'Do You Still Stand By That Commitment?': Hirono Asks Army Head About Talks With Hawaiians Over Land

本站添加: 2026-05-31

[00:00:00]Welcome to both of you. Uh Secretary Gresco, I want to ask you about your approach to the negotiations involving Hawaii's military training lands consisting of some 29,000 acres. I understand the importance of these training lands for Army readiness and Indo-Pacific deterrence. I also understand the importance of this land and these negotiations to the people of Hawaii and the native Hawaiian community and that is why I have been engaging with DOD leaders about how these negotiations will proceed uh expressing the need for community input for a number of years now. And at your confirmation hearing and again at last year's posture hearing, you committed to negotiating in good faith with the state and the community. So, it was uh concerning that instead of what I would consider open communication and transparency, the Army last year pursued unilateral condemnation language as shown by your attempt to add last-minute NDA language to support condemnation.

[00:01:03]And Congress responded by instead reinforcing the continuing need for good faith negotiations.

[00:01:10]A unilateral decision to condemn state lands would bypass the community the state government and the congressional delegation.

[00:01:21]The relevant condemnation statute in fact requires the Army to pursue and exhaust all other available options before starting condemnation proceedings. So, I don't see how the Army can meet that requirement when it has not even re-submitted corrected EISS to address the deficiencies noted by the Board of Land and Natural Resources which in May uh led to their disapproval of the Army submitted EISS. It's been a year.

[00:01:51]So, given these actions, it appears that, you know, I hope this isn't the case that the Army is trying to run the clock and leave unilateral condemnation as the only viable course of action. And I want to state it again for the record that I oppose unilateral condemnation.

[00:02:07]What we need is a negotiated approach to these lease lands.

[00:02:12]Um and I've taken that position for years and we're now at the point where the leases are almost up and final negotiations need to occur with meaningful community engagement and input, especially from the Native Hawaiian community. So, Secretary of the Interior, I have a number of questions about your plans going forward. You previously first, you previously committed to negotiating in good faith.

[00:02:35]Do you still stand by that commitment?

[00:02:38]Yes, unequivocally.

[00:02:40]The Army EISs were rejected by the Hawaiian Land Board last summer because of several noted deficiencies, including their failure to adequately address assess the cultural and historical impacts of continued training.

[00:02:55]Mr. Secretary, can I get your commitment that the Army will resubmit their EISs to address these deficiencies?

[00:03:04]Senator, um just to the spirit of the question, I try to always say this and I mean it very sincerely. When you talk to our soldiers and their families who spend a lot of their lives on the Hawaiian Islands, um they are incredibly grateful to the community. The community has been fantastic to them over decades and so we want to be very respectful That's good. of deep relationship that those people have with the land. And so, um I commit to following up with your office.

[00:03:29]And I hope that means that you will be resubmitting that your EISs because to me resubmitting the EISs is part of of what even the condemnation statutes requires you to do, which is to exhaust all avenues. That means negotiations.

[00:03:45]Next question, what is the status of your negotiations with the state of Hawaii? And can you describe in detail what steps you plan to take in the next 60 days? The time is running on these leases to advance a negotiated agreement with the state.

[00:04:00]Senator, we've aspired over the years before I was even in the seat. I think we've had a number of meetings and then since I've been here, I can speak more articulately to that. We've engaged with the delegation both who represent here in DC, but then we've had a lot of conversations with state leadership and what we've tried to do is balance out fairness to the local population with this idea and this commitment from me that we the United States Army must maintain this land. We need it for our training. We need it to be ready for the Indo-Pacific and with the timeline that you were referencing coming up very very very soon.

[00:04:37]Frankly, the the negotiations must occur with the state of Hawaii because the lease is with the state. That means negotiating with the governor basically.

[00:04:46]So those need to proceed in good faith as I would call it.

[00:04:51]So I I want to urge you again to resume if they have been a pause, resume these good faith negotiations because that's what it's going to take for us to come to a resolution that is going to be fair to all parties and that certainly includes with the input of the native Hawaiian community. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.