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Famines often accompany pandemics, and in COVID-19, an economic famine has hit Hawaii hard, putting in jeopardy nearly all that we hold dear.

The Legislature is back in session to address just this problem, and one of the things that has been proposed is taking an axe to the state budget to prepare for declining revenues.

Well in advance of the Legislature’s reconvening, Gov. David Ige had already taken sweeping measures in April  within the executive branch what was to be considered “critical, high priority expenditures.”

In Executive Memorandum 20-01, Ige froze position vacancies to control labor costs and directed state agencies, stating, “No new programs should be contemplated because they may not be sustainable in the future.”

The Legislature is now in somewhat of a pickle, because up to this point, the Ige administration had assumed all of the political risk by being the deciding voice on COVID-19 matters. Now, the Legislature has to make tough calls that aren’t necessarily going to be well-received, and with re-election just around the corner.

However, COVID-19 is a crisis that has involved the entire world, and legislating and governing in Hawaii right now shouldn’t be done in an insular, siloed mentality that attempts to place the entire burden on our local resources.

Under any other circumstances, shrinking government and cutting budgets to allow the private sector to flourish would be the thing to do. However, the virus has created a unique situation where the private sector cannot safely function, due to both the stay-at-home orders and shrinking demand over fears of infection.

When you’re stuck at home because the government has ordered you to stay home, the role of government in providing continuity of operations and services to the public is all the more relevant.  The federal government has recognized this,  to soften the blow of COVID-19 are out there and need to be fully utilized before we start sending local government to the chop shop.

D.C. Delegation Needs to Broker Solutions

Last week, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi , also known as “The HEROES Act” which proposed to offer over and above the CARES Act an additional $1 trillion to fund state governments and essential workers.

Pelosi’s office presently estimates that Hawaii would receive  ($1.67b/year), which already significantly covers the billion dollars that local legislators wanted to slice from the budget.

This being said, our congressional delegation has an opportunity to identify and advocate for more of Hawaii’s budgetary requirements to be supplemented by any proposed additional stimulus.

I often wonder at times “what would Sen. Daniel Inouye do” for Hawaii in a situation like this?

One of the reasons why Hawaii has had so much trouble in recent years is that the late senator’s passing took away our political clout in Congress and federal funding went elsewhere. But, in spite of the political alignment of the Senate our current delegation can still work to steer much-needed financial help to Hawaii government in times like these.

National interventions are what the federal government exists for in times of state crisis. .

Now, the Republican-led Senate has often made extravagant threats about what they will hear and not hear, but at the end of the day, they have more often than not caved to public perception and walked back political resistance when Democratic leadership makes an effective case. And, I’m sure that there are numerous ways that our congressional delegation can trade horses to get Hawaii more help.

Hawaii’s success in keeping cases of COVID-19 low in spite of being an international hub should be something that we should be rewarded for and that Congress should aim to uphold. Hawaii is by no exaggeration the front door into the United States from Asia, and making these islands a well-fortified, prepared and prospering state should be a budget priority.

National interventions are what the federal government exists for in times of state crisis.

The House Health Committee chairman, Rep. John Mizuno, wholeheartedly agrees with this approach to making local government work by greater collaboration with and assistance from Congress.

“The delegation should work hand-in-hand with the state legislature as we continue to work to address the needs of our people in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, to ensure that these federal monies should come to Hawaii to help people in need since the worst pandemic since the Spanish Flu,” Mizuno says.

And for my Republican friends who are going apoplectic over the HEROES bill, I want to remind them of something. During the early days of the Cold War, the United States  and keeping its residents subsidized and fed, rather than risk losing that important city.
How much more valuable and important, in 2020, should be saving Hawaii in the fight against COVID-19?

Let’s not chop up our government when we need it most. Get help from the federal government in making our budget work.