Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Hawaiian-born Sasha Kekauoha, more famously known as Sasha Colby, on being crowned the winner of ``RuPaul's Drag Race'' Season 15.

I am so proud that a fellow Windward girl, hailing from the homesteads of Waimanalo, has earned the title of ``America's Next Drag Superstar.''

From the very beginning of the competition, Sasha, a seasoned drag legend, drew upon her ethnic heritage and childhood trauma as sources of inspiration for her performances.

Throughout ``Drag Race,'' she authentically represented her Hawaiian culture, talking about the legacy she is building for our home State and about being mahu.

In ancient Hawaiian days, mahu were considered extraordinary individuals of male and female spirit who brought their healing powers to Oahu from Tahiti.

Today, trans people are among the most revered members in the Hawaiian community. Amidst ongoing attacks on our LGBTQ+ rights that particularly target trans people and drag queens, her win is not only well deserved, it gives us all hope.

Congratulations to Sasha Colby. She is a leader. She is a proud mahu, and she is every drag queen's favorite drag queen.

Mr. Chair, I rise today to oppose H.R. 1, which puts corporations over people.

Instead of focusing on the needs of the American people and combating the climate crisis, this bill is a shameful giveaway to polluters through loopholes and industry handouts.

In Hawaii, we view the environment as more than just a resource. It is a sacred responsibility, our kuleana, to ourselves and to future generations.

From ancient times, Native Hawaiians have sought balance from mauka to makai, the mountains to the sea, understanding the intimate connections we have to our precious, life-giving resources. This is the kind of future we should be striving for, one that promotes community and fosters responsible use of natural resources.

Everyone deserves to have a seat at the table when it comes to proposed projects that could pollute their water and air, especially underserved communities and communities of color, which have historically borne the brunt of industrialization, resulting in disproportionate impacts to their health and safety.

This bill does the opposite. In addition to shortening public comment periods, this bill would block lawsuits from anyone who did not participate in the comment period. Communities likely do not even know what projects are permitted, let alone the consequences of those permits, until well after the new proposed comment periods.

The responsibility should be on developers and projects to win support from communities based on their merits and through meaningful public engagement. Instead, this bill puts the burden on ordinary, hardworking Americans to fight for their basic right to clean air and water.

I urge my colleagues to do what is pono, what is right, and put our families, our keiki and our kupuna, above corporate profits and vote ``no'' on the polluters over people act.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the life and legacy of Dr. Noa Emmett Auwae Aluli, a pillar in the Native Hawaiian community who sadly passed away on November 30, 2022, at the age of 78.

Dr. Aluli was a Native Hawaiian physician, activist, and mentor to so many on Molokai and across Hawaii. He spent his life working to improve the health and well-being of Native Hawaiians and advocating for the protection of their lands, rights, and resources.

Born on the island of Oahu in 1944, Dr. Aluli grew up in Kailua and graduated from St. Louis High School. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Marquette University in Wisconsin in 1966 and was one of 5 Native Hawaiians who were part of the first graduating class from the University of Hawaii's School of Medicine in 1975. Following a one-year family health residency on Molokai, he began a 46-year career in private practice at the Molokai Family Health Center and Clinic. Dr. Aluli dedicated his life to serving his patients on Molokai, even in the final days before his passing.

As part of his legacy, Dr. Aluli is best known for pioneering a Native Hawaiian approach to health care in rural Hawaiian communities. Dr. Aluli championed food as medicine and elevating traditional practices. To address many of the chronic health conditions prevalent in Native Hawaiian communities, Dr. Aluli worked

with kupuna to conduct the first Native Hawaiian heart study to learn more about the impact of a traditional Hawaiian foods diet in effectively reducing risk factors for heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. The study, which engaged more than 300 Molokai Hawaiian homesteaders, found significant improvements in participants' health and laid the groundwork for indigenous health data sovereignty in Hawaii--community-based participatory research directed by and for Native Hawaiians.

Following the study, Dr. Aluli co-founded Na Pu`uwai, the Native Hawaiian Health Care System that serves Molokai and Lanai. He also created the Native Hawaiian Physicians Association to create a professional support network of Native Hawaiian healthcare providers. Dr. Aluli's passion for health care also led him to help draft federal legislation: the Native Hawaiian Health Care Improvement Act, which established the Native Hawaiian Health Care Systems and Papa Ola Lokahi to promote health and disease interventions to improve the health status of Native Hawaiians. His actions continue to influence federal legislative priorities and policies to advance Native Hawaiian health care.

Dr. Aluli also worked to protect the lands, rights, and resources of Native Hawaiians. Most notably, Dr. Aluli was part of the ``Kahoolawe Nine,'' the first group of people who stood up against the U.S. Navy's bombing of Kahoolawe in 1976, occupying the island for 2 days in protest. During that time, Dr. Aluli surveyed the damage caused by the military explosives including bomb craters and unexploded devices. It was not until 1990 after court action and a series of other occupations that the U.S. ceased bombing on Kahoolawe and in 2003, the island was returned to the State of Hawaii. Dr. Aluli played a pivotal role in getting the Navy to stop bombing the island and supported key efforts to rehabilitate Kahoolawe.

According to the Aluli `Ohana, Dr. Aluli once said, ``We commit for generations, not just for careers. We set things up now so that they'll be carried on. We look ahead together so that many of us share the same vision and dream. To our next generations we say, Go with the spirit. Take the challenge. Learn something. Give back.''

Dr. Aluli's impact goes well beyond his service as a Native Hawaiian physician. He inspired generations of Native Hawaiian medical professionals, practitioners, activists, and leaders. Dr. Aluli's passing leaves behind a significant a in accessing health care on Molokai and in Native Hawaiian health care more broadly. As the U.S. Representative for Hawaii's, Second Congressional District, which encompasses Hawaii's 8 major islands including Molokai, I am committed to continuing his legacy to improve health care access for rural communities, address health disparities, and strengthen pathways to health professions.

Today, I ask that my colleagues join me in celebrating the life and honoring the legacy of a visionary, Dr. Noa Emmett Auwae Aluli.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the life and legacy of Dr. Noa Emmett Auwae Aluli, a pillar in the Native Hawaiian community who passed away on November 30, 2022, at the age of 78.

Born and raised in Kailua on the island of Oahu, Dr. Aluli was one of five Native Hawaiians in the first graduating class of the University of Hawaii's School of Medicine.

Even in the final days before his passing, Dr. Aluli mentored aspiring doctors, made house calls, and provided care to all generations, from keiki to kupuna.

Dr. Aluli was also a leader of the Protect Kaho`olawe `Ohana, forcing an end to the bombing practices on the island of Kaho`olawe and its return to the State of Hawaii.

I will work to continue his legacy to ensure access to healthcare in rural communities and strengthen pathways to health professions.

This weekend, I will fly to Molokai to celebrate his life with his extended `ohana. I ask that my colleagues join me in honoring the legacy of a visionary, Dr. Emmett Aluli.

Madam Speaker, I know I am going to be the third Democratic speaker to talk about the debt limit, but I think it is a point that needs to be made.

Madam Speaker, every single day Americans across our country are forced to take extraordinary measures just to keep a roof over their head and food on the table. Now, because of the extremist agenda of some of our Republican colleagues, the Department of the Treasury has begun to do the same to avoid a default.

The consequences of such a default could be catastrophic. The first real default in U.S. history could lead to a sudden jump in interest rates and raise mortgage, car, and credit card payments for our working families. As the Federal Government struggles to maintain its financial commitments, payments for Social Security, benefits for veterans, and paychecks for military servicemembers could be delayed and suspended.

By one estimate, a default could add $130,000 to the cost of an average 30-year mortgage, eliminate over 3 million jobs, and increase the national debt by an additional $850 billion. As much as $15 trillion in household wealth could be wiped out in the ensuing recession. Our competitors across the world, like China and Russia, would surely see this U.S. default as an indication of American decline and be further emboldened.

As the Representative of Hawaii's Second Congressional District, I speak on behalf of the diverse communities I represent, spanning all eight Hawaiian islands. I am here to fight for working families struggling with the high cost of living, small businesses providing jobs and opportunities for our residents, senior citizens seeking security in retirement in old age, and above all, our children and their futures.

In my first month alone on this job, we find our country inching toward a debt crisis at the national level that could devastate my constituents and their ability to care for their families--all caused by the extreme politics of my Republican colleagues.

This is not a short-term, one-off issue. The implications for our economy, on our foreign policy, and on our communities are severe and long term.

When I sit down at my kitchen table every night and look across at my sons, I worry. Will they have their own kitchen table filled with family in Hawaii?

If Republicans force our country into a default, their future will be even more challenging to afford a home of their own or to be able to even rent one, to own a car to get to work or to save for their children's future.

Hawaii is one of the most expensive places to live in the country, with residents paying on average 42 percent of their income on rent, the highest of any State. I know that workers and families of every single one of our districts are struggling every day to make ends meet.

The American people need to see solutions, not just grandstanding. They need to see progress so that they can hope for a better future. That means we have to build and act on the progress delivered by the first 2 years of the Biden administration and one of the most productive Congresses in modern history. In these 2 years, Democrats have lowered healthcare costs, created nearly 11 million jobs, supported over 10 million new small business applications, put shovels in the ground on 7,000 new infrastructure projects, and invested in a revival of American manufacturing.

This Congress should be building on the progress of the last 2 years, not tearing it down by flirting with default and make unacceptable demands to cut Social Security, Medicare, and other critical programs that working families across the country depend on.

Why would House Republicans hold our economy hostage and the American people in anxious suspense for months when they can pass a clean debt limit increase right now?

When House Republicans tried to do this in 2011, they forced an unnecessary economic shock to our country that resulted in the first time our credit has ever been downgraded in our history. We cannot do that again.

We can have a reasoned debate, discussion, and negotiations over the right level of government spending, as every Congress does every year through the budget and appropriations process. But whether the United States pays its bill on time must not be a pawn in a Republican political game. Our families work hard to pay their bills on time; their government should too.

I have heard from so many people how much they love Hawaii; so do I. If you have the chance to visit our home stop and take a look. One in five residents depend on their Social Security benefits every single month. Madam Speaker, 1 in 10 people who call Hawaii home are veterans or Active-Duty servicemembers. These are the faces of the people held hostage and hurt by Republicans.

We have an opportunity to rise above our differences and give them a Congress that has their best interests squarely in sight, one that gives them hope.

Madam Speaker, I urge my Republican colleagues to work with us to quickly pass a clean debt limit raise as soon as possible. The American people and our constituents deserve no less.