[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 184 (Wednesday, November 30, 2022)]
[House]
[Page H8671]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             PROTECTING NATIVE HAWAIIAN WOMEN AND CHILDREN

  (Mr. KAHELE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. KAHELE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge the House to advance S. 
7, a bill that would make technical corrections to the Violence Against 
Women Act to allow Native Hawaiians to benefit from this program.
  Not only does the United States Government have a trust 
responsibility to the Native Hawaiian community, but Native Hawaiians 
continue to be disproportionately impacted by domestic and sexual 
violence. Approximately 70 percent of sex trafficking victims and 37 
percent of reported child sex trafficking cases in Hawaii are Native 
Hawaiian women and girls.
  Since 2012, Native Hawaiians have not been eligible for these 
critical resources because of a drafting error. Today, the House has 
the opportunity to right this wrong. I implore the House to address 
this issue before the end of the year and send this to the President's 
desk so that we can correct this injustice and protect all of our 
indigenous women and girls.

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