Hawaii draws attention, not always in a good way

Hawaii may be getting more sophisticated, but we are not so blas that we shrug it off when the big dogs come to town.

This week we are getting more than enough sniffs from our federal friends from Washington, D.C.

Some are welcome.

For instance, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan was to touch down in Honolulu Saturday to visit schools and check progress that Hawaii has made in spending $75 million in Race to the Top grant money. The Honolulu stop comes after a four-day visit to New Zealand and means that Duncan has visited all 50 states as secretary of education.

The political part of it is that President Barack Obama has already endorsed Gov. Neil Abercrombie’s reelection and Duncan’s visit is expected to include some heavy praise for the governor along with the expected Mutt-and-Jeff photo op of the 6’5" former professional basketball player Duncan and the 5’5" Abercrombie.

Also coming this week is Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, who will convene the first U.S.-hosted meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, here at Pearl Harbor.

Hagel is bringing with him the directors of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Agency for International Development.

The political touch is that U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, has been invited to attend, giving her a chance to buff up her street cred in both military and foreign affairs and provide face time for her Senate campaign.

Finally, Hawaii is appearing on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee’s radar screen but not in a good light.

The committee is chaired by U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., who according to ethics reports, is the wealthiest member of Congress and also one of the most doggedly partisan, so expect the politics to be heavy.

Issa’s committee has parceled out the duty of investigating the Affordable Care Act to a subcommittee, which in its official web page lists the Thursday hearing as "Examining ObamaCare’s Problem-Filled State Exchanges."

Issa’s letter to Abercrombie is just as unconvinced that Hawaii is doing the right thing.

"It is clear that the Hawaii exchange has failed to live up to its expectations," Issa wrote.

Noting that Hawaii was given $205 million in federal funds to set up the health insurance exchange but "has managed to enroll fewer than 5,000," Issa went on to warn that personal information submitted on the exchange may be at risk.

Letters were sent to Hawaii and nine other states before the hearing. Tom Matsuda, interim head of Hawaii’s health insurance exchange, will attend the Washington meeting.

Issa pointedly said Hawaii’s health exchange launched two weeks late, signed up the fewest number of enrollees in the country, had its director resign "due to ongoing development problems" and saw Matsuda "admit the exchange is financially unsustainable."

The Abercrombie administration denied that local residents’ personal information was at risk, but for Hawaii, the week with the big dogs will not end with good news for the home team.

Richard Borreca writes on politics on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays. Reach him at rborreca@staradvertiser.com.