COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS AND CAUCUS MEMBERSHIPS

Senator Akaka is well-situated to have a direct impact on issues critical to Hawaii and the Nation. He serves on the following Senate committees:

COMMITTEE ON VETERANS' AFFAIRS Senator Daniel K. Akaka is the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

A strong and vocal advocate for veterans, Senator Akaka has served on the Committee on Veterans' Affairs since his arrival in the Senate in 1990. Known for working in the spirit of aloha, Senator Akaka enjoys a productive working relationship with Ranking Member Richard Burr (R-NC), veteran service organizations, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and his Congressional colleagues.

COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES Senator Akaka is a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.  The Committee has oversight of our nation's military, including the Department of Defense, the Department of the Army, the Department of the Navy, the Department of the Air Force, the pay, promotion, retirement, and other benefits and privileges of members of the Armed Forces.  He is committed to ensuring that the men and women of our Armed Forces have the training and equipment they need to remain the best fighting force in the world. Senator Akaka works tirelessly to ensure that the needs of our service members and their families remain a top priority.

Senator Akaka currently serves on the Personnel, Seapower, and Readiness and Management Support Subcommittees.

COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS The Committee's broad legislative and oversight responsibilities have led to greater accountability, responsiveness, and efficiency in federal government. Hawaii's 58,000 federal employees, emergency management and homeland security employees, and retirees, and the state's 2,665 postal workers are served by the Committee. Senate oversight of the Department of Homeland Security, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency, rests with the Committee. The federal preparedness for and response to major disasters are under the Committee's purview, including state and local grants.

• Chairman, Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia The Subcommittee has jurisdiction over the management of all departments, agencies, and programs of the federal government, including the Management Directorate of the Department of Homeland Security; the Federal Civil Service; national security staffing; relations between the federal government and state and local governments; relations between the federal government and international organizations of which the U.S. is a member; and the District of Columbia.
• Member, Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and International Security
• Member, Ad Hoc Subcommittee on State, Local, and Private Sector Preparedness and Integration

COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS Senator Akaka's membership on the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs is critical to his efforts to bolster health care, education, housing and other vital programs for indigenous people, including Native Hawaiians, Alaska Natives, and American Indians.  It is necessary that the United States fulfill its responsibility to our nation's first people, our indigenous people and support their ability to exercise self-governance and self-determination.   Such action empowers our indigenous people to make significant strides to enhance their self-sufficiency, perpetuate their language and culture, and meet their unique needs.

AKAKA CAUCUS MEMBERSHIPS

• Afterschool Caucus
• STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education) Caucus
• Congressional Coalition on Adoption
• Senate Cultural Caucus
• Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, Executive Board
• Senate Army Caucus, Co-Chair
• National Guard Caucus
• Senate Anti-Meth Caucus
• Congressional Public Service Caucus, Co-Chair
• Congressional Biotechnology Caucus
• Senate Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Caucus
• Congressional Fire Services Caucus
• Congressional Port Security Caucus
• Senate Caucus on Natural Hazards 
• Congressional Friends of Human Rights Monitors
• Senate Sweetener Caucus
• Senate Rural Health Caucus
• Senate Tourism Caucus
• Congressional Postal Caucus, Co-Chair