Congressman Ed Case said he’s Kaua‘i’s link to Congress. And Case (D-Rural Oahu, Neighbor Islands) starts the chain on the Pacific side, he said, by holding Talk Story meetings throughout his House of Representative district, which encompasses all of the
Congressman Ed Case said he’s Kaua‘i’s link to Congress.
And Case (D-Rural Oahu, Neighbor Islands) starts the chain on the Pacific side, he said, by holding Talk Story meetings throughout his House of Representative district, which encompasses all of the state except Honolulu.
The Talk Story meetings, held Sunday in ‘Ele‘ele, Puhi, and Kilauea, is the second-term Congressman’s way, he said, to keep abreast of issues on Kaua‘i that come to the floor of the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.
Plus, Case said, he needs to let his constituents know what he’s doing back there in “the Beltway.”
“It’s vital,” Case said of the talk story meetings at the Puhi site, Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle School. “It’s one of the most important things I do.”
“Talk Story” meetings gives people a chance to let Washington know what’s important in their communities, Case said.
“I’m a long way from D.C., and my district is a long way from Honolulu,” Case said prior to his informal session with fifty or so members of the public. “It’s irreplaceable the one-on-one with the community.”
At the Puhi meeting, there was an interesting cross-section of people as well. People from kids to grandparents attended, with a wide range of issues to discuss.
“I’m going to throw a bunch of stuff out and see what comes back to me,” Case said.
“Here’s what I think I’m supposed to do,” Case said to the crowd. First, “to make decisions on large issues of our day.”
That includes “considering those issues, deliberating those issues, discussing those issues,” and then voting, he said.
The three largest priorities of this year’s Congress, Case said, are the federal budget, Social Security, and foreign affairs.
The federal budget has become an issue, the Congressman said, “because it’s in such bad shape and getting worse.
“For the last four years, we’ve been spending more than we’re bringing in,” Case continued. “We’ve been over-spending every year by 20”
That has led to increased debt held by foreign countries, and the need for tough decisions to be made.
“The ( Bush administration’s) excuse is Iraq. It’s not just Iraq,” he said. “The economy is not doing as well as hoped.”
So that means programs are going to have to be cut, Case said, that might hurt politically but would be good for the country.
As for foreign affairs, Case did not give specifics on when troops would be leaving Iraq.
“We still have deep divisions within our country on whether we should have went,” he said. “It doesn’t matter because we’re there.”
Three things need to be accomplished before the troops will come home, Case said: restoring stability and putting down insurgents, trying to assist Iraq in a government of its choosing, and training a police force and an army,
The third, Social Security, has become an issue this year, Case said, because President Bush has made it a priority.
While Social Security is not falling apart today, “it’s not sustainable at the current level,” he said.
“At some point, if we don’t adjust something, we’ll put out less than (Social Security tax) brings in” 15 years from now, in around 2018, Case continued, with the money running out somewhere between 2030 and 2040.
“If we know that, should we be acting now?” he asked. “The longer we wait, the less options we have.”
But that doesn’t mean the President’s plan is the right one.
“Great that it’s on the table” he added, “but the radical change (proposed) may not work.”
Case said he’s yet to see Bush’s plan, “but if it’s going to cost trillions (to do a privatized system, like the one proposed) I’m not going to support something that’s going to add two trillion to six trillion to 6 to the national debt.”
Case’s second job, he said, is to administer federal resources, “to make sure government is taking care of needs of Kaua‘i.
“Sometimes, when get inside the Beltway, (legislators) can make good decisions,” Case added, “but out in the world, sometimes the fix doesn’t quite work.”
He said he’s in Washington “to make sure government is taking care of the needs of Kaua‘i.
Case added that he understands two of the major issues are traffic and drugs.
Traffic and transportation are the “fastest-growing problem in the Neighbor Islands,” he said.
The budget process to allocate federal highway funds are underway, he said, and two areas on Kaua‘i he hopes to push funding towards are the widening o Kaumuali‘i Highway and the Kapa‘a bypass.
Case said he’s working on “making sure those federal resources” get here. “I’m trying to stay focused on (getting) federal projects finished on Kaua‘i.”
The other issue, the explosion of methamphetamine use on Kaua‘i, Case has focused on during his first term and will continue in his second term.
“Ice hasn’t gone away” he said, in fact, it’s spread towards the East Coast. “It’s now a national problem,”
Case then fielded questions from the public, who requested testimony on genetically modified organisms, the repeal of the No Child Left Behind Law, proper funding for health care, and whether Kaua‘i can get special road appropriations.
Case also added new information on the Hanama‘ulu Post Office, where hours were recently cut.
The Post Office “is not closing the Hanama‘ulu Post Office,” Case said. “What is really being done is stripping away Saturday service (because, according to the head of Postal Service in Honolulu) usage doesn’t justify a Saturday schedule.”
Case fielded all questions from the audience and then headed to the third stop on the Talk Story tour, in Kilauea.
But, he said, those who didn’t come to the meetings still can get their voices heard. Case provided a local number, 245-1951, to contact his staff, and introduced Dean Toyofuku, his Kaua‘i community coordinator.
He urged those people who wish to keep in contact with what he’s doing in Washington to visit his website at www.house.gov/case.
The site also contains records of every vote he’s taken in Congress.
Case continued that he appreciates the feedback, since he spends so much time away from his home.
“I spend six months in Washington. I need to know what’s going on in my district,” he said.
Plus, he plans on another round of Talk Story meetings later this year. Case said he tries to do at least two rounds of meetings on the Neighbor Islands and O‘ahu each year.
“I’m going to make my rounds of my district,” he said. “By the time April is pau, I’ll have done a full circuit and (have) a pretty good read on the district.”
Then he’ll be back again.
Tom Finnegan, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252)
