Crises and Solutions

Aloha, Friend. It sometimes feels like my service back in Congress since 2019 has been only about crises, starting with our longest government shutdown as I took office in January 2019, through COVID-19 beginning in 2020, the January 6th attack on our Capitol and Red Hill in 2021, Ukraine and inflation in 2022, and more, now including the tragic Maui wildfires and the real prospects of another government shutdown in just weeks. Of course, these years have been about much more than crises: a mixed bag of positives and negatives, normal government operations and the unexpected, deep partisanship and division with moments of unity and cooperation, successes and gains for Hawai’i and the communities and constituents I represent together with unfinished business. But it is a constant throughout that our federal government’s special kuleana is to anticipate and avoid potential crises wherever we can, to address and mitigate them when they happen, and to learn their lessons so that we can prevent them from repeating. Over the past month since my last e-newsletter report to you here, I have been focused on four crises in particular: 1. Maui. The full resources of my office have been devoted for the last forty one days to addressing the tremendous needs of this disaster on all levels. I have coordinated my efforts very closely with our state, county and community partners, and especially with my fellow Hawai’i congressional delegation members. In a highly divided and difficult Congress, with just four of us out of 541 Members of Congress, it is critical that we work together as one unified team, with each of us focusing especially on maximizing our own committees, caucuses, relationships and abilities toward our common goals. For me that has been mainly my House Committee on Appropriations, which must fund the billions that will be needed for full federal disaster assistance, and my House Problem Solvers Caucus, a bipartisan group of 64 Members that is committed to avoiding a government shutdown and to passing immediate disaster relief and other critical legislation. More on our delegation’s specific efforts and results are in our joint article in yesterday’s Honolulu Star-Advertiser here. There is much more on my website here, including my Hawai’i Wildfire Disaster Emergency Resources Guide here. I am also fully focused with various partners including our federal, state and county governments on exactly what we need to fully and accurately assess wildfire risk for the City and County of Honolulu and then to implement and pay for effective prevention efforts. All of this will continue for months and years, and I especially welcome your questions and comments on any concerns here. 2. Federal Government Shutdown. Much of our federal government is funded on an annual basis through our appropriations process that flows through my Appropriations Committee. Our federal fiscal year ends on September 30th, yet Congress has been so polarized and divided that we have not passed any of our required appropriations bills for the upcoming fiscal year. This is deeply disappointing, irresponsible and unacceptable on all levels, and needs much broader fixes. But the immediate reality is that if we do not pass some legislation by September 30th, our government will not have the funding to continue and must begin to shut down, with very difficult consequences to critical government programs like the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Disaster Relief Fund which is largely funding the Maui wildfire recovery. This cannot happen, and I am fully focused on my Appropriations Committee and Problem Solvers Caucus, where I’m the Co-Chair of our Appropriations Working Group, on forging what must be bipartisan paths out of this self-inflicted crisis. These will be difficult and involve compromise on polarizing issues, but that is the practical necessity in divided government and the alternative of a shutdown is far worse. 3. Red Hill. In the almost two years since the Red Hill crisis began, I have remained constantly focused with my congressional, federal, state and local government and community partners on all parts of our response, including assisting those affected immediately and long-term, mandating the safe defueling and closure of the facility, overseeing our military’s closure process, and again through my Appropriations Committee assuring the billions in federal funding to deliver on all fronts. We are approaching a very positive milestone as Joint Task Force-Red Hill (JTF-RH) prepares to commence defueling in mid-October. Here is JTF-RH’s frequently updated dashboard summarizing status. JTF-RH expects almost all of the fuel to be removed from Red Hill by early next year; some will be used for normal operations, but most will be shipped out of Pearl Harbor elsewhere. There will still be some fuel which cannot flow out by gravity and will take a longer and more involved process, so full closure will not occur right away. JTF-RH will explain all this and answer questions at a public Defueling Open House Tuesday, October 3rd, 4-6PM at Ke’ehi Lagoon Memorial Park, Weinberg Hall. The bottom line is that this is real progress on this crisis, but our focus must continue both in Congress and at home on all aspects of our response for years. 4. COVID-19. The pandemic was the broadest, deepest, longest and most impactful, disruptive and destructive crisis of the past years. And though most of us no longer consider it a crisis, I received a personal reminder with my first infection that it remains very much with us. I came through ok, likely thanks to general good health and full vaccinations, and deeply appreciate all the well wishes. But the reality is that COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations and deaths are at unacceptably high levels again across our country and Hawai’i. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports hospitalizations increasing almost 9% for the most recent reporting week and deaths almost 5% here, while our Hawai’i Department of Health shows 1,200 reported cases statewide and now over 2,000 deaths here. This was a real crisis, and we can prevent a repeat by being careful, following standard protocols including avoidance and masking where appropriate here, and keeping vaccinations up to date here including the recently approved trivalent booster when available. More information is on my website here; please contact me with any questions here. These four crises are different in type, impact, need, recovery and phase, but they all have required and will continue to require constant focus to fully address. They also all offer lessons in recovery and prevention and the critical role that our federal government must play. All of that, and the biggest lesson all over again: we are much better when we address our crises and other challenges together. As always, I deeply appreciate your consideration and assistance as we all work to find the best way forward for our country and Hawai’i. For more information on my efforts, and how we can help you, please visit my website at case.house.gov. If I can help you and yours with your own questions and needs, email us here, or call us at (808) 650-6688.

Aloha, Friend.

It sometimes feels like my service back in Congress since 2019 has been only about crises, starting with our longest government shutdown as I took office in January 2019, through COVID-19 beginning in 2020, the January 6^th attack on our Capitol and Red Hill in 2021, Ukraine and inflation in 2022, and more, now including the tragic Maui wildfires and the real prospects of another government shutdown in just weeks.

Of course, these years have been about much more than crises: a mixed bag of positives and negatives, normal government operations and the unexpected, deep partisanship and division with moments of unity and cooperation, successes and gains for Hawai’i and the communities and constituents I represent together with unfinished business. But it is a constant throughout that our federal government’s special kuleana is to anticipate and avoid potential crises wherever we can, to address and mitigate them when they happen, and to learn their lessons so that we can prevent them from repeating.

Over the past month since my last e-newsletter report to you here, I have been focused on four crises in particular:

1. Maui. The full resources of my office have been devoted for the last forty one days to addressing the tremendous needs of this disaster on all levels. I have coordinated my efforts very closely with our state, county and community partners, and especially with my fellow Hawai’i congressional delegation members. In a highly divided and difficult Congress, with just four of us out of 541 Members of Congress, it is critical that we work together as one unified team, with each of us focusing especially on maximizing our own committees, caucuses, relationships and abilities toward our common goals. For me that has been mainly my House Committee on Appropriations, which must fund the billions that will be needed for full federal disaster assistance, and my House Problem Solvers Caucus, a bipartisan group of 64 Members that is committed to avoiding a government shutdown and to passing immediate disaster relief and other critical legislation. More on our delegation’s specific efforts and results are in our joint article in yesterday’s Honolulu Star-Advertiser here. There is much more on my website here, including my Hawai’i Wildfire Disaster Emergency Resources Guide here. I am also fully focused with various partners including our federal, state and county governments on exactly what we need to fully and accurately assess wildfire risk for the City and County of Honolulu and then to implement and pay for effective prevention efforts. All of this will continue for months and years, and I especially welcome your questions and comments on any concerns here.

2. Federal Government Shutdown. Much of our federal government is funded on an annual basis through our appropriations process that flows through my Appropriations Committee. Our federal fiscal year ends on September 30^th, yet Congress has been so polarized and divided that we have not passed any of our required appropriations bills for the upcoming fiscal year. This is deeply disappointing, irresponsible and unacceptable on all levels, and needs much broader fixes. But the immediate reality is that if we do not pass some legislation by September 30th, our government will not have the funding to continue and must begin to shut down, with very difficult consequences to critical government programs like the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Disaster Relief Fund which is largely funding the Maui wildfire recovery. This cannot happen, and I am fully focused on my Appropriations Committee and Problem Solvers Caucus, where I’m the Co-Chair of our Appropriations Working Group, on forging what must be bipartisan paths out of this self-inflicted crisis. These will be difficult and involve compromise on polarizing issues, but that is the practical necessity in divided government and the alternative of a shutdown is far worse.

3. Red Hill. In the almost two years since the Red Hill crisis began, I have remained constantly focused with my congressional, federal, state and local government and community partners on all parts of our response, including assisting those affected immediately and long-term, mandating the safe defueling and closure of the facility, overseeing our military’s closure process, and again through my Appropriations Committee assuring the billions in federal funding to deliver on all fronts. We are approaching a very positive milestone as Joint Task Force-Red Hill (JTF-RH) prepares to commence defueling in mid-October. Here is JTF-RH’s frequently updated dashboard summarizing status. JTF-RH expects almost all of the fuel to be removed from Red Hill by early next year; some will be used for normal operations, but most will be shipped out of Pearl Harbor elsewhere. There will still be some fuel which cannot flow out by gravity and will take a longer and more involved process, so full closure will not occur right away. JTF-RH will explain all this and answer questions at a public Defueling Open House Tuesday, October 3^rd, 4-6PM at Ke’ehi Lagoon Memorial Park, Weinberg Hall. The bottom line is that this is real progress on this crisis, but our focus must continue both in Congress and at home on all aspects of our response for years.

4. COVID-19. The pandemic was the broadest, deepest, longest and most impactful, disruptive and destructive crisis of the past years. And though most of us no longer consider it a crisis, I received a personal reminder with my first infection that it remains very much with us. I came through ok, likely thanks to general good health and full vaccinations, and deeply appreciate all the well wishes. But the reality is that COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations and deaths are at unacceptably high levels again across our country and Hawai’i. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports hospitalizations increasing almost 9% for the most recent reporting week and deaths almost 5% here, while our Hawai’i Department of Health shows 1,200 reported cases statewide and now over 2,000 deaths here. This was a real crisis, and we can prevent a repeat by being careful, following standard protocols including avoidance and masking where appropriate here, and keeping vaccinations up to date here including the recently approved trivalent booster when available. More information is on my website here; please contact me with any questions here.

These four crises are different in type, impact, need, recovery and phase, but they all have required and will continue to require constant focus to fully address. They also all offer lessons in recovery and prevention and the critical role that our federal government must play. All of that, and the biggest lesson all over again: we are much better when we address our crises and other challenges together.

As always, I deeply appreciate your consideration and assistance as we all work to find the best way forward for our country and Hawai’i. For more information on my efforts, and how we can help you, please visit my website at case.house.gov. If I can help you and yours with your own questions and needs, email us here, or call us at (808) 650-6688.

P.S. Please sign up for my regular e-newsletter here.

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