[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 83 (Monday, May 16, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H4991-H4994]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 DANIEL KAHIKINA AKAKA DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS COMMUNITY-BASED 
                           OUTPATIENT CLINIC

  Mr. TRONE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(S. 1760) to designate the community-based outpatient clinic of the 
Department of Veterans Affairs planned to be built in Oahu, Hawaii, as 
the ``Daniel Kahikina Akaka Department of Veterans Affairs Community-
Based Outpatient Clinic''.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                S. 1760

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. DESIGNATION OF DANIEL KAHIKINA AKAKA DEPARTMENT OF 
                   VETERANS AFFAIRS COMMUNITY-BASED OUTPATIENT 
                   CLINIC.

       (a) Designation.--The community-based outpatient clinic of 
     the Department of Veterans Affairs planned to be built in 
     Oahu, Hawaii, shall after the date of the enactment of this 
     Act be known and designated as the ``Daniel Kahikina Akaka 
     Department of Veterans Affairs Community-Based Outpatient 
     Clinic'' or the ``Daniel Kahikina Akaka VA Clinic''.
       (b) Reference.--Any reference in any law, regulation, map, 
     document, paper, or other record of the United States to the 
     community-based outpatient clinic referred to in subsection 
     (a) shall be considered to be a reference to the Daniel 
     Kahikina Akaka Department of Veterans Affairs Community-Based 
     Outpatient Clinic.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Maryland (Mr. Trone) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Bost) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Maryland.

                              {time}  1530


                             General Leave

  Mr. TRONE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 
5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on S. 1760.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Maryland?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. TRONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise to offer my strong support for S. 1760, a bill to 
designate the veterans' health facility in Oahu, Hawaii, as the Daniel 
Kahikina Akaka Department of Veterans Affairs community-based 
outpatient clinic, named after the first United States Senator of 
Native Hawaiian ancestry, the late Daniel Akaka.
  I recognize Senator Mazie Hirono for spearheading this effort to 
honor a man of such great esteem. The CBOC in

[[Page H4992]]

Oahu will stand as a lasting testimony to his commitment to the men and 
women of the Armed Forces, providing countless services and benefits to 
our Nation's veterans for years to come.
  Madam Speaker, I thank Representative Kai Kahele, whose constituency 
includes parts of Oahu, for leading this effort on the House side. He 
grew up the son of a Native Hawaiian mother and a father of Chinese and 
Native Hawaiian heritage. As a student of Kamehameha, a high school for 
boys, a military school, Senator Akaka's path was forever changed after 
having witnessed firsthand Japanese fighter planes attacking Pearl 
Harbor in 1941.
  Like most patriotic Americans during World War II, Senator Akaka 
wanted to join in the U.S. effort to defend our freedom. He ultimately 
ended up joining the Army Corps of Engineers and served throughout the 
Pacific theater.
  After the war, Senator Akaka took advantage of the GI Bill benefits, 
and earned both his bachelor's and master's degrees from the University 
of Hawaii. After working several years in State government, Akaka was 
persuaded to enter elected office to ensure there would be a Native 
Hawaiian presence in his State's decisionmaking process.
  Elected to the House of Representatives in 1977, Daniel Akaka became 
a congressional champion of indigenous and veteran issues. In 1990, he 
was elected to represent Hawaii in the United States Senate.
  Thanks to Senator Akaka's commitment to recognizing the military 
contributions of the AAPI community, more than 30 Medals of Honor were 
awarded to Asian and Asian-American World War II veterans; a 
recognition of their patriotism and bravery that was long overdue.
  When it comes to the question of naming the VA community-based 
outpatient clinic in Hawaii, I ask this body: Who better than Daniel 
Kahikina Akaka; a Hawaiian-born, Hawaiian-serving veteran whose life 
philosophy was sharing aloha and was a true public servant for over 
three decades.
  Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record letters of support from our 
colleagues in the Hawaiian Congressional Delegation, the American 
Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the Disabled American 
Veterans.

                                Congress of the United States,

                                Washington, DC, November 17, 2021.
     Hon. Jon Tester,
     Chairman, Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, Washington, 
         DC.
     Hon. Jerry Moran,
     Ranking Member, Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, 
         Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman Tester and Ranking Member Moran: We, the 
     Hawaii Congressional Delegation, write in support of 
     legislation to designate the planned outpatient clinic on the 
     Island of Oahu, Hawaii as the ``Daniel Kahikina Akaka 
     Department of Veteran Affairs Community-Based Outpatient 
     Clinic,'' to honor and commemorate Senator Daniel Akaka's 
     service to his country during World War II and his service to 
     the people of Hawaii in Congress.
       Born in 1924 in Honolulu, Hawaii, Senator Akaka attended 
     public grade school, but went to Kamehameha School for Boys 
     and graduated from there in 1942. From 1943 to 1945, after 
     graduating from high school, he served as a civilian worker 
     in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He continued to serve in 
     the Army Corps of Engineers after being drafted in 1945, 
     including assignments on Saipan and Tinian, until being 
     honorably discharged in 1947.
       He returned to Hawaii and pursued his education at the 
     University of Hawaii utilizing the GI Bill. He spent 15 years 
     as an educator and administrator in public schools before 
     transitioning into government service. During his time in 
     government, he was the Chief Program Planner for the Hawaii 
     Department of Education, Director of the Hawaii Office of 
     Economic Opportunity, Director of the Progressive 
     Neighborhood Program, and Special Assistant in the Office of 
     Governor George Ariyoshi.
       Senator Akaka was first elected to the U.S. House of 
     Representatives in 1976, where he represented the people of 
     Hawaii for 14 years. In 1990, he was appointed to fill a 
     Senate vacancy after the death of Senator Spark M. Matsunaga. 
     He was elected to the seat that fall and continued to serve 
     as Senator for 23 years until his retirement in 2013. Senator 
     Akaka was the first U.S. Senator of Native Hawaiian ancestry, 
     and during his tenure was the only Chinese-American member of 
     the Senate.
       Senator Akaka was a member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs 
     Committee (SVAC) from 1990 through 2013, and was the chairman 
     of the committee from 2007 to 2011. During his tenure, he 
     expanded benefits for veterans and worked to ensure those who 
     had served our country were properly recognized for that 
     service.
       Mr. Akaka sponsored legislation in 1996 to review the 
     service records of Asian-Americans who had fought in the 
     442nd Regimental Combat Team and the 100th Infantry Battalion 
     during World War II. The review resulted in over 30 Medals of 
     Honor being belatedly bestowed, some posthumously, on Asian-
     American veterans. Many of these veterans were of Japanese 
     heritage, and included his fellow Senator from Hawaii, Daniel 
     K. Inouye.
       As chairman, in 2008, he oversaw the largest increase ever 
     in funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). At 
     the time, he said it was important to ensure VA had the 
     funding needed to respond to veterans' needs. He said at the 
     time, ``as the ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan 
     continue, we must recognize that care for those wounded in 
     combat is part of the cost of war.''
       In his farewell speech, Senator Akaka credited the GI bill 
     with saving him from some of the effects of PTSD after 
     returning from the war, saying he ``would not be standing 
     before you today without the opportunity the GI bill gave me, 
     not only to get an education but to have structure and a path 
     forward.'' As chairman of SVAC, he worked with Senator Jim 
     Webb to pass the Post 9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance 
     Act to update and expand GI Benefits so that Iraq and 
     Afghanistan war veterans had the same opportunities he was 
     once afforded.
       Senator Akaka and Senator Inouye pursued legislation to 
     provide one-time compensation for members of the Phillippine 
     Scouts, an American-led unit of mostly Filipino and Filipino-
     American recruits who fought alongside United States troops 
     but did not qualify for Veterans Administration benefits. The 
     Senators successfully secured the funding for this 
     compensation in the 2009 stimulus bill.
       While much of what Senator Akaka accomplished benefitted 
     veterans across the country, he never stopped advocating for 
     the Native Hawaiian veteran community. Using his roles on 
     both SVAC and the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, he 
     highlighted the unique challenges faced by Native Hawaiian 
     veterans, including holding a field hearing in Hawaii in 2006 
     in which these specific issues were discussed.
       The Daniel Kahikina Akaka Department of Veteran Affairs 
     Community-Based Outpatient Clinic is an appropriate and a 
     meaningful way to honor Senator Akaka's lifetime of service 
     to his country and to the people of Hawaii and continue his 
     legacy on behalf of veterans. Senator Akaka in his farewell 
     speech to Congress speak volumes as to his commitment to 
     veterans:
       ``I want to take this moment to urge all of my colleagues 
     and all of the incoming Senators and Representatives to do 
     everything they can for our veterans and their families 
     because we ask them to sacrifice so much for us. They put 
     their lives on the line while their wives and husbands watch 
     over their families. Caring for them is one of our most 
     sacred obligations as a nation.''
       Legislation to name the clinic has been introduced in the 
     Senate (S. 1760) with a companion measure introduced in the 
     House (H.R. 3406). with the full support of Hawaii 
     Congressional delegation.
       Thank you for your consideration of this legislation.
           Sincerely,
     Mazie K. Hirono,
       U.S. Senator.
     Kaiali`i Kahele,
       U.S. Representative.
     Brian Schatz,
       U.S. Senator.
     Ed Case,
       U.S. Representative.
                                  ____


                                              The American Legion,


                                         Department of Hawaii,

                                   Honolulu, HI, October 20, 2021.
     Subject: The proposed legislation to rename the Ewa Plain VA 
         Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) the DANIEL KAHIKINA AKAKA VA 
         Outpatient Clinic (CBOC).

       The American Legion Department of Hawaii fully supports 
     legislation proposed by Hawaii US Senator Mazie Hirono to 
     rename the Ewa Plain VA Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) the DANIEL 
     KAHIKINA AKAKA VA Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) after the late US 
     Senator Daniel Akaka.
       Senator Akaka was a military veteran who served honorably 
     in the US Army from 1945-1947 in Saipan and Tinian during 
     World War II. Following military service, he returned to 
     Hawaii to attend college, then pursued a career of teaching. 
     Eventually he entered politics, first as a US Congressman 
     where he served his Hawaiian constituents for seven terms. 
     Following Hawaii's US Senator Matsunaga's death, he was 
     appointed to fill his vacancy in US Senate. Senator Akaka 
     then served successfully in the US Senate for three more 
     terms. As Hawaii's junior US Senator, he served on the US 
     Senate's Committee on Indian Affairs and on the US Senate's 
     Committee on Veterans Affairs. Two of the more prominent 
     legislation that he championed and saw passed were: 
     spearheading awarding nearly 2 dozen Medals of Honor to 
     soldiers of the famous World War II 442nd/100th ``Go for 
     Broke'' Battalion; and passing legislation authorizing World 
     War II Philippine Scouts just compensation for denied 
     veterans benefits.
       US Senator Akaka was a true pioneer, the first native 
     Hawaiian to serve in the US Senate. He was also a military 
     veteran who would take care of veterans while serving in the 
     Senate. It is only appropriate that the Ewa Plain VA 
     Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) be

[[Page H4993]]

     renamed the Daniel K. Akaka VA Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) 
     honoring a Patriot who served his community, his veterans, 
     and his nation with distinction.
           Always Serving Veterans with Aloha,
                                                       Jim Hussey,
     Commander.
                                  ____


                                         Veterans of Foreign Wars,


                                         Department of Hawaii,

                                      Honolulu, HI, April 6, 2021.
     Hon. Mazie Hirono,
     U.S. Senator, the State of Hawaii,
     Washington DC.
       Aloha Senator Hirono: The Veterans of Foreign Wars, 
     Department of Hawaii, is writing to support your legislation 
     to name the ALOHA Project VA Clinic the ``Department of 
     Veterans Affairs Daniel Kahikina Akaka Community-Based 
     Outpatient Clinic''. We support this effort to celebrate our 
     fellow veteran for his service in WWII and his service as the 
     first Native Hawaiian to serve in the U.S. Senate.
       During his twenty-three years on the Committee of Veterans 
     Affairs and also serving as Chairman from 2007 to 2011, 
     Senator Akaka sponsored legislation expanding benefits, 
     increasing funding for veteran healthcare, and ensuring 
     proper recognition for our comrades who served, especially 
     for those who had served in Iraq and Afghanistan. This 
     included ensuring that the VA handles both PTSD and TBI 
     claims with the respect they deserved and expanding the GI 
     Bill.
       In 1996 he cosponsored legislation that reviewed the 
     records of Asian-Americans including Hawaii's own 442nd 
     Regimental Combat Team and the 110th Infantry Battalion for 
     action seen during WWII. As a result, many heroic actions 
     were properly recognized. This included thirty Medals of 
     Honor, including for his fellow Senator from Hawaii, Daniel 
     K. Inouye.
       Before leaving office, Senator Akaka initiated the VA Aloha 
     Project legislation. We believe that is fitting and pono to 
     name this clinic after him. This action will ensure that his 
     honor and his dedication to veterans will be remembered for 
     generations to come. We respectfully request that the Senate 
     Veterans Affairs Committee quickly consider this important 
     legislation.
     Ron Lockwood,
       Veterans of Foreign Wars Department of Hawaii, State 
     Commander.
     George Barlett,
       Department of Hawaii Adjutant.
                                  ____


                                       Disabled American Veterans,


                                         Department of Hawaii,

                                       Honolulu, HI, May 18, 2021.
     Re Support for Renaming the Department of Veterans Affairs 
         outpatient clinic in Ewa Plain, Oahu, Hawaii, as the 
         Daniel Kahikina Akaka Department of Veterans Affairs 
         Outpatient Clinic.

       Ms. Hirono plans to introduce the following bill: which is 
     expected to be referred to the Senate Committee on Veterans' 
     Affairs: A BILL To name the Department of Veterans Affairs 
     outpatient clinic in Ewa Plain, Oahu, Hawaii, as the Daniel 
     Kahikina Akaka Department of Veterans Affairs CommunityBased 
     Outpatient Clinic.
       The Disabled Americans Veterans, Department of Hawaii is 
     writing this letter in support of legislation introduced by 
     Ms. Hirono. The proposed legislation would name the 
     Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Clinic in Ewa Plain, 
     Hawaii after Senator Daniel Kahikina Akaka.
       The Department of Veterans Affairs outpatient clinic in Ewa 
     Plain, Oahu, Hawaii, shall after the date of the enactment of 
     this Act be known and designated as the Daniel Kahikina Akaka 
     Department of Veterans Affairs Community-Based Outpatient 
     Clinic. Any reference to such outpatient clinic in any law, 
     regulation, map, document, record, or other paper of the 
     United States shall be considered to be a reference to the 
     Daniel Kahikina Akaka Department of Veterans Affairs 
     Community-Based Outpatient Clinic.
       During World War II Senator Akaka served in the United 
     States Army Corps of Engineers, including service on Saipan 
     and Tinian. He served from 1945 to 1947.
       Akaka was appointed by Governor John Waihee to the U.S. 
     Senate in April 1990 to serve temporarily after the death of 
     Senator Spark Matsunaga. During his tenure, Akaka served as 
     the Chair of the United States Senate Committee on Indian 
     Affairs and the United States Senate Committee on Veterans' 
     Affairs.
       He attended his final session in the Senate on December 12, 
     2012. He closed his speech with a traditional Hawaiian 
     farewell, ``a hui hou'' (until we meet again).
       Former president Barack Obama remembered Akaka as ``a 
     tireless advocate for working people, veterans, native 
     Hawaiian rights, and the people of Hawaii . . . He embodied 
     the aloha spirit with compassion and care.''
       Akaka died of organ failure in the early hours of April 6, 
     2018, at the age of 93.
           Sincerly,
                                                   Gregorrio Alip,
                                              Department Comander.

  Mr. TRONE. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support S. 1760, to 
designate the soon-to-be-constructed VA community-based outpatient 
clinic in Oahu, Hawaii, after our friend and former colleague, Daniel 
Kahikina Akaka. In doing so, this body will appropriately commemorate 
the significant achievements of America's first Senator of Native 
Hawaiian ancestry.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 1760, a bill to name the 
VA community-based outpatient clinic in Oahu, Hawaii, after World War 
II veteran and former Hawaiian Senator, Daniel Akaka.
  Senator Akaka has a long and proud record of service in a uniform and 
out. Following his time in the Army, he represented his fellow 
Hawaiians in both the House and the Senate. During that time in the 
Senate, he served as chairman of the Veterans Affairs' Committee, where 
he also represented his fellow veterans.
  Mr. Speaker, it is only fitting that the community-based outpatient 
clinic in his hometown of Oahu be named in his honor. I am proud to 
support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. TRONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Hawaii (Mr. Case), who serves on the Appropriations 
Committee and the Natural Resources Committee.
  Mr. CASE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to join my colleagues, including 
my colleagues kindly speaking here today from Maryland and Illinois, in 
strong support of House passage of S. 1760, introduced by my colleague 
Senator Mazie Hirono, and passed unanimously by the Senate.
  This critical measure, companion legislation to H.R. 3406, which I 
co-introduced in the House with its principal sponsor, my colleague and 
partner, Congressman Kaiali'i Kahele, will designate the new community-
based outpatient clinic of the Department of Veterans Affairs, now 
literally rising out of the ground at Kalaeloa in Hawaii, and known to 
date as the Advanced Leeward Outpatient Healthcare Access, or ALOHA 
project, as the Daniel Kahikina Akaka Department of Veterans Affairs 
Community-Based Outpatient Clinic.
  Daniel K. Akaka was many things throughout his long and full 93 years 
of life: teacher, Member of this House from 1977 to 1991, the first 
U.S. Senator of Native Hawaiian ancestry from 1991 to 2012, beloved 
mentor to generations, and on and on. Of all of these, he was a deeply 
proud veteran, having served in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the 
Second World War, deploying to the Western Pacific in support of the 
critical island-hopping campaign, which won the Pacific war.
  Senator Akaka carried his pride and passion and commitment to our 
Nation's veterans into his work in Congress. As member and chair of the 
U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, he produced an unmatched 
record of progress on healthcare, compensation, and other benefits for 
veterans, including crafting the new veterans' GI Bill in Congress to 
ensure more education benefits for veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan.
  In this Asian-Pacific Heritage Month, it is fitting to recognize his 
work focusing on specific issues affecting our Asian-American, Native 
Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander veterans.
  The importance of the ALOHA project to our veteran `ohana, or family, 
throughout Hawaii and the Pacific cannot be overstated. On its 
projected completion in late 2023, it will bring our VA healthcare 
system to our veterans, relieving significant and growing pressure in 
Hawaii on that system, increasing healthcare access for Hawaii's over 
110,000 veterans and more, and alleviating significant and growing 
logistical and capacity challenges at Tripler Army Medical Center and 
the Spark M. Matsunaga Medical Center.
  I cannot think of a more deserving and appropriate individual to 
grace this facility and those who work and are healed there with his 
name and his still living, breathing spirit, than Daniel Kahikina 
Akaka.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of this measure so that it may be sent 
directly to the President for his consideration and enactment.
  ``Mahalo nui loa.'' ``Thank you very much.''
  Mr. TRONE. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers. I am prepared to 
close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

[[Page H4994]]

  

  Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I encourage all my colleagues to support this 
bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. TRONE. Mr. Speaker, I ask all of my colleagues to join me in 
passing S. 1760, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Trone) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, S. 1760.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. BISHOP of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas 
and nays.


 =========================== NOTE =========================== 

  
  May 16, 2022, on page H4994, in the first column the following 
appeared: The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, 
two-thirds being in the affirmative, the ayes have it. Mr. MURPHY 
of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and 
nays.
  
  The online version has been corrected to read: The SPEAKER pro 
tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds being in the 
affirmative, the ayes have it. Mr. BISHOP of North Carolina. Mr. 
Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.


 ========================= END NOTE ========================= 


  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to section 3(s) of House Resolution 
8, the yeas and nays are ordered.
  Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on this motion 
are postponed.

                          ____________________