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Kahele, Kaialiʻi

Red Hill Water Accountability Initiative Act remarks

Kahele: Hawaiʻi positioned to receive $80 million for water and wastewater issues

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Public relations Speeches
Remarks for Capitol Hill Ocean Week
"Sea: The Future"
Congressman Kaialiʻi Kahele Papers
Public relations, Speeches and Statements
https://hdl.handle.net/10524/84356
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Capitol Hill Ocean Week - Sea: The Future 
 
Aloha Kākou to my colleagues in Congress and their staff, to our state and 
local government representatives, business leaders, scientists, educators, 
special guests, and members of the public! I’m Congressman Kai Kahele of 
Hawaiʻi’s second congressional district and I am excited to be here 
speaking to you all at Capitol Hill Oceans week.  
 
I would like to begin with a mahalo to the National Marine Sanctuary 
Foundation for hosting this extraordinary event at such a critical time for our 
planet. 
 
It is an honor to have this opportunity to join you in celebrating fifty years 
since the passage of key pieces of legislation that have greatly benefited 
oceans and coastlines both in my home state of Hawai‘i as well as our 
entire nation. 
 
Among these are the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which helps to 
protect marine mammals that reside in Hawai‘i’s coastal waters, including 
native species like the Hawaiian monk seal, which is one of the most 
seriously endangered mammals in the world.  
 
The Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act, which also passed 
exactly 50 years ago, allowed for the creation of areas like the Hawaiian 
Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, which now protects 
the 10,000 humpback whales that come to our islands every year to mate 
and raise their young. 
 
A few decades ago, a group of lawaiʻa (fishermen), kūpuna (elders), Native 
Hawaiian cultural practitioners, researchers and environmentalists came 
together to form the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Hui and laid the 
groundwork for the creation of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National 
Monument. Now spanning approximately 1,350 miles of ocean, this place 
of great cultural importance to Native Hawaiians has become one of the 
largest marine conservation areas in the world. 
 
 
As we look forward to the future, I would like to emphasize the importance 
of continued conservation. As a Native Hawaiian hailing from the last 
remaining fishing village in Hawai‘i, I deeply understand the importance of 
protecting our oceans and coasts to fulfill our kuleana or responsibility as 
stewards of the environment.  
 
The astronauts of our ancestors. The greatest navigators in the history of 
the world.  
  
Reawaken culture pride and identity and a initmate connection to place to 
our island and our oceans.  
  
Indigenous wisdom will inspire contemporary solutions  
 
Hawaiians mastered the way to live sustainable on islands  
  
Blending traditional and modern technologies will help us find our way to a 
healthier future 
 
 
 
 
Native Hawaiians understand how to coexist with the environment and as 
the second Native Hawaiian elected to Congress, I have consistently 
supported programs that use indegnious knowledge to protect our oceans.  
 
This is why I consistently worked to ensure that my Community Funded 
Projects include funding to protect our coastlines and oceans. I have also 
worked to ensure that Native Hawaiian Organizations are eligible for 
programs in the Water Resources and Development Act so we can use 
their understanding and knowledge to support the reinvestment in our 
coastal communities.  
 
 
I firmly believe that it is our duty now to preserve the natural treasures and 
resources of our nation for our children, our keiki and future generations to 
come. 
 
Climate change poses a renewed and daunting challenge for our planet. 
We know through science that there is a direct correlation to burning fossil 
fuels, which increase carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and are then absorbed into our 
oceans. The result is rising sea level temperatures, impacting our coral, our reefs and 
the ecosystems that thrive and survive in our oceans and nearshore fisheries. It is why 
Hawaii has set a bold goal of achieving 100% electricity generation from renewable 
energy by 2045. Because we know if we do not do this, as islands in the sea, impacts to 
our shared future because of climate change, will be pronounced.  
 
And so I mahalo all of you for convening to have this conference, this 
conversation, that hosts this dialogue around our oceans and encourages 
innovative solutions we should give all of us and gives me confidence in 
our ability to combat this issue as a nation.  
 
I look forward to celebrating all that our nation has accomplished in the past 
50 years this week, and I am excited to do my part to uphold this legacy 
and continue to protect our oceans, coasts, and lakes for years to come.  
 
If I can do anything to impact, I hope it is by starting this movement, being a 
part of this movement, to integrate a new mindset & hopefully make a 
change so we know longer have to have this discussion because our 
children and future generations of elected leaders will get it, will know it. It 
will be the new normal.  
  
Wont be one or the other. What are we doing to impact the leaders of 
tomorrow.  
 
 
Mahalo! 


English

Remarks for Capitol Hill Ocean Week "Sea: The Future"

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