PAYING TRIBUTE TO THE HONORABLE COLLEEN HANABUSA

On 2026-05-12, Representative Jill N. Tokuda (D-HI-2) delivered a floor speech titled "PAYING TRIBUTE TO THE HONORABLE COLLEEN HANABUSA" in the House.

PAYING TRIBUTE TO THE HONORABLE COLLEEN HANABUSA

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 80 (Tuesday, May 12, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 80 (Tuesday, May 12, 2026)] [House] [Page H3377] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] PAYING TRIBUTE TO THE HONORABLE COLLEEN HANABUSA (Ms. TOKUDA asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute.) Ms. TOKUDA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and service of Colleen Hanabusa, a proud daughter of Wai'anae, a tita at heart, and a former Member of the House who represented Hawaii's First Congressional District. When I was first elected to the Hawaii State Senate, Colleen made history as the first AANHPI woman in the Nation to lead a legislative body. She understood something important about being the first: Your job is to hold the door open so you are not the last. That is who Colleen was. At her memorial last week, I looked around the Hawaii Senate floor and saw her legacy everywhere--in the leaders she mentored, the people she believed in, and the confidence she gave so many of us before we saw it in ourselves. It was hard to feel like she was gone because so much of her remains in all of us. When I think of strength, I think of Colleen. She always had the answers, but she never needed the spotlight. She pushed others forward while making it clear that she had our backs. As a young mother in public office, she never once made me feel like I had to choose between leading and loving my family. To her husband, John, who was her rock, and to her beloved fur babies, Frannie and Puppers, and Little, who is up there with her now, they were her soul. I thank them for sharing Colleen with all of us. They definitely broke the mold when they made her, and I dearly miss my friend. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me now in a moment of silence in her memory and her honor. ____________________