[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Page 4859]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   REMEMBERING ENI F. H. FALEOMAVAEGA

  Ms. HIRONO. Mr. President, today I wish to honor the life and 
dedicated service to our country of my friend and colleague, Eni F. H. 
Faleomavaega of American Samoa. I had the honor of serving with him in 
the U.S. House and was deeply saddened to hear of his passing on 
Wednesday, February 22, 2017.
  Eni served 13 terms as the Delegate from American Samoa, and we 
worked together because of his close ties to Hawaii. Eni's strong ties 
and service to Hawaii makes him a ``keiki o ka aina.'' He was a 
graduate of Kahuku High School and the Church College, the forerunner 
to Brigham Young University in Laie, HI. Eni was a passionate advocate 
for indigenous peoples including native Hawaiians. Whether it was 
Federal recognition or health and housing programs for native 
Hawaiians, Hawaii could always count on Eni's outspoken support and 
assistance. One of the stories Eni enjoyed sharing was about his 
experience sailing on the voyaging canoe Hokulea in 1987, and in August 
2014, he welcomed the arrival of the Hokulea and Hikianalia arrival in 
American Samoa and offered his best wishes to Malama Honua Worldwide 
Voyage.
  I always appreciated his warm presence at the annual Kamehameha Day 
Lei Draping Ceremony at the capitol where he would often perform 
traditional Samoan chant and dance. Of course, he also served his 
American Samoa constituents in Congress with distinction for two 
decades. During his service in the House, he rose to become the first 
Asian-Pacific American to serve as chairman of the House Foreign 
Affairs' Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific. He brought his unique 
perspective as a Pacific Islander to this post and constructively 
worked to raise the concerns of the region in Congress.
  Eni was also a veteran of the Vietnam war and a selfless advocate for 
his fellow veterans in American Samoa and across the Nation. Thanks to 
Eni's efforts, American Samoa veterans can now receive their healthcare 
from a Department of Veterans Affairs clinic built in Pago Pago with 
funds he helped secure. It is therefore most appropriate that the House 
and Senate recently passed H.R. 1362, a bill to name this clinic after 
him.
  I join my colleagues in extending my deepest sympathies to his wife, 
Hinanui Hunkin, their 10 children, and their 15 grandchildren. Eni will 
be dearly missed by his extended ohana in Hawaii and all whose lives 
were touched by his leadership and service.

                          ____________________