HI HR196

Congratulates Senator Daniel Kahikina Akaka for receiving the 2011 Harry S. Truman Award for Distinguished Service in Support of National Defense from the National Guard Association of the United States on November 5, 2011.

Recognizes Akaka's work to increase military benefits, full-time manpower, body armor availability, and his rewriting of the Post-9/11 GI Bill to include National Guardsmen mobilized under Title 32.

Notes that the Truman Award is the highest award given to a lawmaker and has been presented to only 35 individuals since its inception in 1969.

Acknowledges Akaka as the first United States Senator of Native Hawaiian ancestry and his over 35 years of service to the United States and the people of Hawaii on the Senate Armed Services and Veterans' Affairs committees.