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Congressional Daily Record
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Issued
May 12, 2026
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Download official House Record PDFReturn to issue contextMs. TOKUDA asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute.)
Ms. TOKUDA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and service of Colleen Hanabusa, a proud daughter of Wai'anae, a tita at heart, and a former Member of the House who represented Hawaii's First Congressional District.
history as the first AANHPI woman in the Nation to lead a legislative body. She understood something important about being the first: Your job is to hold the door open so you are not the last.
That is who Colleen was.
and saw her legacy everywhere—in the leaders she mentored, the people she believed in, and the confidence she gave so many of us before we saw it in ourselves. It was hard to feel like she was gone because so much of her remains in all of us.
When I think of strength, I think of Colleen. She always had the answers, but she never needed the spotlight. She pushed others forward while making it clear that she had our backs. As a young mother in public office, she never once made me feel like I had to choose between leading and loving my family.
babies, Frannie and Puppers, and Little, who is up there with her now, they were her soul.
I thank them for sharing Colleen with all of us. They definitely broke the mold when they made her, and I dearly miss my friend.
Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me now in a moment of silence in her memory and her honor.