Jill Tokuda

Ms. TOKUDA

Ms. TOKUDA. Madam Speaker, I rise today with a heavy heart to honor the life of Hawaii County Fire Chief Kazuo Todd. I was fortunate to spend time with Kazuo--visits to the firehouse and dispatch center, meetings and conferences, catching him around D.C. and Hawaii Island. He even suited me up in full fire gear to break down a door so I could experience the training his firefighters endure. In all the time I got to spend with him, one truth came through very clearly: Kazuo cared, deeply and genuinely, about people. He was a devoted son, a loving husband, and a proud father who cared for the Hawaii Island people the same way he cared for his own ``family'' ``ohana,'' with a calm sense in crisis, humility in leadership, and an unshakable sense of responsibility and aloha for others. To the Todd ``family'' ``ohana,'' while our time with Kazuo was far too short, ``thank you'' ``mahalo'' for sharing him with us. He poured his heart into serving the people of Hawaii Island, and all of us are better for it.

Ms. TOKUDA

Ms. TOKUDA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the extraordinary service of Dr. Judy Mohr Peterson, who has dedicated her career to strengthening Medicaid and expanding access to high-quality health care for the people of Hawaii. I first had the opportunity to work with Judy years ago at the state level in Hawaii, where we often found ourselves facing some of the toughest policy challenges that states encounter, balancing limited resources with the real health needs of families, seniors, keiki, and people with complex medical conditions. Through many difficult conversations and complex decisions, Judy brought not only deep expertise but also a profound commitment to equity and aloha for people and communities across our islands. As Administrator of Hawaii's Med-QUEST Division, Judy demonstrated exceptional leadership in advancing innovative strategies that stretched every dollar of Medicaid to serve our most vulnerable residents. Under her guidance, Hawaii pursued expanded benefits and greater flexibility within federal Medicaid authorities, ensuring that the program could respond more fully to the holistic needs of those it serves. This included securing extension and expansion of Hawaii's Section 1115 Medicaid demonstration, strengthening coverage for health- related social needs, supporting continuity of coverage and care, and enhancing services for residents transitioning from incarceration or foster care to community living. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Judy's experience, leadership, and calm demeanor were indispensable. She mobilized Med-QUEST to implement emergency flexibilities overnight, protected continuous coverage for hundreds of thousands of Hawaii residents, and worked closely with providers to stabilize the health care system at a time when uncertainty and fear were widespread. Her steady guidance ensured that vulnerable families did not lose access to care, that providers were supported in maintaining essential services, and that the state swiftly responded to emerging public health needs. Recognizing that health extends beyond clinical care, Judy also played a key role in expanding community-based services. Under her leadership, Hawaii became the first state in the Nation to secure approval to cover community-based palliative care through Medicaid, allowing individuals with serious illness to receive compassionate, symptom-relieving care outside of hospital settings. These innovations on their own are challenging, and Judy did these while faces with significant public health emergencies and disasters, from the pandemic to the Maui fires. By embracing federal flexibilities such as Section 1135 waivers--she ensured that care continued uninterrupted for those most at risk. Her team's work earned national recognition from the National Association of Medicaid Directors for its rapid response and profound community impact. More recently, as the Nation debated major changes in federal Medicaid policy, including the projected significant cuts and eligibility shifts anticipated under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Judy was a critical voice in helping us understand and prepare for the impacts to medically vulnerable communities across Hawaii. She clearly articulated how new work requirements and more frequent eligibility checks will threaten continued coverage for hundreds of thousands of people in Hawaii, emphasizing the administrative burdens and risk of coverage loss, especially among working families and vulnerable populations. Throughout these transitions, Judy also worked to support providers in transforming care delivery to a more value-oriented model that rewards quality and outcomes, reinvesting in systems and programs that support Hawaii's most vulnerable residents and providers alike. Her approach always kept people at the center, ensuring that even as systems evolve, coverage, access, and dignity are preserved for those who need care most. Mr. Speaker, I would like to extend my biggest ``mahalo'' and sincerest ``congratulations'' to Judy Mohr Peterson on her years of distinguished service as Hawaii's Medicaid Director and Med-QUEST Division Administrator. Throughout her tenure, she has shown visionary leadership, unwavering compassion, and a tireless commitment to improving health outcomes for children, families, kupuna, and communities across Hawaii. Her work has touched the lives of approximately one-third of our state's residents, and her legacy of innovation and advocacy will continue to benefit all of Hawaii for years to come. Mahalo to Judy for her exemplary public service and for her enduring dedication to ensuring that Medicaid serves not just as a payer of services, but as a lifeline to health, equity, and opportunity.

Ms. TOKUDA

Ms. TOKUDA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with a heavy heart to join my colleagues in honoring the life and service of Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom and in lifting up Air Force Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe as he continues his recovery after the shooting that wounded them both while deployed to Washington, D.C. Mr. Speaker, Specialist Beckstrom was only 20 years old when she died on November 27, 2025, from her injuries. She was a daughter, a student, an athlete, a caregiver, and a soldier. In her civilian life, as we heard, she worked at a behavioral health clinic in Summersville, West Virginia, helping others heal. She initially joined the Army to help pay for college. She soon found a deeper calling in service, proudly serving as a military police officer. At Webster County High School, she excelled both in the classroom and on the softball field, studied health science, and participated in the JROTC, learning early the values of citizenship, duty, and service in a democracy. She dreamed of a future in law enforcement, possibly with the FBI, a dream rooted in her desire to protect others and to be a part of something greater than herself. Her life was far too short, but her example will endure. Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe, just 24 years old, also exemplifies that same quiet dedication to country. A lineman in his civilian life and a force management airman in the West Virginia Air National Guard, he serves in a role that rarely makes headlines but is essential to the readiness and effectiveness of our Armed Forces. His work ensures that our people, resources, and missions are aligned so the military can function when it matters most. A graduate of high school in Inwood, West Virginia, Staff Sergeant Wolfe joined the Guard in 2019, stepping forward to serve, while building a life at home. I am encouraged by reports of his progress and that he is now breathing on his own and standing without assistance. I join all who are rooting for his full and speedy recovery. Specialist Beckstrom and Staff Sergeant Wolfe represent the very best of our Nation. They are young Americans, driven by service, compassion, and a sense of duty. Their willingness to step forward and to serve their communities and their country reflects the highest ideals of military and public service. Mr. Speaker, there is no place in a civil and democratic society for this kind of violence. I am deeply grateful to all who wear the uniform and to the families and the loved ones who stand behind them, often bearing the quiet burden and heavy sacrifices on their own. I thank Representatives Miller and Moore for bringing forward H. Res. 923, and I am extremely proud to support its passage. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. TOKUDA

Ms. TOKUDA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today outraged at the ongoing assault on the rights and protections of the Federal workers who serve our Nation, over 48,000 of them in Hawaii alone. Just yesterday, this House passed the NDAA, meant to strengthen our national defense. However, the NDAA means nothing if we cut down, take away rights, and fail to protect the very workforce that makes national defense possible. Earlier this year, President Trump issued an executive order dismantling collective bargaining agreements for more than 1 million Federal employees. Let's be clear: The healthcare we fight to make affordable and accessible, the services we promise our veterans, the readiness we demand of our agencies, none of it is real if we undermine the employees who deliver these services on the front lines. Without them, these are just empty promises, just words. Collective bargaining, grievance procedures, and whistleblower protections are the foundation of the strong civilian workforce that our national security, veterans, and communities across this country rely on.

Ms. TOKUDA. Our Hawaii Government Employees Association calls the President's action a direct attack on working Americans. That is why I stand firmly with our union ``ohana'' ``family'' across the country in rejecting these union-busting efforts and urging passage of the Protect America's Workforce Act.

Ms. TOKUDA

Ms. TOKUDA. Mr. Speaker, 80 years ago, over 120,000 Japanese individuals were stripped of their rights and forced into barbed-wire camps because of the way they looked and the language they spoke. My great-grandfather, my GG, was one of them. He was taken from his home on Maui and imprisoned not for anything that he had done but for who he was. We said then, ``never again.'' Yet, here we are today. Now, the very sites where Japanese-American families were incarcerated have been reopened. Fort Bliss, a World War II internment camp, is now the Nation's largest immigrant detention center. To add insult to injury, the Trump administration is using the same law, the Alien Enemies Act that was once used to imprison Japanese Americans, to detain and fast track deportations, with zero due process rights. While this administration insists it is targeting dangerous criminals, we know that more than 73 percent of those in ICE custody have no criminal convictions at all. This administration is also intentionally dismantling legal pathways and stripping people of lawful status so they can be deported. We just saw this on Kauai recently, where a raid that swept up 44 people ended with six Venezuelan men--who were legally here seeking asylum--self- deporting after the administration revoked temporary protected status for their country. To anyone who thinks this could never happen to me, consider this: Two-thirds of the Japanese imprisoned in camps were American citizens. Their children, like my grandfather, serving in the United States military in defense of a country who saw them as the enemy. Today, American citizens are also being rounded up, once again, stopped and detained, simply for the way they look, by officers who face no accountability. United States military veterans are being picked up, detained, and deported. What we are witnessing is a slow methodical erosion of citizens' rights and a cold indifference towards treating entire communities as national security threats. We are in the midst of history in the making, and history has already shown us the dangers of what this country can do when given unchecked, unfettered immigration authorities. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues on all sides of the aisle: How much are we willing to tolerate before we say enough is enough? Eighty years later, this Nation still reflects with shame at what it did to our Japanese-American families. We apologized. We vowed to learn. We vowed to do better, and we have failed. ``Never again.'' ``Nidoto nai.''

Ms. TOKUDA

Ms. TOKUDA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and service of Maui County councilmember Tasha Kama, a mother to all, a warm hand, a hug when you needed it most, a voice for the voiceless, and a champion for everyone she served. Tasha was a fierce advocate for affordable housing, a tireless defender of Native Hawaiian rights, and steadfast for our ``children''; ``keiki'' and our ``elders''; ``kupuna.'' More than any title or position, she carried a quiet strength and a deep faith that grounded our entire community. She showed up for people, not for recognition, but because she believed every person deserved dignity, respect, and aloha. Hawaii, and the world, needs more Tashas. With her now watching from above, we must try to live and lead with the same courage, compassion, and unwavering aloha that defined her life. To the Kama ``family''; ``o'hana'' and all those whose lives she shaped, we offer our deepest condolences. May her legacy continue to guide us forward. Mr. Speaker, may my friend rest in aloha.

Ms. TOKUDA

Ms. TOKUDA. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material in the Record.

Ms. TOKUDA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, today we celebrate National Rural Health Day here on the House floor, standing shoulder to shoulder with our colleagues in the Bipartisan Rural Health Caucus. I am very humbled and honored to be here with my friend and fellow co-chair, Representative Diana Harshbarger. A big mahalo, as we have just heard from Members on both sides of the aisle, who took to the floor to raise up the needs, the challenges, the hopes, and the dreams for healthcare in rural America. Mr. Speaker, at this time I yield to the gentlewoman from Tennessee (Mrs. Harshbarger).

Ms. TOKUDA. Mr. Speaker, National Rural Health Day is a chance to honor the communities that keep this country moving: the farmers, teachers, ``seniors,'' ``kupuna,'' health workers, first responders, small business owners, and families who fuel our local economies and preserve our way of life. It is also a moment for Congress to recognize that rural communities face challenges that are different not because they are less but because they are often asked to survive systems that were not built for them. What some in Washington call innovation is really rural America being forced into a constant state of adaptation, forced to make do, to improvise, and stretch thin resources even thinner simply to maintain basic access to healthcare. Every day in Hawaii, I see mobile clinics reaching isolated communities, school-based health centers stepping up for low-income children, and community health workers bridging cultural and geographic divides. Rural communities everywhere are pioneering models of behavioral health integration in telemedicine, not from a place of creativity or convenience but necessity and survival. We have proven we can adapt to impossible situations, but extraordinary flexibility cannot and must not replace true investment. Ingenuity cannot replace Federal partnership, and resilience cannot continue to be a substitute for resources. We have unfinished business here before us in Congress, but what gives me hope is that we have allies and advocates on both sides of the aisle ready to lead. Across the country, from the volcano-lined communities in my district of Ka'u to the farming slopes of Upcountry Maui, to the taro patches that I see on Kauai, one truth is crystal clear: Rural America is tired of being resilient. When people call us resilient, what they are really saying is we have been forced to survive hardship. Resilience means we are struggling. Resilience means we are being asked to endure what no community should ever be asked to endure. Our people cannot survive on resiliency alone. Rural America is tired of being tired. Rural America is tired of jumping from one difficult situation to another. Rural America is tired of learning to bend without breaking due to a lack of resources, investment, and support. What rural America needs is an immediate, revolutionary, transformational investment, a historic top-to-bottom overhaul that rebuilds the healthcare system from the inside out. Rural America needs a profound change on a scale that we have not yet seen before and, most importantly, rural America, where we all live, needs a chance to be known as more than just resilient. It deserves a chance to thrive. We cannot rely on Band-Aids, small steps forward, and short-term pilot projects, especially when we know families are driving hours or having to even get on a plane for care. Hospitals are closing, behavioral health crises are going untreated. When the difference between life and death is the difference between one rural town and the nearest city, this is unacceptable. Our people will literally die without bold, immediate, systemic action on rural health. Today, we still lack long-term stability for community health centers, teaching health centers, and the National Health Service Corps. Critical workforce and training programs remain stuck in reauthorization limbo, and bipartisan bills to strengthen EMS capacity, expand telehealth, and improve behavioral health access still await action. We said these issues were urgent last year when we were on the floor. They are even more urgent today. Rural communities cannot afford another year of waiting. That is why we are pushing forward with real, bipartisan solutions that simply cannot wait another Congress to be enacted into law. My rural health clinic modernization package, including the Rural Behavioral Health Improvement Act, cuts red tape and strengthens reimbursements so rural clinics can stay open. The HEALTH Act protects telehealth access, including audio-only visits for families who lack broadband or live hours away from their care. The Community TEAMS Act and Strengthening Pathways to Health Professions Act rebuild the rural workforce pipeline, supporting students and providers and keeping scholarships and loan repayment programs accessible and tax free. The Rural Health Care Technical Assistance Act gives rural facilities the tools they need to prevent closures and stay financially stable. These are practical, bipartisan solutions built for lasting impact, not another short-term fix to grab a headline. That is why caucuses like ours, the Bipartisan Rural Health Caucus, and Special Order hours like the ones that you have seen tonight matter. They remind America and this Congress that despite everything going on in our politics, there is still a path forward. There is still work we can only accomplish together. In closing, I thank all of my colleagues who joined us tonight to give their speeches and to the over 70 Members, Republicans and Democrats, who make up our caucus. Their presence sends a clear message: Rural communities matter. The voices of my constituents in Hawaii and rural Americans across this great country keep us grounded. Every nurse, doctor, EMT, pharmacist, community health worker, and small clinic team show us both the urgency and the solutions every single day. This work is not just policy. It is people. It is families. It is the future of rural America. Let's continue to listen, to act, and deliver together because when rural communities thrive, all of America thrives. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. TOKUDA

Ms. TOKUDA. Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

Ms. TOKUDA

Ms. TOKUDA. Madam Speaker, when the Armed Services Committee reported out this year's NDAA, it was a bill I was proud to support after months of bipartisan work, careful oversight, and real provisions to strengthen our national defense. That is the kind of process this committee is known for. As we have sadly seen before, the amendments being considered are largely partisan poison pills set to, once again, diminish the bipartisan work of our committee. Through a closed, partisan process, Rules Committee Republicans stripped away balance and accountability. They denied Democrats and, by extension, our constituents the chance to openly debate issues that demand answers, like the National Guard in our streets, the purges at the Pentagon, or the abuse of Trump's unilateral military force abroad. Not surprisingly, not one of the ten amendments I submitted were made in order. Let me tell you what Republicans apparently don't care about: Accountability for predators. I offered an amendment to disinter Dr. Robert McCormick Browne, a man accused of sexually abusing dozens of students in Hawaii, from the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. A predator like that does not deserve to rest amongst heroes. The Republicans said no. By refusing to act, they are, once again, protecting a pedophile, allowing him to lie in a place of honor instead of standing amongst survivors and justice. Taking care of veterans. I proposed suspending commissary debit card fees that unfairly tax veterans and their caregivers. I also proposed eliminating medical copays for Native Hawaiian veterans, the same healthcare benefits that Native American and Alaska Native veterans currently receive. Republicans said no. Apparently, they believe veterans should keep getting nickeled-and-dimed for basic healthcare and food. Madam Speaker, with regard to safe housing for servicemembers, I proposed an amendment to increase investment in barracks for unaccompanied servicemembers and establish clear timeliness standards for maintenance work orders. No servicemembers should be forced to live with black mold, broken plumbing, and unsafe conditions. I have walked through those barracks myself. Republicans said no, again. I guess they are fine sending troops off to war and combat and then sending them home to live in squalor. With regard to standing up to China, I introduced an amendment requiring congressional approval before advanced AI chips, critical to our most sophisticated weapons and intelligence systems, could be exported to Beijing. It was blocked. I also proposed raising the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative cap to $8.5 billion, fully paid for with existing tariff revenue that is coming in, to strengthen Indo-Pacific deterrence. Republicans still said no. If this is their idea of strength, China will be the one that wins. It wasn't just me that didn't get amendments included in the NDAA. Many of my colleagues put forward commonsense ideas like prohibiting the deportation of veterans without due process, as in the case of my constituent, Mr. Sae Joon Park, or clarifying that the National Guard can't be turned into an immigration police force. Yet both of these amendments were blocked. Madam Speaker, here is the truth. It is an intentional choice that we make to take an oath to be of the people and for the people. In a democracy, we debate. We vote. We let the American people see exactly where we stand. In an autocracy, that choice is stripped away. Dissent is silenced, and decisions are made behind closed doors. That is the difference. That is the danger. That is a choice. Shutting down debate isn't just about dysfunction. It is a betrayal of our oath and our disservice to every single servicemember, veteran, and family who depends on us. They fought for us. They have sacrificed for us. They have died for us. They deserve leaders who fight for them and not politicians who game the process. I will always stand up for all of Hawaii's servicemembers, their families, and the communities that support them. Their sacrifices inspire me every single day. Madam Speaker, there is another way. There is a better way. It is called democracy, and it begins with a choice.

Ms. TOKUDA

Ms. TOKUDA. Mr. Chair, I rise in strong opposition to this amendment. Let's be clear: The Exceptional Family Member Program does not pay for medical care. Its purpose is simple: to ensure that military families are stationed where the medical and educational services they need are available. This amendment misrepresents the mission, and it undermines it. We ask our servicemembers to sacrifice so much for this country, in many cases, even their lives. As a mother, I would never ask them to sacrifice their child's well-being. That is not just offensive, that is cruel, and it is inhumane. Gender-affirming care is healthcare. Denying it sends a harmful message to military families with transgender children that their needs, their dignity, who they are, and their very lives do not matter. In addition, when we harm their families and when we harm their children, we undermine the very readiness we are so focused on as a military, the very people whom we rely on to be on the front lines, defending this Nation every day. Our servicemembers put everything on the line, and we should do the same for them. Vote ``no'' on this amendment.

Ms. TOKUDA. Mr. Chair, I claim the time in opposition.

Ms. TOKUDA. Mr. Chair, I rise in strong opposition to this amendment striking funding for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative. Coming from Hawaii, on the front lines of the Indo-Pacific, I know firsthand how critically important it is to keep our ties in this region strong. The Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative is not just another line item. It is a vital provision that enables Taiwan to maintain its self- defense capabilities and sends a clear message to both Taipei and Beijing that the United States is serious about deterrence. It keeps us out of that war that the sponsor of this amendment is so concerned about. Cutting this funding would only invite Beijing to push harder, not pull back. We say we want to be tough on China, yet here we are entertaining whether to cut one of the clearest demonstrations of our strength and resolve. The fact that this amendment has even been made in order undermines us. Just giving this amendment airtime sows seeds of doubt in Taiwan as to our support and further emboldens Beijing. This is not, by any means, a serious amendment. In this very same bill that we are debating, we are considering bipartisan provisions that strengthen our defense relations with Taiwan, expanding DOD's annual readiness assessments, even Republican- led amendments to invite Taiwan into RIMPAC and bolster its energy security. These are the kinds of amendments that are aligned with the United States' interests. These are the kinds of amendments that foster deterrence, not instigate and facilitate Chinese propaganda, as this one would. When we question our support for Taiwan outright, as this amendment does, onlookers will wonder what else are we willing to walk back on? Who else will we abandon on the line? That is not the message we should be sending. This amendment is nothing more than a political stunt that should never have seen the light of day. Beijing is watching, my friends. Passing this amendment is a win for China. Do not be fooled. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. TOKUDA. Mr. Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. McCormick).

Ms. TOKUDA. Mr. Chair, may I inquire as to how much time I have remaining.

Ms. TOKUDA. Mr. Chair, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentleman from Georgia.

Ms. TOKUDA. Madam Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Rogers).

Ms. TOKUDA. Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. TOKUDA. Madam Speaker, we have heard strong voices from both sides of the aisle that this is a bad, reckless, dangerous amendment. Every dollar and day we spend supporting Taiwan is another day we keep our servicemembers, our children, and our grandchildren out of war. This is about putting Americans first. It is a very simple decision. I ask my colleagues to vote ``no.'' Madam Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. TOKUDA. Madam Chair, I rise in opposition to this amendment, which would create broad exemptions from the Endangered Species Act on military and National Guard lands. In Hawaii, this would be akin to a taking. The idea that protecting endangered species and maintaining readiness are mutually exclusive is simply false. Across the country, including in Hawaii, the Department of Defense has shown it can partner with conservation experts and local communities to safeguard fragile ecosystems while still meeting its mission. We should be doing more to hold the Department of Defense accountable and strengthening these efforts, not giving it a blank check to disregard environmental laws whenever it claims national security. In Hawaii, where trust around military land use is damaged, quite frankly, and lease negotiations are ongoing, accountability is not optional. A back-door taking of our lands is 100 percent unacceptable. Allowing this amendment to pass would set a dangerous precedent, undo decades of progress, and erode community trust. Protecting our environment and ensuring national defense are not opposing goals. They are shared responsibilities that we must uphold together. Madam Chair, I strongly urge my colleagues to reject this amendment.

Ms. TOKUDA

Ms. TOKUDA. Mr. Speaker, last week, I joined our Maui ``ohana''; ``family,'' law enforcement, and officials from across Hawaii as we bid farewell to Suzanne O, a beloved member of the Maui Police Department, who was killed in the line of duty, the first for our department in 26 years. Raised in American Samoa and a graduate of Farrington High School, Officer O hoped to be a role model for other Pacific Islander girls, and she was. One of those girls, her niece Oleya, spoke at her memorial, calling her aunty ``my favorite, beautiful police officer'' and asking her to visit her in her dreams. Officer O was a proud member of the MPD Honor Guard, and she received a certificate of merit for her heroic efforts during the Maui wildfires. In a final act of ``aloha''; ``love and fellowship,'' 911 dispatchers issued a special broadcast across all channels: ``She embodied skill, tenacity, courage, and compassion in all she did. We are all better for having known her. Employee number: 30881; Call sign: One-Alpha-30; Officer: Suzanne O; end of watch: August 15, 2025.'' As Officer O watches over us now from above, we will do our very best to serve, live, and lead like she did.

Ms. TOKUDA

Ms. TOKUDA. Mr. Speaker, I rise to join my colleagues and reinforce their warning and urgent call to action. Mr. Speaker, today, we stand at a crossroads. The world is once again drifting toward a future where nuclear weapons are not just tools of deterrence but urgent threats hanging over every human life. Mr. Speaker, we cannot afford to look away, not when the lessons of the past are still very visible amongst us. Look to the people of the Marshall Islands. Many of them are living in my district, part of our Hawaii ohana, whose lands became sacrifice zones in the name of power. Entire communities were displaced, and generations were scarred by radiation. The Bikini Atoll, once a paradise, became a proving ground for devastation. These are not just theoretical consequences, lines on paper, assumptions, and equations. They were real, and they are very real still. The United States and its allies conducted 318 nuclear tests in the Pacific islands. The people who lived on the islands lost their ancestral homes, now uninhabitable, and the people who were exposed to fallout were immediately sickened with ongoing, long-term impacts for human health, including increased rates of birth defects, genetic disorders, and secondary cancers. The nuclear age taught us that while bombs may drop in seconds, their impact crosses centuries and generations, and now, instead of learning from history and learning from the mistakes of our past, we are poised to repeat it with greater risk, fewer safeguards, and far more at stake. Today, the United States, Russia, and China inched closer to an unrestrained three-way arms race as we collectively spend well over $1 trillion on updated and new nuclear warheads and means of delivery. Just one of these programs, as was mentioned, the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile, will cost $141 billion according to the Department of Defense. Keep in mind, Mr. Speaker, that is not even the bottom line. Their cost estimates keep growing and growing. A new arms race is a race with no finish line. Let us be clear: There are no winners, only losers in this race. It doesn't have to be this way. We must urgently renew and expand nuclear arms control treaties with both Russia and with China. The path to security lies not in new warheads or Golden Domes but in dialogue, transparency, and mutual restraint. We must invest as much into diplomacy and prevention as we do into silos and interceptors. Let us be clear. All it takes is one bomb, one miscalculation, and one moment of madness, and everything--everything--will end. The clock is ticking, but the future is still ours to shape. Let us choose wisdom over fear, peace over peril, and life over annihilation. Mahalo to my colleague, Congressman McGovern, for organizing this Special Order hour. I ask on August 6 and August 9, let us take a moment to pause and remember we do have a choice.

Ms. TOKUDA

Ms. TOKUDA. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to amend the rule to make in order the amendment at the desk that protects against any cuts to Medicaid and SNAP.