Mazie Hirono

Ms. HIRONO

Ms. HIRONO. Mr. Speaker, I join my colleagues in wishing Mr. Clay a happy birthday. I rise in strong support of H. Res. 593, recognizing the 50th anniversary of Hawaii's admission as the 50th State of the Union on August 21, 1959. As my colleagues have mentioned, Hawaii brings a lot to this Nation. Our strategic location in the Pacific, our example of tolerance with our multicultural population and mix of cultures, our special relationship with and understanding of the Asia-Pacific region, and the physical beauty and ecological diversity of our islands are just a few of the assets we bring to this Nation. I have very personal memories about the day Hawaii became a State. I was in elementary school at Koko Head Elementary in Honolulu and was given the honor of pinning the 50th star on our school flag at a special school assembly before sending the flag up the flagpole. All Hawaii celebrated that day. To many, statehood represented recognition of a State whose multiethnic, multicultural base was different from that of any other State, but whose sons and daughters were just as American as the people of the other 49 States. 1959 was also the year I became a naturalized U.S. citizen, and apparently was also the year that my colleague, Neil Abercrombie, came to Hawaii. And things haven't been the same there since. Hawaii is a great State, and it has given me opportunities that I never would have had had my mother not brought me to this wonderful, beautiful State. But we must always remember that the 50th State is also the native land of Hawaii's indigenous population, the Native Hawaiians. I am hopeful that this year we will be able to move forward to a reconciliation with the Native Hawaiian people, who lost their country and queen, by passing the Native Hawaii Government Reorganization Act. This act will provide the Native Hawaiians with the same rights of self-determination enjoyed by American Indians and Alaskan Natives. Hawaii's population is made up of persons of Native Hawaiian, Japanese, Chinese, Irish, German, Portuguese, Puerto Rican, Filipino, French, Scottish, Korean, Samoan, Dutch, Tongan, Vietnamese, and African descent and more, plus combinations of these various ethnicities. It is not unusual, for example, for someone to identify themselves as Hawaiian, German, Chinese and Filipino. Although we have not eliminated prejudice, the people of Hawaii have learned to live together and to enjoy the richness that the mix of cultures has brought to our home. Today we also celebrate the achievements of people from Hawaii whose notable efforts have paved the way for other Americans, such as Olympic champion and cultural ambassador Duke Kahanamoku, astronaut Ellison Onizuka, as mentioned previously Congresswoman Patsy Mink and President Barack Obama, to name a few. I urge my colleagues to vote for H. Res. 593.

Ms. HIRONO

Ms. HIRONO. Rather than emulate the laissez faire strategy of the previous administration, President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act less than a month after taking office. Now, just 5 months after its passage, some on the other side of the aisle are proclaiming it a failure. In January 2009, before passage of the Recovery Act, the economy lost 741,000 jobs, foreclosures were at record highs, and the economic growth rate had hit negative 6.3 percent. Some $10 trillion in wealth had been lost in the stock market. The Recovery Act provided our States with vital funds, allowing thousands of teachers, law enforcement officials, and firefighters to stay on the job, to educate our children, and to protect our public. To call this a failure is putting rhetoric over people. More than $20 billion has been made available to fund over 6,000 shovel-ready transportation construction projects, over 2,500 of which are already under way. The Recovery Act is not a cure-all to our economy's problems, but it has and will continue to make a difference for the better.

Ms. HIRONO

Ms. HIRONO. Mr. Speaker, today I hosted a panel discussion on the results of a historic poll on women immigrants to America. Today, women comprise half or more of the immigrants entering this country. Women are the new face of migration in America. Among the findings of this historic poll, many women immigrants acknowledge speaking little or no English, while confronting anti- immigrant discrimination, lack of health care, and low-paying employment, well below the status of the professional work most did in their home countries. Thirty-eight percent of the women came to join family members; 22 percent to make a better life for their children. Their top two biggest challenges were helping their children achieve success and being able to hold their families together. The poll data paralleled my mother's own experience in bringing me and my brothers to the United States from Japan in the mid-1950s: her desire to build better futures for us; her early, low-paying, no- benefits jobs; her determination to keep the family together as head of household. The importance of family to women immigrants is something we can all relate to and support as we discuss and debate immigration reform.

Ms. HIRONO

Ms. HIRONO. Madam Speaker, on rollcall No. 512, had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Ms. HIRONO

Ms. HIRONO. Mr. Chair, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2997, the FY2010 Agriculture Appropriations bill, which makes important investments in agricultural research; conservation, rural development, and nutrition programs; as well as a number of other programs that support agriculture and rural communities in our nation. I am very grateful to the Committee, and especially to Chair Rosa DeLauro, for support of many of my high-priority requests and for recognizing the special challenges faced by Hawaii farmers. Yesterday as we were getting ready to begin debate, I was surprised to learn that another member had filed an amendment to eliminate funding for one of my Hawaii requests included in the final bill. The amendment would have eliminated a $153,000 earmark, titled Agricultural Diversification in Hawaii, to assist Hawaii farmers succeed in growing and marketing new crops to replace sugarcane and pineapple. It was a bit disappointing because the amendment was drafted by a member from Texas, a state that enjoys far more substantial federal support for its farmers in the form of direct payments and other agricultural services than Hawaii. Ultimately, the member from Texas decided not to offer his amendment. If he had, I would have offered the following defense for this important program. Hawaii is the most geographically isolated state. Hawaii imports 85 percent of the food consumed by residents and visitors and is estimated to have a 4-7 day food supply in the event of a shipping disruption of any kind. Our major agricultural industries of sugar and pineapple production have declined precipitously in the last 15 years. Of our last two sugar companies, one announced it was going out of business last year. Our longstanding leaders in pineapple production have moved their fruit production operations out of the state. As a result, Hawaii has been making a difficult transition from plantation to diversified agriculture. Increased food production for local and export markets is a key component to addressing food security in Hawaii. Most of the research done in mainland university and research institutions does not have much relevance in Hawaii. We grow different crops and have a year-round growing season, which means year-round pest and disease issues. There are no large national agricultural organizations to lobby for the interests of papaya, pineapple, banana, or coffee farmers. Rice and cotton growers in Texas can find support from growers in other states who will make sure that their needs are understood and met. The Hawaii Agricultural Diversification program has evolved over time from identifying alternative crops to replace sugarcane and pineapple, to assessments on aquaculture crops, to the current emphasis on tropical fruits. The overall tropical fruit industry in Hawaii comprises nearly 1300 farmers who produce crops for tropical fruit markets with an annual farm gate value of more than $30 million. Included in this agricultural industry are banana, guava, papaya, avocados, and wide range of tropical specialty fruits such as rambutan, lychee, and longan. While the total acreage and the total number of farms increased in 2007, these growers are small farmers, averaging less than 5 acres per farm in production. These farmers have limited resources and do not have the means to conduct the R & D to support their industry. This funding provides means for stakeholder-driven research and development in support of the industry. The main problems faced by Hawaii tropical fruit growers include pest management strategies, phytosanitary export protocols, and refined market information to guide production. For example, two major Hawaii Tropical Specialty Fruits, rambutan and longan, are grown for export to the U.S. mainland but face stiff competition with foreign countries, such as from Thailand, where labor and other input costs are much lower. Research funds have been devoted to finding best management practices for post-harvest handling of rambutan and longan to identify the fungal diseases that damage fruit and accelerate spoilage during shipment. Research, done collaboratively with USDA Agricultural Research Service, has identified methods to extend rambutan and longan shelf-life and to maintain higher quality fruit during shipment, giving Hawaii growers a competitive advantage over cheap foreign competition. Hawaii has an image of being a paradise. Hawaii is beautiful, but at the same time we are also very vulnerable to any downturn in the U.S. or international economies. Our biggest industry, tourism, has been hit hard by the recession. Our geographic isolation means that everything is more expensive, including inputs for agriculture. My district, which includes all of Hawaii (7 inhabited islands) except for the city of Honolulu, is largely rural and most of our residents would like it to stay that way. We have a long agricultural tradition and history and are struggling to adjust to changing markets without the safety net that most states that grow program crops (like cotton, rice, and corn) enjoy. Despite the fact that Hawaii farmers are not able to take advantage of many of the programs that benefit mainland farmers, I have consistently supported farmers throughout the country and simply ask that my fellow members also support Hawaii's hard-working farmers.

Ms. HIRONO

Ms. HIRONO. Mr. Speaker, over 45 million people in America have no health insurance, and over 8 million of them are children. Millions more don't have enough health insurance; that is dramatic, but abstract. Let me make it more real and tell you about two of these people I met in Hawaii last week. One woman told me that she is self-employed and pays all of her taxes. She works hard, but for her entire life she has taken care of herself because she can't afford health care. For years she self-treated a busted knee. It finally got to the point she had to see a doctor, but she couldn't afford it. She did something nobody should ever have to do: she used a friend's insurance card to get the care she needed. Another man bravely told me he was homeless. He doesn't fit the stereotype. He has a college degree and works two jobs. One of his job provides him with health insurance, but he cannot afford the 20 percent copay. He needs that money to buy food for his wife and children, and to buy gasoline to drive his car to work. So he goes without regular doctor visits and hopes for the best. These people aren't asking for a handout. They are asking for a little bit of help. It is time we provided it.

Ms. HIRONO

Ms. HIRONO. Madam Speaker, today I would like to recognize Neda Agha- Soltan, this brave young woman who was shot and killed while en route to join the thousands of Iranians in Tehran who were demonstrating against the Presidential election result. Neda, whose name means ``the voice'' in Farsi, was but one of the many women in Iran demanding that their voices be heard and that their votes be counted and their human rights respected. Like many other Americans and people from around the world, I have been deeply moved by the images of Iranian women who have had the courage to speak their minds in defiance of a regime that seeks to suppress them. I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring the memory of Neda and in supporting all of the courageous women in Iran who are raising their voices and fighting for the fundamental freedoms and human rights that we so often take for granted.

Ms. HIRONO

Ms. HIRONO. Mr. Speaker, during rollcall vote No. 399 on Motion to Reconsider, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no.'' Amendment No. 98 Offered by Mr. Hodes

Ms. HIRONO

Ms. HIRONO. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 614. This legislation awards a Congressional Gold Medal to the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) in honor of their dedicated service during World War II. I am a cosponsor of the House version of this bill (H.R. 2014), which recognizes the first women in the history of our country to fly American military aircraft. The Women Airforce Service Pilots volunteered to fly over 60 million miles in every type of aircraft available to them, participating in all missions other than direct combat missions. They towed targets for air-to-air and ground-to-air gunnery practice, ferried planes, transported cargo and personnel, instructed, flew weather missions, and test flew repaired aircraft. They even flew aircraft that male pilots refused to fly. In spite of their service, the Women Airforce Service Pilots were not given active duty military status and never received any kind of commissioning, rank, or military benefits. In November 1977, Congress narrowly approved legislation to give the WASP the veteran status that they had earned, but they were not invited to the bill signing and received their medals in the mail. Today we recognize the 1,102 women who trained to serve as Women Airforce Service Pilots, 300 of whom are still living today, including three from my home State of Hawaii: Betty Joiner, Elaine Jones, and Mildred Marshall. As a result of the heroism exemplified by the Women Airforce Service Pilots, the U.S. Armed Forces lifted the ban on women attending military flight training in the 1970s, and women now fly on every type of aircraft imaginable, from combat fighter aircraft to space shuttles. This legislation at long last commemorates their service to our country. I urge my colleagues to support this measure.

Ms. HIRONO

Ms. HIRONO. Mr. Speaker, it is time to stop playing politics and solve the health care crisis. Americans deserve a choice in quality health care that is affordable. Health care reform will make sure that we have the option to keep the health care insurance we have, if we like it, or to choose a quality public health care option. Health care reform will stop the insurance companies from denying coverage to those with preexisting conditions. You will also no longer be denied care because of your age. Health care reform will make sure that you will have coverage that can never be denied or taken away. Our families need this peace of mind. We spend almost 50 percent more per person on health care than does the next most costly nation, but we are no healthier for it. We cannot wait any longer to make health care reform a reality. Quality, affordable health care for all is long overdue.

Ms. HIRONO

Ms. HIRONO. I yield to the gentleman from American Samoa.

Ms. HIRONO. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the chairman for yielding time and for being an original cosponsor of my bill, along with my colleague Neil Abercrombie. I would also like to thank the previous speaker for his very kind and knowledgeable remarks, and you pronounced his name correctly, too, which is wonderful. Thank you. H. Res. 479 recognizes the contributions of Jesse Kuhaulua, known professionally as Takamiyama Daigoro, a trailblazer in the sport of sumo wrestling. Maui born and a graduate of Baldwin High School in Wailuku, Jesse made his debut as an aspirant in Japan's national sport in the winter of 1964 in Osaka. At the time he knew little of the Japanese language and the subtleties of the sport itself. In this initial test, he wondered if his stay in Japan would be counted in weeks or months. Today Takamiyama Daigoro will retire from a 45-year long sumo career filled with historic milestones. This marks the day before his 65th birthday when senior members of the sport must retire. Takamiyama Daigoro was the first United States-born wrestler to enter the sport of sumo. In 1972 he became the first foreigner to win the Emperor's Cup, a top division championship in the sport. He was also the first foreign-born wrestler to climb to sumo's third-highest rank of sekiwake. Takamiyama also stands as the only foreigner to open his own heya, or stable, in order to train future generations in the sport after he stopped actively competing himself. Takamiyama opened the door for others from Hawaii to join him in this most ancient of sports. This group includes Saleva'a Atisano'e, also known as Konishiki, who became the first foreigner to reach the second-highest rank of ozeki; Chad Rowen, also known as Akebono, who became the first foreigner to hold the highest rank of sumo, that of yokozuna; and Fiamalu Penitani, also known as Musashimaru, who became the second foreigner to hold the title of yokozuna. Today foreigners from other countries, such as Mongolia, Russia and Georgia, have attained higher rankings and remarkable acclaim in this most ancient of Japanese sports. I urge my colleagues to support this recognition of Jesse Kuhaulua, a true ambassador of the aloha spirit. Mahalo nui loa.

Ms. HIRONO. I would like to note in closing that a very famous singer, who sadly has passed away, named Israel Kamakawiwo'ole wrote a wonderful song about our Hawaiian sumo wrestlers, calling them gentle giants.

Ms. HIRONO

Ms. HIRONO. Madam Speaker, on rollcall No. 334, had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Ms. HIRONO

Ms. HIRONO. Mr. Speaker, later today the House will consider H. Res. 505, a bill that condemns the tragic murder of Dr. George Tiller, and offers our condolences to his wife, four children and 10 grandchildren. He was known as a doctor of last resort and a friend to women when they were in desperate need of support and care. His murder in his church in Wichita, where he served as an usher and where his wife sang in the choir, was a violent, lawless and senseless act. At his memorial service this past Saturday, Dr. Tiller was remembered for his generosity of spirit and his sense of humor. Let us also remember him for his courage. Mahalo nui loa (thank you very much).

Ms. HIRONO

Ms. HIRONO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 505, which condemns the tragic murder of Dr. George R. Tiller of Wichita, Kansas. I would like to thank the author of the bill, Congresswoman Louise Slaughter and Judiciary Chairman John Conyers for their expeditious work in bringing this bill to the floor. We mourn the loss of Dr. Tiller, a husband, father of four, and grandfather of ten. We also mourn the loss of a man who was a friend to women and young girls around the world, who he saw through their most desperate hours of need. Dr. Tiller, born and raised in Wichita, was the son of a physician. In medical school, Dr. Tiller planned to become a dermatologist. After his father, mother, sister, and brother-in-law died in a 1970 plane crash, he returned to Kansas to close his father's family practice. His father's patients pleaded with him to return and take over the practice. Eventually, his clinic evolved from general family practice to focusing on reproductive services. Acts of terror and intimidation were an all too common occurrence at his clinic. In 1986, Dr. Tiller's clinic, the Women's Health Care Services, was bombed. In 1991, it was blockaded for six weeks. In 1993, Dr. Tiller was shot in both arms while trying to enter the clinic. In May 2009, vandals cut wires to security cameras and made holes in the clinic roof. Dr. Tiller was murdered on Sunday, May 31, 2009. He was shot in his place of worship, the Reformation Lutheran Church. Dr. Tiller served as an usher and his wife, Jeanne, sang in the choir. I would like to insert into the Record an article by Judith Warner that was published in her New York Times blog. One of Dr. Tiller's cases mentioned by Ms. Warner, that involving a 9 year-old girl who had been raped by her father, is particularly haunting. This child was 18 weeks pregnant and her small body just would not be able to physically bear the burden of labor and delivery. There was no doctor or hospital in her rural, Southern town that would provide her with an abortion. She was referred to Dr. Tiller, the doctor of last resort. Dr. Tiller took her case for free. He kept her under his personal care for three days. The young girl and her sister stated that even in this difficult and heart-wrenching situation, he could not have been more wonderful in his care. On Saturday, memorial services were held for Dr. Tiller. His family and friends remembered him for his generosity and his sense of humor. Let us also remember him for his courage. Mahalo nui loa (thank you very much). [From the New York Times, June 4, 2009] Dr. Tiller's Important Job (By Judith Warner) The 9-year-old girl had been raped by her father. She was 18 weeks pregnant. Carrying the baby to term, going through labor and delivery, would have ripped her small body apart. There was no doctor in her rural Southern town to provide her with an abortion. No area hospital would even consider taking her case. Susan Hill, the president of the National Women's Health Foundation, which operates reproductive health clinics in areas where abortion services are scarce or nonexistent, called Dr. George Tiller, the Wichita, Kan., ob-gyn who last Sunday was shot to death by an abortion foe in the entry foyer of his church. She begged. ``I only asked him for a favor when it was a really desperate story, not a semi-desperate story,'' she told me this week. Tiller was known to abortion providers--and opponents--as the ``doctor of last resort''--the one who took the patients no one else would touch. ``He took her for free,'' she said. ``He kept her three days. He checked her himself every few hours. She and her sister came back to me and said he couldn't have been more wonderful. That's just the way he was.'' Other patients of Dr. Tiller's shared their stories this week on a special ``Kansas Stories'' page hosted by the Web site ``A Heartbreaking Choice.'' One New York mother wrote of having been referred by an obstetrician to Tiller after learning, in her 27th week of pregnancy, that her soon-to-be son was ``so very sick'' that, once born, he'd have nothing more than ``a brief life of respirators, dialysis, surgeries and pain.'' In-state doctors refused to perform an abortion. ``The day I drove up to the clinic in Wichita, Kansas, to undergo the procedure that would end the life of my precious son, I also walked into the nightmare of abortion politics. In this world, reality rarely gets through the rhetoric,'' wrote another mother, from Texas, of the shouts, graphic posters and protesters' video camera that greeted her when she came to see Tiller. Our understanding of what late abortion is like has been almost entirely shaped in public discourse by the opponents of abortion rights. In recent years, discussions of the issue have been filled with the gory details of so-called partial-birth abortion; the grim miseries that drive some women and girls to end their pregnancies after the first trimester have somehow been elided. ``Late abortion is not a failure of contraception. It's for medical reasons,'' Eleanor Smeal, the president of the Feminist Majority Foundation, who has worked to defend abortion providers like Tiller against harassment and violence since the mid-1980s, told me this week. ``We've made pregnancy a fairy tale where there are no fetal complications, there's no cancer, no terrible abuse of girls, no cases where to make a girl go all the way through a pregnancy is to destroy her. These are the realities of the story. That's what Dr. Tiller worked with--the realities.'' There was a great deal of emotion in the air this week as the reality of Tiller's death set in. Much of it was mournful, some was celebratory, some was cynical and self- serving. There were the requisite expressions of disapproval and disavowal by politicians from both sides of the abortion divide. And yet it seemed to me that even from pro-choice politicians, the response was muted. In death, as in life, no one wanted to embrace this man who had specialized in helping women who learned late in their pregnancies that their fetuses had gross abnormalities. It seemed that no one wanted to be too closely associated with the muck and mire of what Tiller had to do in carrying out the risky and emotionally traumatic second- and third- trimester abortions that other doctors and hospitals refused to do. In news reports, there was a tendency to frame the ``abortion doctor's'' murder almost as a kind of combat death: a natural occupational hazard. Yet Tiller--who went to work in a bulletproof vest, lived in a gated community and drove a bulletproof car--was a doctor, not a soldier. And it is precisely this kind of thinking--this viewing of his life and work through the lens of our most gruesome cultural warfare, this slippage and mixing up of medicine and politics--that left him largely unprotected at the time of his death. Someone resembling Scott Roeder, the man charged in Dr. Tiller's murder, was seen on Saturday trying to pour glue into the lock on the back door of a Kansas City clinic. Before that, abortion providers around the country had been telling local law enforcement and the United States Justice Department that harassment at their clinics was on the rise, and they were scared. The Feminist Majority Foundation had been hearing all spring that the atmosphere outside clinics was heating up in the wake of the new pro-choice president's election. ``We all lived through Clinton, the shootings in '93 and '94. We were concerned some of the extremists said they had to take the fight 'back to the streets,''' Smeal said. There are legal protections in place that ought to keep abortion providers like Tiller safe. The Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, passed by Congress after the 1993 murder of Dr. David Gunn outside his Pensacola, Fla., women's health clinic and the attempted murder of Tiller that same year, prohibits property damage, acts or threats of force, and interference with and intimidation of anyone entering a reproductive health care facility. When the federal law is backed by complementary state laws, and when local law enforcement officers apply those laws assiduously, serious violence greatly declines. When the law's not applied strenuously, when vandalism goes uninvestigated, when protesters are allowed to photograph or videotape patients arriving at women's health clinics, when death threats aren't followed up, more serious acts of physical violence follow. In fact, when intimidation occurs at a clinic, the reported rate of violence triples, the Feminist Majority Federation's 2008 National Clinic Violence Survey found. ``We really do need to arrest people who are trespassing. Arrest people who are gluing locks. Committing more minor violations of the law so criminal activity doesn't escalate, so these criminals don't feel emboldened,'' said Vicki Saporta, the president of the National Abortion Federation. ``In places where the laws are enforced, you don't see violence escalate. Protesters generally go someplace where there's a more hospitable climate,'' she told me. But, she added, in a lot of communities, law enforcement views clinic violence as a political problem. ``They don't view it for what it is: criminal activity outside of a commercial establishment,'' she said. ``Law enforcement can't treat this as a political issue. It's a criminal issue.'' We as a nation cannot continue to provide a hospitable environment for the likes of Roeder because the thought of what happens to fetuses in late abortions turns our stomachs. We have to accept that sometimes terrible things happen to young girls. We have to face the fact that sometimes desired pregnancies go tragically wrong. We have to weigh our repugnance for late abortion against the consequences for women and girls of being denied life-saving medical treatment. Only a tiny handful of doctors in this country will, like Dr. Tiller, provide abortion services for girls or women who are advanced in their pregnancies. These doctors aren't well known to patients or even to other doctors, but they're closely monitored by antiabortion groups, who know where they work, where they live and where they worship. Roeder may have been a lone gunman, but in the largest possible sense, he did not act alone. The location of Tiller's gated community was prominently featured on an easily-accessed Web site, along with a map of the streets surrounding his house. It was really only a matter of time before someone was unbalanced enough to take the bait. Most Americans, I'm sure, do not believe that a 9-year-old should be forced to bear a child, or that a woman should have no choice but to risk her life to carry a pregnancy to term. By averting our eyes from the ugliness and tragedy that accompany some pregnancies, we have allowed anti-abortion activists to define the dilemma of late abortion. We have allowed them to isolate and vilify doctors like Tiller. We can no longer be complicit--through our muted disapproval or our complacency--in domestic terror.

Ms. HIRONO

Ms. HIRONO. I also mentioned the fact that so many of our working families who file for bankruptcy do so because of catastrophic medical expenses. And in a country that is spending $2 trillion a year on medical care and 45 million-plus people not insured, it's astounding that we continue this system, which obviously is not working for people who are working, middle class families, for businesses. We have to do something. And the great thing is that we have an opportunity now, looking at all of this data, to come together to make some changes. For the first time, we have this wonderful opportunity, in over 15 years, to make some changes to the system that is not working for anybody, really.

Ms. HIRONO. Ditto for me.

Ms. HIRONO. I don't think there is anything wrong with the single- payer. But as you say, we are dealing with a lot of interests and ideas, and as President Obama said, this is a time when all of the perspectives ought to be given consideration and due respect. And I think that moving this discussion to a consideration of a public insurance option is a pretty large step, in my view. And if you add that in addition to the promoting of the use of information technology for medical records, and there are a number of other things we can do to move the ball so that we can get quality medical care for more people and have it affordable, I think that what we are talking about right now with the public option moves that ball in that direction.

Ms. HIRONO. When you talk about the people who are already being covered by Medicare or are about to get there, the fact of the matter is that our country is a rapidly aging country; and, in fact, Hawaii has one of the fastest aging populations in the entire country. So the issue of health care coverage and how we're going to do it is very much on people's minds. When you talk about, how are people supposed to take care of their long-term care needs, that is a huge, huge concern in our country. So what we should be also talking about is, how are we going to help our elders age in place as opposed to having to be institutionalized where the costs are so much greater? There are just so many choices that we can be making that truly enables the people of our country to sleep soundly at night, knowing their needs are being met.

Ms. HIRONO. I think that when the American public finds out what we're talking about with a public option that they will support it because it's choice. Nobody is forcing anything down anyone's throat. So when the American public receives accurate information, as opposed to being scared to death, I think they know what the appropriate answers are. That's part of what we need to do here. That's what we're doing tonight, to talk about these options that we have to talk about, what kind of focus we should have in terms of how we're going to use our health care dollars: Are we going to use it for prevention? Are we going to use it for primary care? Are we going to make those kinds of decisions with regard to how we spend $2 trillion every year? We hope we can reduce that. But with accurate information, I think the American public is perfectly able to make the correct decisions or appropriate decisions.

Ms. HIRONO. Small businesses. You have them all coming in, saying: Let's really fix this. Let's identify the problem and let's fix it. In our country, we like competition, but I don't think anybody could really say that there is competition going on among the private health insurance carriers. It's all very complicated. Jan talked about how, if you don't read the fine print, you don't even know if you're not covered for something that you think you're covered for. So it's all very nontransparent. That's why the Progressive Caucus is supporting a public insurance option that is accountable and that is transparent. Believe me, those two adjectives do not apply to the private insurance carriers, because insurance is traditionally regulated, or in a manner of speaking, very little regulation actually occurs at the State level. I'll use Hawaii as an example. The State of Hawaii regulates the rates for automobile insurance because Hawaii is a ``no fault'' State. The State regulates the rates for workers' compensation. I would say most States regulate workers' compensation insurance rates, but there is no rate regulation, and there is no review of the rates that private insurance health care carriers charge. In fact, most States, I would venture to say, don't even require any kind of information from their private insurance carriers. That is why there is no competition. As Americans, we like competition. We want to see competition between a transparent, accountable public insurance option and a private option. Believe me, if people like their private options, or their private carriers, then that's what it is. It's a choice, and they can keep it. If they are satisfied, they ought to be able to keep it.

Ms. HIRONO. Thank you for yielding. That's the thing. This system is so broken that you've got people from all segments. You have Republicans and Democrats. You have doctors, nurses, hospitals, and providers.

Ms. HIRONO. It is. Did I mention the costs go up and up and up? There's no end in sight, frankly, to rely upon the private health insurance carriers to resolve this problem which has been with us. Remember, when I came here and my mother didn't have health insurance, it was a number of decades ago. I won't tell you how many, but the problems remain. And this is why the Progressive Caucus is very much focused as we focus on reducing costs and maintaining access and choice for doctors and health care plans and really focusing on affordable quality health care, that we want to have a public option, a public option to give the people of our country a choice as to whether or not, if they have their current private carrier insurance and they're happy with it, they can stay with that. But for those who want to have another option, who want to see competition in the health insurance market through a public option, that's what the Progressive Caucus wants to see. This is why so many people from all across the country are supporting health care reform. It's not just top down. We have all been having reforms all across the country, in my own State, and I can talk about that a little bit more. I think I have been sort of hogging the time, so why don't I send it over, if you don't mind.

Ms. HIRONO

Ms. HIRONO. Madam Speaker, aloha! I rise today in support of the Reuniting Families Act, a bill introduced by Congressman Michael Honda. I am proud to be an original cosponsor of this important bill. There are currently 5.8 million people in the family immigration backlog waiting unconscionable periods of time to reunite with their family members. The Reunifying Families Act takes important steps toward fixing our broken family immigration system by reducing the waiting times for legal immigrants. One important piece of Mr. Honda's bill is the inclusion of the Filipino Veterans Family Reunification Act (H.R. 2412), a bill I have introduced for the past two congressional sessions. My bill would exempt the sons and daughters of Filipino World War II veterans from the cap on immigration numbers that have resulted in waiting periods for up to two decades for immigrant visas to the United States. I have listened to many heartbreaking stories of our Filipino veterans, many of whom are in their 80s and 90s, waiting patiently with the hope that one day that their children will be able to come to the United States to care for them. I am glad that the Filipino Veterans Family Reunification Act is a part of the Reuniting Families Act. The family bond is precious and it is the bedrock of society. Any policy that would keep family members apart for decades at a time, husband from wife, mother from child, is not morally defensible. The real solution is to reward immigrants for following the law, not punish them with unreasonably long separations. I look forward to working with my colleagues by providing for the reunification of all our families.