From www.Djou.com January 5, 2011

Today marks the start of the new 112th Congress and the end of my tenure as a member of Congress. As such, this day is incredibly bittersweet for me.

It has been the greatest honor of my life to represent the people of Hawaii in the 111th Congress as your U.S. Representative. 

For me, it is testimony to the greatness of our nation that a child of immigrants from China and Thailand can rise up to become a maker of laws in the United States of America.

For Hawaii, for the first time in not years, but decades, we gave the voters a real choice.

As relayed by other members of Congress, our hard-fought battle allowed the GOP to gain 3-5 additional seats on the mainland. With that change in the majority, I am thankful that our nation now appears to be charting a new path and that the House is ready to tackle the pressing issue of deficit reduction.  I am also pleased that the President has made overtures to the new Republican majority in the House about finding ways to reduce spending.  I specifically applaud the recent moves by the President to freeze federal civil service pay for two years and the President’s recent compromise on 2011 tax rates.

As I complete my term, I say a final mahalo to the voters of Hawaii for giving me the opportunity to serve them in Congress. 

I also must thank all of you -- my volunteers and supporters, who worked so tirelessly and selflessly to elect me to this office.

Finally, most of all, I thank my family for giving me everything that I have.  In particular, I want to thank my wife who is my closest confidant, my most trusted adviser and the love of my life.

I believe that limited government is better in establishing prosperity than an expansive government.

I believe that a vibrant two-party democracy is better at preserving liberty than monolithic one-party rule.

I believe that open and responsive elected officials are better at ensuring an accountable government than an old-boy network.

But I also believe that the strength of our representative democracy is that the voters always have the final word.  While I recognize that my beliefs may be the minority view in my congressional district, I will always respect the will of the people.

Mahalo and Aloha.  May God Bless you and may God Bless the United States of America.

Aloha,

Charles K. Djou
Member of Congress (2010-11)
Hawaii, 1st District