ENERGY AFFORDABILITY IN HAWAII

On 2026-05-21, Representative Jill N. Tokuda (D-HI-2) delivered a floor speech titled "ENERGY AFFORDABILITY IN HAWAII" in the House.

ENERGY AFFORDABILITY IN HAWAII

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 87 (Thursday, May 21, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 87 (Thursday, May 21, 2026)] [House] [Page H3715] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] ENERGY AFFORDABILITY IN HAWAII (Ms. TOKUDA asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.) Ms. TOKUDA. Mr. Speaker, last week the President said he doesn't think much about Americans' finances. Families in Hawaii do. They think about it every time they fill up the tank, every time they open their electric bill, and every time they stand in the grocery aisle deciding what they can afford. While Donald Trump wages a war of choice in Iran, pushes a $1 billion-slush fund for his buddies, and fights for a royal ballroom in the White House, working families back home are being forced to make impossible choices. Gas prices in Hawaii are now averaging $5.65 a gallon. Food prices keep climbing. Electricity costs are expected to surge even higher, and families are deciding whether they can afford groceries, medicine, rent, or the drive to work. This is the cost of indifference. Instead of lowering costs, this administration is making it worse with tariff and trade wars and blocking renewable energy projects that would help Hawaii build real energy independence and bring bills and costs down. It is time to end this reckless war, lower costs, and put working people first. ____________________