Hanabusa Still Wants Pay Cut
January 26, 2012, Honolulu Civil Beat, DC808 Blog
Rep. Colleen Hanabusa emailed supporters on Thursday, asking them to sign a petition that urges a 5 percent cut to congressional salaries. Right now, members of Congress make $174,000 per year. The Congressional Pay Cut Act would shave $8,700 off of their annual salaries. It would save about $50 million over a decade, Hanabusa said. The bill has stalled for more than a year, but Hanabusa said it’s time to bring it back — in part to honor outgoing Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who ...
What Can This Congress Actually Do?
January 26, 2012, Honolulu Civil Beat, DC808 Blog
All four of Hawaii’s congressional delegates had glowing reviews of the president’s State of the Union speech on Tuesday night. Sen. Daniel Inouye said it was the most inspiring such address he’s ever seen — and he should know. Inouye was first elected to Congress in 1959. He also said it felt a bit like a football coach trying to motivate his “losing team.” Despite the tense partisanship on Capitol Hill, lawmakers seem to agree that there’s no way that Barack Obama will get ...
Hanabusa Invites Iraq Vet To SOTU
January 25, 2012, Honolulu Civil Beat, DC808 Blog
Rep. Colleen Hanabusa is participating in an initiative that encourages members of Congress to invite Iraq War veterans to the State of the Union address Tuesday night. Hanabusa’s guest is Jonathan Naraine, a veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan who was stationed at Marine Corps Base Hawaii in Kaneohe from 2004 to 2007. “It is a longstanding tradition to invite national and local figures to the address who have made a positive impact on our country,” wrote a spokesman for ...
Hawaii Reps Laud Tourism Announcement
January 20, 2012, Honolulu Civil Beat, DC808 Blog
Rep. Colleen Hanabusa said in a statement that she’s “extremely grateful” to President Barack Obama for a tourism initiative that is aimed at speeding up the visa process for foreign travelers to visit the United States. Obama announced the initiative at Disney World on Thursday. “President Obama has given Hawaii an opportunity to reach out to new markets, expand our number one economic driver, and support our economy,” Hanabusa said in a statement. The congresswoman is ...
Hawaii Speaks Out Against Piracy Bill
January 19, 2012, Honolulu Civil Beat
WASHINGTON — By just after noon Hawaii time on Wednesday, nearly 1,000 people had already contacted Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, all voicing opposition to legislation that’s aimed at fighting online piracy. “This is by far the most constituent correspondence we have received on one issue since being in office,” Hanabusa spokeswoman Ashley Nagaoka told Civil Beat. A pair of controversial measures in the House and Senate drew White House criticism over the weekend, and ...
Hanabusa Asks What’s On Your Mind
January 18, 2012, Honolulu Civil Beat, DC808 Blog
Rep. Colleen Hanabusa is asking polling her constituents in a three-question survey. Participants are asked to identify which matters most: • Protecting Social Security and Medicare • Job creation • Reducing government spending and deficit • Developing energy alternatives • Improving transportation infrastructure, reducing traffic congestion • Making education/college more accessible and affordable • Enhancing our presence in the Pacific to protect national ...
Hanabusa Seeks SOPA Alternatives
January 17, 2012, Honolulu Civil Beat, DC808 Blog
Rep. Colleen Hanabusa tells DC808 that she does not support the Stop Online Piracy Act, the controversial legislation that led Wikipedia and other sites to announce they’ll shut down as a way to protest the bill on Wednesday. Hanabusa said she supports a legislative approach to fighting online piracy, but believes SOPA may go too far. “Congress must strike a balance that addresses online piracy without inadvertently taking us to the slippery slope of government intrusion on the ...
Hanabusa Marks One Year in Congress
January 5, 2012, Honolulu Civil Beat, DC808 Blog
Rep. Colleen Hanabusa has passed the one-year mark since she was sworn in as Hawaii’s 1st Congressional District representative. In a conversation with Hanabusa this week, DC808 picked up on a narrative that we’re likely to hear more of throughout the congresswoman’s 2012 re-election campaign: Her ability to work with Republicans. Hanabusa says her motto in Congress — “one step at a time” — comes from Alaska Republican Rep. Don Young. She described her work on a ...
Hanabusa on Hiring Local
January 5, 2012, Honolulu Civil Beat, DC808 Blog
Rep. Colleen Hanabusa counts 14 people who work in her Washington and Hawaii offices. A point of pride: Only three of those staffers don’t have Hawaii ties, she says. “People have this image that somehow they can’t compete,” Hanabusa said in an interview with Civil Beat on Wednesday. “What my office shows is that local kids have the future. They can go and do whatever they want to do, and they shouldn’t be intimidated by what they think is Washington, D.C.” ...
Hawaii Wants Campaign Finance Reform
January 5, 2012, Honolulu Civil Beat, DC808 Blog
A Civil Beat poll found that two-thirds of Hawaii voters would support a constitutional amendment to limit political donations. But it’s not clear whether all four congressional delegates are willing to help make that happen. Rep. Mazie Hirono is a strong advocate for such an amendment. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa was more cautious, but also said that “we need to do something about the current state of campaign finance and eliminate the power of these anonymous interest groups…” Sens. ...
