Mahalo Senate President Hanabusa, Gov. Lingle, distinguished guests and overburdened taxpayers of Hawai'i. We offer our congratulations to President Obama and all newly and re-elected lawmakers.

We appreciate the words of President Hanabusa and pledge our continued support to help enact positive legislation for all the people of Hawai'i.

Some may wonder what the Senate minority stands for, and how we have any relevancy or impact on policy in Hawai'i, out numbered as we are, 12-1.

One person, U.S. Airways Captain Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger, showed us last week what one person and his leadership can do for others.

Your Republican minority may be just two of 25 state senators, but we actually represent more than 40 percent of the votes cast, many thousands more of the "silent majority," and we have a strong and consistent philosophy, an unwavering voice, and a vote.

We also have good humor — a useful trait in both good times and bad — especially in this building.

We work hard, do our legislative homework and support leadership when we believe they are right, and tell them when they're not. We never forget who sent us here — and what you expect of all of us.

Have we had an impact? We shape legislation, point out errors in proposals, actively take part in committees and advise and consent process and, if we're lucky, some of our bills are so good that the majority will take them as their own. We don't care who gets the credit as long as Hawai'i gets good legislation.

Many people and media, publicly approach this 25th State Legislature with an outlook of gloom, doom, grim times and negative choices.

Your minority approaches this Legislative Session, not with fear, but with enthusiasm for the opportunities that these tough times present.

There is a two-party system here, or at least two distinct philosophies. One party is expert at winning elections and controlling the government for more than 45 years, stressing taxing, spending and decision-making by government. Selective sacrifice is their mantra. The buzz word of their recent election was "change" yet there has been no change in Hawai'i's governance or education.

Our philosophy emphasizes individual risk and accomplishment, lower taxes on families and small businesses, transparency in government and more economic choices for everyone.

We stand for individual rights superior to those of the government, federal or state. We want the government chained by the Constitution and Bill of Rights. Recent events show that too much reliance on government has resulted in government inaction, corruption, conflicts of interest and unwise redistribution of your wealth through subsidies, preferential treatment and ill-conceived bailouts. In short, government has not solved problems; it treats symptoms and creates unintended consequences.

There is widespread public discontent with legislative bodies; the congress, city councils and state Legislature. Many believe we spend too much time on increasing our own salaries and benefits, exempting ourselves from laws we pass for others and covering up questionable ethics. Your Minority has spoken out and introduced legislation to correct these abuses and will continue to do so. I said months ago, we in government should not have a pay increase when so many people are suffering financially, and instead of exempting us from laws, we must be held to a higher standard.

I have now attended four consecutive years of "sexual harassment training" and we passed laws mandating "ethics training." We believe you shouldn't have to train lawmakers to be ethical. Or not to sexually harass. Maybe we need DUI breathalyzers installed at the Capitol instead.

Our opinion is that our problems today are more political than economic. We can address these economic challenges through support of competitive private market capitalism which allows us the greatest amount of freedom and choice, unavailable under more government control. The market hasn't failed us; individuals and government have failed us.

We don't want to just hunker down, reduce consumer spending and economic activity and further reduce our standard of living. We stress success and prosperity, not just survival, and we know this is possible even in these difficult times.

We are positive and have reason to be so. We need to get to work, stop whining, not look for a government handout, and be more productive and creative. Successful businesses do just that: they reinvent themselves for changing times. We have numerous examples of that in Hawai'i, such as, Hawaiian Airlines, City Mill, The Systemcenter, Oils of Aloha and CyberCom, to name just a few.

The good news is we have the tools and resources despite slowing revenue estimates, rising unemployment, business closures and home foreclosures. The recession is real but we do not have to be mesmerized or paralyzed by bad news. Everything is cyclical. And your minority always has hope and faith in Hawai'i's talented and remarkable people.

Hawai'i is celebrating its 50th anniversary of statehood and we proudly proclaim the many blessings of citizenship as Americans. We are appreciative and respectful of our Native Hawaiian culture and its many contributions. The best way to show that respect is to expand the rights of every citizen of Hawai'i.

We honor all of our men and women in uniform and are grateful for the military's many contributions — not just financial — to our community. We must not hesitate to stand up for them vocally, not just when it is convenient to do so, because they sacrifice a great deal and risk their lives to protect us.

To those in law enforcement and our first responders who keep us safe — even in power blackouts and earthquakes — we thank you.

We cherish our kupuna and the lessons we learn from them.

We are invigorated by our youth who have unlimited potential. Moanalua grad turned golf pro Tadd Fujikawa, makes us all proud, as do Punahou surfer Clarissa Moore, football star Manti Teo, Castle High grad Olympic gold medalist Bryan Clay. There are so many amazing people from Hawai'i talented in music, art, dance, acting, production, robotics, technology, business and much more. All individuals with God-given talent.

This session we pledge to the people of Hawai'i who look to all of us for leadership, to listen even more, work even harder, cooperate for the good of all our people, and to passionately continue to stand up against bad laws, poor economics and loss of freedom and choice. Some want to jettison values and positions just because they are "old." We will retain and honor the permanent values which stand the test of time and should not be partisan.

In the words of Winston Churchill, "We will never give up, never, never, never."

Your minority stands for the enforcement of existing laws rather than duplication with more legislation, and specifically the following: