Ka‘ū News Briefs Monday, January 22, 2018

HAWAI‘I'S U.S. SENATORS AND HOUSE MEMBERS SPLIT ON VOTING TO FUND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. On Monday, Jan. 22, the bill passed Congress and Pres. Donald Trump signed it, meaning that most federal workers will be back on the job on Tuesday, Jan. 23.
      Sen. Mazie Hirono and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who represents Ka‘ū, voted no on funding government through Feb. 8. Sen. Brian Schatz and Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, who represents urban O‘ahu and is running for Governor, voted yes. Here are their explanations:

Hirono with DREAMers and Sen. Dick Durbin on Saturday in D.C.

     Hirono released this statement:
     "There are battles worth fighting. Protecting DREAMers, reauthorizing the Children's Health Insurance Program, funding Community Health Centers, and providing parity between funding for defense and domestic priorities – without pitting one against the other – were battles worth fighting.
     "I'm confident that we can reach bipartisan agreement on these issues and it was completely unnecessary for the President and Congressional Republicans to force a shutdown on them. My consistent position has been to oppose any continuing resolution that did not include these priorities. I voted against this continuing resolution for this reason.
     "At the same time, Mitch McConnell promised on the Senate floor today that he would hold an open debate on DACA and immigration if no compromise is reached by the time this continuing resolution ends on February 8. We should all expect the Majority Leader to honor this promise.
     "There is no question that an open debate on immigration will be a knock-down, drag-out fight.
     Gabbard, after voting no, stated that passing temporary funding "lays path to another shutdown, puts politics over people." She tweeted: "They've failed to pass needed relief funds to TX, CA, FL, PR, USVI & others who still struggle. By failing to pass a year-long budget, they've hurt military readiness, troops & their families, & the people in our communities. That's why I voted no on the CR.
     "This is no way to govern. People are suffering as a result. It's long overdue time for Congress to put people before politics, stop the games and posturing, and pass a year-long budget, funding for our community health centers, and a permanent fix for DREAMers. Just get it done."
     Gabbard also tweeted, "Congress failed to pass a year-long funding bill, failed to fund community health centers, & failed to help DREAMers. This is not a political issue. It's a moral issue. It's about right & wrong. We need real solutions, not the broken status quo. That’s why I voted no on the CR."

      Schatz, before voting yes to fund government, said over the weekend that the public should be embarrassed of the way Congress is handling the budget.

     On Monday, he tweeted, "I'm fighting to make sure we continue to pay our military service members during this shutdown. These brave men and women don't stop protecting our country just because the government shuts down. Those who serve our country deserve the pay they have earned, and I'm going to keep working as long as possible to make sure they get it."

     Hanabusa, after voting yes to fund the federal government through Feb. 8, issued a statement saying, "This shutdown was an unnecessary reminder that our inability to work in a bipartisan fashion has real consequences for our constituents. Given the shutdown, my top priority is ensuring that the 33,264 federal employees who live and work in Hawaiʻi, and the 40,034 members of the military serving here on active duty, are on the job and paid for their hard work and sacrifices. The nation's business must continue and today I voted in support of our federal workers and their families.

Hanabusa voted to fund government and pointed to the large number of federal and  military employees in Hawaiʻi.

     "I maintain that a 17-day stop gap measure is no way to pay for the operations of the federal government. We need to pursue a comprehensive funding plan through the regular order, but shutting down the government is unacceptable, and unheard of in American history when one party controls the House, Senate and the White House. I urge my colleagues in Congress to approve a budget that meets our responsibilities to all our constituents. I am extremely disappointed that the CR through February 8th does not fully resolve the immigration status of our Dreamers, but I will not abandon the cause as l continue to fight for a bill on the floor of the House that provides permanent protections for our Dreamers," stated Hanabusa.

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HAWAIʻI IS THE FIFTH AMONG THE STATES AND WASHINGTON, D.C. AFFECTED MOST IN THE SHUTDOWN of the federal government. According to a WalletHub analysis, Hawaiʻi ranks: first in Share of Federal Jobs, out side of D.C.; first in Real Estate as a Percentage of GSP; ninth in Access to National Parks; and 18th in Federal Contract Dollars Per Capita.
     Reports WalletHub: "As the clock struck midnight on the 45th president's first year in office, the United States government shut down for the 19th time in history. And right on cue, both sides of the political aisle began attempting to assign blame and assume the moral high ground, with the aid of hashtags and tales of children at risk. But this isn't just another soap opera from the swamp, for the swamp. History and hard data tell us the gears of government grinding to a halt will have nationwide consequences, hurting red states and blue states alike."

WalletHub ranked states and Washington, D.C., on the effects of shutting down the federal government.

     To determine whose homes a government shutdown strikes closest to, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across six key metrics. They range from each state's share of federal jobs and contracts, to the percentage of kids covered by the Children's Health Insurance Program.
A THIRTY PERCENT TARIFF was slapped on foreign-made solar panels on Monday by the Trump administration, which said it wants to encourage manufacturing in the U.S. Solar companies said, however, it will reduce the number of jobs for installing solar by the thousands. Pacific Business News carried a headline saying, "Trump's 30% tariff on solar panel imports could hurt Hawaiʻi's recovering solar sector." See PBN.

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CITIZENS UNITED V. FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION was decided in the Supreme Court eight years ago, allowing corporations to be treated as people with the First Amendment right to free speech. The decision is now exercised in unlimited campaign spending, said Rep. Tulsi Gabbard. She released a statement Monday saying, "That decision opened the floodgates of dark money, Super PACs, and corporate spending in our elections. That's why, instead of passing a year-long funding bill to keep the government open, Congress passed a tax bill which lobbyists helped write, giving billions of dollars in tax breaks to corporations.
     "It's why some members of Congress think they don't have to negotiate on behalf of the people, and it's one of the reasons why I refuse to accept any PAC money," wrote the Congresswoman.

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard issued a petition on Monday, calling for the overturn of Citizens United.

     Said Gabbard, "Each new election breaks the record of dollars raised and spent by Super PACs in the election that preceded it. Advertisements spread ugly, misleading attacks on the integrity and motivations of people who wish to serve in public office, and the scramble for money leaves people of modest means excluded from the process."
     Gabbard contends that "With dark money pouring in thanks to Citizens United, Congress doesn't feel accountable to their constituents anymore. It's up to us to fight back and make sure our voices are heard." She asks that Hawaiʻi citizens sign her petition to overturn Citizens United "and get our government to put people before profits."

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