The Veterans Administration Advanced Leeward Outpatient Health Care Access clinic, scheduled for completion late next year, will bear the name of the late U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka, whose tenure in Congress was marked by a deep concern for veteran-related issues.

What You Need To Know

  • Pres. Joe Biden held a signing ceremony for the naming bill on Tuesday

  • Working alongside Hawaii veterans, Akaka spearheaded the effort to get the project underway

  • Last year, Hirono and Rep. Kai Kahele, D-Hawaii, helped to secure a 15-year lease for the project at an annual rent of $5.9 million and an up-front payment of $18 million toward construction of the facility

  • U.S. Rep. Kai Kahele carried Akaka’s personal Bible to the bill signing

Pres. Joe Biden signed into law Tuesday new legislation, introduced by U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, designating the Oahu facility as the Daniel Kahikina Akaka Department of Veterans Affairs Community-Based Outpatient Clinic. 

“It is my honor to sign a bill that will name the new VA outpatient clinic that will be built in Hawaii after a dear friend of mine and a former Senate colleague who I worked with, Danny Akaka,” Biden said at the signing ceremony. “Danny was a great friend. He was an Army veteran in World War II and a former Chair of the Committee on Veterans Affairs. One of the finest people I ever served with, he really was a man of great honor and integrity.”

Working alongside Hawaii veterans, Akaka spearheaded the effort to get the project underway.

“I’ve been honored to help continue the work he began to build a new health care facility for Oahu veterans, especially those living on the leeward side of the island, and I’m grateful that President Biden has signed into law our bill to name the clinic in Sen. Akaka’s honor,” Hirono said. “Sen. Akaka once said that caring for veterans is ‘one of our most sacred obligations as a nation,’ and this clinic will help provide that care for veterans in Hawaii. I’ll continue working to ensure all of our veterans get the high-quality care and support they deserve.”

Last year, Hirono and Rep. Kai Kahele, D-Hawaii, helped to secure a 15-year lease for the project at an annual rent of $5.9 million and an up-front payment of $18 million toward construction of the facility.

Once completed, the 66,000-foot multispecialty clinic will provide primary care, mental health care, audiology, female veteran care, physical and occupational therapy, dental services, prosthetics and specialty care to Hawaii veterans.

It is expected that the new facility will ultimately reduce wait times, increase provider availability and ease traffic and parking challenges that veterans currently experience at Tripler Army Medical Center, where the Spark M. Matsunaga Veterans Affairs Medical Center is located.

Kahele, who introduced a companion naming measure in the House, carried Akaka’s personal Bible to the bill signing. Kahele received the Bible from the Akaka family before being sworn into the 117th Congress. Sen. Akaka originally received it at the 1983 National Prayer Breakfast hosted by President Ronald Reagan. 

As a dear friend and mentor, Sen. Akaka made a significant impact on my life, and I am grateful to participate in this special recognition of his work for our veterans,” Kahele said.

Michael Tsai covers local and state politics for Spectrum News Hawaii.