Norma Torres: “I thank Congresswoman Gabbard. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and the legacy of my colleague, Mark Takai. I…”

“I thank Congresswoman Gabbard. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and the legacy of my colleague, Mark Takai. I first met Mark when we were elected together. We were freshmen, and we were going through orientation. All of us were competing for staff office space and competing on who could get to class the quickest and who could find their way from point A to point B the quickest. We had a lot of fun together, and we got to know each other through those brief few days. After we returned to Washington, we were sworn in as Members of Congress. I have a clear memory of how deeply Mark cared about his home State and his family. Congress is a tough place, and Mark was even tougher. Mark and I were competing for a subcommittee assignment on the Natural Resources Committee. He and I both wanted to serve on the Natural Resources Committee Subcommittee on Indian, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs that oversaw the territories' natural resources of Hawaii and Alaska native affairs. I got the spot, and Mark came marching into my office with chocolate in his hand. He didn't make an appointment, by the way, and he had no staff with him. We were going to have a conversation, more of a spar over this committee assignment. And over chocolate, Mark made me promise that his beautiful home State of Hawaii would always be my priority, and I did.…”