HR155

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	155
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

urging the Peace Corps to immediately establish a mission in the Marshall Islands.

WHEREAS, the Republic of the Marshall Islands signed a Compact of Free Association with the United States in 1983; and

WHEREAS, the United States has full authority and responsibility for security and defense of the Marshall Islands and the two nations have full diplomatic relations; and

WHEREAS, the economy of the Marshall Islands is mainly derived from United States payments under the terms of the Compact of Free Association and the United States Department of Defense is one of the largest employers in the nation; and

WHEREAS, only approximately forty-three per cent of Marshallese people over the age of twenty-five have completed high school and only nine per cent have graduated from college; and

WHEREAS, nuclear testing in the vicinity of the Marshall Islands has led to significant health issues, including various forms of cancer and birth defects; and

WHEREAS, years of nuclear testing, overfishing, and climate change have significantly diminished traditional food sources; and

WHEREAS, ninety per cent of the Marshallese food supply chain is made up from imported goods; and

WHEREAS, eighty per cent of food imports are processed foods which have led to alarmingly high rates of obesity and diabetes among the adult population; and

WHEREAS, the Peace Corps previously served in the Marshall Islands from 1966 through 1996; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2025, that the Peace Corps immediately establish a mission in the Marshall Islands; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Peace Crops coordinate humanitarian efforts with as many additional agencies as possible, such as the U.S. Department of Defense, the State of Hawaii, the United Nations, the Red Cross, and any other organization providing economic relief and food security in the region; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Marshall Islands Minister of Foreign Affairs, U.S. Secretary of Defense, Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, Director of the Peace Corps, and Governor of the State of Hawaii.

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________