Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 31, Number 1, 1 January 2014 — Auwē, government shutdown [ARTICLE]

Auwē, government shutdown

Our government - hurray, we reopened, but was it worth the entire hullahaloo? Recently I was in Washington, D.C., talking to our senators and representatives making sure that Hawai'i was not left behind in all areas of funding for our people. One important

area that we as a group asked for was to make sure Congress continued to fund the Nahonal Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute and the Centers for Disease Control. Not only are advancements in current research potentially being derailed, but we are in real danger of turning back the eloek by nearly a decade and losing the progress we've already made. Plus, continued cuts to screening programs could cost thousands of lives this year, and could harm the heahh and well-being of Americans and Hawaiians for many years to eome. So what happens when our government shuts down? Critical institutions are closed down and many programs eame to a sudden halt. Many of the cancer patients and others who were on important elinieal trials were cut off. Does Congress care about the American people or do they care about themselves? Who got hurt? We, the people. How will our government and Hawai'i's congressional delegation get us back to a normal life in work and medical obligations? Lillian Kehaunani Matsumoto Āmerican Cancer Society, CancerĀction Hetwork volunteer advocate Honolulu, Hawai'i