or National Recreation Area.

Since assuming office as the representative for Hawai'i's Second Congressional District, I have heard loud and clear from the people of Maui, in person during countless times on the island and through petitions and postcards from some 2,000 constituents, about their deep concern for preserving this beautiful, historically significant and resources-rich coastline. Although the 128 acres identified in the bill are currently zoned as open space or parkland, they lie directly in the path of development in Maui's hot real estate market.

The desire of the people of Maui is to have the natural, scenic, and cultural resources of this unique area preserved and protected from development, and ultimately designated as the Patsy Takemoto Mink North Shore Heritage Park. As many of my colleagues know, my predecessor in this body, the late Congresswoman Patsy T. Mink, was born and grew up in Hamakua Poko, a small village near Pa'ia on just this coastline. If the Park Service finds that the area merits inclusion in the National Park System, I will introduce legislation authorizing establishment of a park and directing that it be named after Congresswoman Mink.

I want to take this opportunity to acknowledge the contribution of the Maui Sierra Club and especially of Lance Holter, a dedicated community activist, for inspiring the introduction of this bill. I can tell by the hundreds of cards I continue to receive from Maui residents in support of establishing such a park that there are many more people who have dedicated enormous energy and time in the hopes of preserving our precious natural and cultural heritage for future generations.

I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill, and invite you to come to the Island of Maui to visit this special area. I know that if you do so, you will be convinced as I am of the vital importance of protecting these lands.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce a bill directing the Secretary of the Interior to undertake a study to determine the suitability and feasibility of designating and acquiring lands located along the southern coast of the island of Maui as a National Seashore, National Recreation Area, National Monument, National Preserve, or other unit of the National Park Service.

The study area covered by the proposed South Maui Coastal Preservation Act of 2005 includes lands from and including the 'Ahihi- Kinau Natural Area Reserve to Kanaloa Point, a distance of approximately six miles.

The area is rich in archaeological, cultural, historical, and natural resources. Important sites in the proposed park area contain remnants of dwellings, heiau (places of worship), fishing shrines, platforms, enclosures, shelters, walls, graves, and canoe hale (houses) that date back as early as 1100 A.D. This portion of the southern coast is also the home of unique native plants and animals, some of which are endangered.

The County of Maui passed Resolution 00-136 on October 6, 2000, expressing its support for having this area designated as a National Park. The Hawaii State House and Senate also passed bills in support of having the area managed by the National Park Service.

Both these resolutions were in support of my predecessor, Congresswoman Patsy T. Mink's bill, H.R. 591, introduced in the 107th Congress, to study the feasibility of designating the more limited area from Keone`o `io to Kanaloa Point as a National Park.

An initial reconnaissance survey by the NPS indicated that the resources deserved protection but stated that the more limited area was not appropriate for a National Park because most of the land was owned by the state. However, I believe the expressions of support for NPS control of the area by the County and State offer a firm basis for moving forward. Therefore, I have included a provision in my bill to ensure that the proposed study includes consultation with the State of Hawaii to assess the feasibility of transferring some or all of the State lands in the study area to the federal government.

The State of Hawaii has been unable to effectively manage and protect these important resources due to lack of funds. Further, this pristine coastline lies directly in the path of development and, absent action, too soon will be lost forever.

This is a site of national significance, which deserves the level of protection only the National Park Service can provide. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce a bill to authorize expansion of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park located on the Island of Hawaii.

This bill would authorize expansion of the park's boundaries to allow the National Park Service to acquire 656 additional acres between the 1,000 and 2,000-foot elevation marks in the Kahuku district makai (oceanside) of State Highway 11. This property, which is a part of the historic Kahuku Ranch, most of which has already been added to the Park, includes extensive natural and cultural resources. These Kahuku lands encompass the southwest rift zone of Mauna Loa, one of the most massive volcanoes in the world.

The geologic features of the proposed acquisition--three large pit craters--provide vestiges of native forest and other unique attributes. The property also includes ranch buildings, walls, and pasture lands that are reminiscent of nineteenth and early twentieth century ranching and contain remnant ranchlands that are not currently represented to the public by any National Park in Hawaii. These buildings would provide public, office, educational, and research space for a much- needed satellite headquarters for this portion of the 333,000-acre park. And locating these services in these historic structures will preserve more of the natural resources of the park in an unspoiled condition.

The property also provides magnificent open landscape views and vistas that offer a glimpse into a cultural landscape that has remained unchanged for decades.

The geologic, biologic and cultural resources contained on this property will also enhance the quality of the park for its legislated purpose and as a World Heritage Site and International Biosphere Reserve. In addition, the park has a well-developed partnership with adjacent landowners in management of native ecosystems and historic landscapes and acquisition of this makai section of Kahuku will help to facilitate this partnership.

The Hawaii House of Representatives passed H.R. No. 56 in the 2001 session supporting acquisition of the Kahuku Ranch as part of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and the Hawaii State Senate passed a similiar resolution.

I would be very grateful for the support of my colleagues for this important bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce a bill to expand USDA's Agricultural Management Assistance Program to include my State of Hawaii.

The Agricultural Management Assistance Program provides cost-sharing assistance under contracts of three to ten years in fifteen specified states to help producers construct or improve water management and irrigation structures, plant trees, control soil erosion, practice integrated pest management, practice organic farming, develop value- added processing, and enter into futures, hedging, or options contracts to reduce production, price, or revenue risk. This worthy program was established in 2000 to benefit states where participation in Federal crop insurance programs has been historically low.

Hawaii, which was not included among the fifteen initial states, certainly qualifies based on this criterion, as there are relatively few Federal crop insurance programs for the crops we grow in Hawaii and those we have are only a few years old. Additionally, the activities allowed under this program coincide very well with the real needs of farmers in Hawaii, especially in relation to water management and irrigation, soil erosion, pest management, organic farming, and value- added processing.

The 2002 Farm Bill authorized annual funding of $20 million from FY2003 through FY2007. In FY2004, there were 723 active contracts and a total of $10.2 million was spent.

There is clearly adequate room in this program for Hawaii, which is dead last among all the 50 States in agricultural assistance received as a percentage of the value of its agricultural production. Hawaii receives less than 1 cent per dollar of agricultural value compared with the nationwide average of 6 cents.

I ask for my colleagues' support for including my state of Hawaii in this important program.