Washington D.C. – Today, U.S. Representative Jill N. Tokuda (HI-02) questioned Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll during a House Armed Services Committee hearing on the future of State-owned training lands in Hawaiʻi, including lands at Pōhakuloa Training Area.
During the hearing, Rep. Tokuda raised concerns over whether discussions with the State of Hawaiʻi have included alternatives to condemnation, including a lease extension or new lease agreement. She pressed Secretary Driscoll to rule out the use of condemnation authority to seize State lands and demanded good-faith negotiations that prioritize the best interests of the people of Hawaiʻi.
“You have time to make sure that for this land that we are talking about, we can leave it to the next generation of Hawaiians to determine the sovereignty and autonomy of this land,” said Rep. Tokuda.“Condemnation would take that away from them.”
Full clip of the hearing for media use can be found here. Full clip on Rep. Tokuda’s channel available here.
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