2026-2341 SR20 SD1 SMA.

WHEREAS, in February 2026, the United States initiated Operation Epic Fury, which targeted high-ranking members of Iran's government and military; and

WHEREAS, thirteen United States soldiers have been killed since the beginning of the conflict in Iran; and

WHEREAS, the conflict has claimed the lives of 3,636 people, including 1,701 civilians; and

WHEREAS, the United States has deployed approximately ten thousand additional troops to the Middle East, increasing the total number of United States troops deployed in the region to over fifty thousand; and

WHEREAS, the United States lacks coherent objectives and has failed to provide a clearly defined timetable for its ongoing participation in the conflict in Iran; and

WHEREAS, the White House has declined to provide Congress with an estimate of the current costs of the conflict, but independent experts have provided an approximation of $25 billion to $35 billion; and

WHEREAS, these direct financial costs, when averaged across each household in the United States, total around $260; and

WHEREAS, the costs of the conflict for the United States and its taxpayers will only grow as the conflict continues, with the estimated daily costs totaling around $2 billion and the total potential costs reaching over $1 trillion; and

WHEREAS, the White House has requested $1.5 trillion dollars for defense in its budget request; and

WHEREAS, the conflict has also incurred indirect costs to the United States and the global economy, especially through the closure of the Strait of Hormuz; and

WHEREAS, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has disrupted a critical trade route responsible for delivering approximately twenty percent of the world's energy supply; and

WHEREAS, recent reports indicate the China has also taken steps to block transit around the Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea, a region through which roughly thirty percent of global maritime commerce passes; and

WHEREAS, these disruptions to global trade and energy supplies have led to a thirty percent increase in the average cost of gasoline in the United States; and

WHEREAS, the average taxpayer in the United States paid $4,049 for war and weapons in 2025 and will likely pay more in 2026 if the conflict in Iran continues; and

WHEREAS, the destabilizing effects of global conflict have compounded the effects of tariffs enacted within the past year, which have significantly disrupted local businesses and negatively impacted the broader economy; and

WHEREAS, the ongoing conflict in Iran and prior foreign wars over the past fifty years have weakened the ability of the United States to adequately fund domestic programs and services that benefit residents; and

WHEREAS, the loss of life, human suffering, and long-term social and economic harms of armed conflict will continue to proliferate without a permanent ceasefire and an end to hostilities in Iran; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2026, that this body urges an immediate and permanent ceasefire and an end to hostilities in Iran; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, Vice President of the United States, United States Secretary of State, United States Secretary of Defense, and members of Hawaii's congressional delegation.

THE SENATE	S.R. NO.	20
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026		S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII		PROPOSED