[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 147 (Tuesday, September 12, 2023)]
[House]
[Page H4258]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      A MOMENT OF SILENCE FOR MAUI

  (Ms. TOKUDA asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Ms. TOKUDA. Mr. Speaker, at this time I invite all of my colleagues 
who have ties to Maui, who have been to Maui, or who stand by our 
community to join me here in the well of the Chamber.
  Louise Abigail was 97 and an active grandmother that lived in the 
Hale Mahaolu Eono independent living complex. Tony Takafua was just 7 
years old and was with his mother and grandparents.
  They are the youngest and the oldest victims of the wildfires; the 
difference in their ages spanning almost a century, yet connected by 
one cruel fate.
  On August 8, Maui and Hawaii Island were ablaze with 11 separate 
fires. Spurred by 80-mile-per-hour winds, fire ripped through our town 
of Lahaina in just 17 minutes, tragically taking the lives of 115 
people with dozens more still unaccounted for and thousands displaced 
and grieving.
  It would be easy enough to speak of our pain and our grief; the hands 
I have held, the stories I have heard. I have come to know all too well 
what death and destruction smells and feels like and how the sadness 
continues to cling with you long after.
  Instead, I will focus on something just as important: Hope.
  When I first went back to Lahaina, the absence of color, of 
structure, of anything familiar is what hit me. As I returned there, 
including with the Speaker and other Members of the House, whom I want 
to thank for the support made clear by their presence, I noticed 
something amidst the rubble: Life.
  Sprinkled throughout the burn zone, I saw one plant in particular 
that has survived: banana trees. They are one of the original canoe 
plants brought to Hawaii from Polynesia because of their ability to 
feed and to heal people. How fitting to see these trees come to life as 
we prepare for the most arduous journey ahead of us.
  Our people are strong and resilient. They have a gracious grit that 
has both inspired me and moved me to tears in the face of this 
unthinkable tragedy.
  They also feel justifiable anger and frustration that they are even 
in this situation, and we feel an overwhelming sense of urgency to 
provide the help, the support, and yes, the answers that they so 
desperately need.
  This is a national disaster that will require a national whole-of-
government response. Our strong support of our Maui ohana will send a 
clear message to every American: No matter where you live in this great 
country, you will not be left behind.
  Mr. Speaker, we will need all of our colleagues as we set sail for 
what must be a better future for our people, determined by our people.
  The asks we will make will not be insignificant, and the support we 
need will span generations, but today, I simply ask for your humanity.
  Hawaii has so often shared its aloha, its people, whatever we can 
give, with the world. Now our people need your kokua, your help.
  We have been tested, but we are not broken. We will rise again, and 
we will be stronger than before. I have said this once, and I will say 
this again: If there is anything you can always count on, it is that 
aloha always wins.
  Mr. Speaker, on behalf of Congressman Case and myself, I humbly ask 
for a moment of silence so that we may lift up in honor our Maui ohana 
as they grieve, as they recover, and as they rebuild.
  Mahalo.

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