{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://tokuda.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-tokuda-fights-to-protect-hawaii-lands-secures-key-priorities-in-annual-defense-policy-bill", "Rep. Tokuda Fights to Protect Hawai\u02bbi Lands, Secures Key Priorities in Annual Defense Policy Bill", "2026-06-05", "2026", "2026-06", "Democrat", "House", "HI", "Jill N. Tokuda", "T000487", "tokuda.house.gov", "tokuda", "https://tokuda.house.gov/media/press-releases?PageNum_rs=1&", "scraper", "Washington D.C. \u2013 U.S. Representative Jill N. Tokuda (HI-02), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, helped advance H.R. 8800, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2027. During the day-long committee markup, Rep. Tokuda successfully blocked a provision to authorize unilateral condemnation by the Army of military training lands in Hawai\u02bbi. The congresswoman also secured key priorities brought forward by constituents during state-wide listening veterans' sessions, such as expanding emergency disaster response and increasing funding for barracks maintenance. The measure passed the House Armed Services Committee by a 44-12 vote, with Rep. Tokuda voting in favor of its passage.\n\n\u201cThe annual defense bill is a critical vehicle for ensuring national security, but my top priority will always be making sure those goals respect the people, land, and culture of Hawai\u02bbi,\u201d said Rep. Tokuda. \u201cMy goal in these negotiations was to keep land condemnation entirely out of this defense bill. Working with the leadership of our committee, we are ensuring federal overreach is stopped at the starting line and that any future for our training lands must be built on good-faith negotiation with our local community.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhile we successfully locked in critical constituent-driven wins, from expanding immediate local disaster response to patient chaperones at military clinics and recognizing atomic civilian employees, our work is far from over,\u201d continued Rep. Tokuda.\n\nThe Committee voted to include several provisions authored by Rep. Tokuda, many of which were proposed by her constituents, including:\n\nIncreasing the military's ability to respond swiftly to community needs after natural disasters\u2014such as the recent Kona Low Storms\u2014by extending the immediate response window from the current 72 hours to one week.\n\nAdding new and expanded requirements to invest in barracks maintenance and renovation, which will enable more service members to live in quality on-base housing and reduce the burden on the community\u2019s limited housing supply.\n\nRequiring the Defense Department to expand procurement of fresh local food for commissaries and dining facilities for service members in the Indo-Pacific region, helping to grow local agricultural industries.\n\nEstablishing a DoD commemorative service medal for U.S. Government civilian and contractor employees who participated in the cleanup of radioactive material in the Pacific Islands and elsewhere.\n\nResponding to hundreds of instances of abuse of patients at Tripler Medical Center and Fort Hood, a requirement that patients be provided trained chaperones during sensitive examinations and procedures performed by an obstetrician-gynecologist at a military clinic or hospital.\n\nProhibiting awarding defense contracts to contractors that employ individuals convicted of sex trafficking.\n\nRequiring the military to notify law enforcement no later than three hours, and next of kin no later than 8 hours, after commanders learn that a service member is missing.\n\nExpanding the health care workforce by establishing new behavioral health programs at Uniformed Services University and authorizing residency programs for civilian medical providers working in the Military Health System.\n\nStrengthening the military justice system by limiting the ability of military courts of appeals to overturn verdicts based on disagreements with factual findings of the trial panel, beginning the process to establish a standalone offense of hazing under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and requiring that investigations of alleged sexual harassment by Marines and sailors be conducted by professional investigators at the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.\n\nIncreasing pay for JROTC instructors in Hawai\u02bbi and other locations outside of the continental United States to reflect the higher cost of living.\n\nEstablishing a new, $1,000 funeral and burial benefit for military retirees who elect the survivor benefit plan and are predeceased by a beneficiary spouse.\n\nRequiring the Defense Department to publish an annual report on vulnerabilities to military installations resulting from extreme weather.\n\nA summary of the FY 2027 NDAA can be found here.\n\n###", 1, "2026-06-06T06:16:30Z", "2026-06-06T06:17:47Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://tokuda.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-tokuda-fights-to-protect-hawaii-lands-secures-key-priorities-in-annual-defense-policy-bill"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.1495649125427008, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}