Hirono 'honored' to help name VA clinic after late senator

Government
640px mazie hirono reading nyt
U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii. | United States Senate - The Office of Mazie Hirono

U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) says she was "honored" to continue the work of those before her by introducing legislation that would rename a Veterans Administration clinic in Hawaii.

The senator said the legislation would name the Advanced Leeward Outpatient Health Care Access (ALOHA) under construction in Oahu after the late former Hawaii senator Daniel Kahikina Akaka. The bill is headed to the desk of President Biden where he can sign it into law.

“Throughout his decades of public service, including as chair of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, Sen. Akaka was a determined champion for Hawaii’s veterans," Hirono said. "I’ve been honored to help continue the work he began to build a new health care facility for Leeward Oahu veterans, and I’m pleased that the facility will bear his name."

The Senate passed the bill in December, and it was introduced in the House by U.S. Rep. Kaiali'i Kahele (D-Hawaii).

In Congress, Akaka served as chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs. He worked to expand access to GI Bill benefits and bring more recognition to World War II veterans of Asian-American heritage.

In March 2021, Hirono and Kahele teamed up to gain authorization for the GSA to provide approval for a 15-year lease at an annual cost of $5.9 million to fund the ALOHA project.