Federal Budget

In Hawaii, we cherish the idea of community. We recognize that in order to build strong communities we must all work together and do our part. This requires each of us to take responsibility for ourselves, work hard, and help others when they need a hand. When everyone does their part and contributes to our shared success our communities become stronger, better places to live and work. Strong communities are an essential foundation for sustainable economic growth that creates jobs, allows us to keep our commitments to our kupuna, and creates new opportunities for our keiki for generations to come.

If we are going to have a strong, sustainable nation our budget must reflect our values. We must strive to ensure that the federal government demonstrates responsibility in budgeting—responsibility to meeting the needs of our neighbors and communities, promoting economic growth, and managing federal debts and other obligations appropriately.

• In 2010, I voted to support the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) Act, which requires that new programs be paid for by either cutting old programs or raising new revenues. It was this type of budgeting during the 1990's that produced a budget surplus of $230 billion in 2000.
• In 2011, I voted for the Budget Control Act. While this bipartisan compromise was not perfect, it helped avert the first-ever default on our nation’s obligations, laid out a path toward reducing our deficit, and protected Social Security, Medicare, and ensured that our military and veterans receive the pay and benefits they deserve.
• In 2012, I voted against the Ryan Budget which would have cut taxes for the wealthiest taxpayers while turning Medicare into a voucher system and severely cutting job creating investments in education, transportation projects, clean energy and research and development.
• In 2013, I supported the American Taxpayer Relief Act which protected middle and low-income workers from seeing their taxes go up, and also supported the Senate Budget Resolution that would responsibly repeal the sequester while investing in our national security, job creation, and further reducing our deficit while protecting Social Security and Medicare.

Sustainability

Hawaii is one of the most biodiverse places in the world – despite being the most isolated archipelago on our planet. Today, over 25,000 unique species and 1.3 million people call the Hawaiian Islands home.

As the population has grown, so have the challenges of protecting and managing the land, water, and other natural resources of the islands.

Together, we must constantly strive to conserve and protect our watersheds and other fragile habitats while also balancing the need to support our modern way of life. To help balance these critical needs while also creating jobs and growing Hawaii’s economy, we need to work together to improve our energy and food security.

I have been a strong advocate for changing the direction of our federal energy and agriculture policies so they are more forward-thinking and support Hawaii’s efforts at becoming a more sustainable economy. I have also advocated for strong federal laws to respect Hawaii’s unique wildlife and preserve safe water, clean air, open spaces and national parks.