HCR 22: urging the united states congress to pass H.r. 2687, also known as the end kidney deaths act.

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

urging the united states congress to pass H.r. 2687, also known as the end kidney deaths act.

     WHEREAS, kidney disease and kidney failure are serious, life-threatening medical conditions that disproportionately impact people of color; and

     WHEREAS, currently more than five thousand Hawaii residents rely on dialysis and hundreds die each year; and

     WHEREAS, patients from rural and low-income communities are significantly more likely to die from kidney disease due to the deep inequities in access to timely and effective treatment; and

     WHEREAS, of the nearly ninety-five thousand Americans nationwide who are waiting for a kidney transplant, several thousands die each year, despite kidney transplantation being a proven, life-saving therapy; and

     WHEREAS, while dialysis can sustain a patient's life, it also significantly diminishes quality of life, shortens life expectancy, and imposes substantial physical, emotional, and financial burdens on patients and families; and

     WHEREAS, the federal government spends approximately $50,000,000,000 annually on dialysis care, which represents nearly one percent of all federal spending; and

     WHEREAS, kidney transplantation not only restores health and independence for patients but also reduces long-term public expenditures, with each transplant estimated to save approximately $500,000 compared to the lifetime cost of dialysis; and

     WHEREAS, expanding access to kidney transplantation has the potential to save up to ten thousand lives each year and reduce federal health care spending by approximately $4,000,000,000 annually; and

     WHEREAS, living donor kidney transplants are widely recognized as the gold standard of kidney care, offering better outcomes and longer graft survival than deceased donor transplants; and

     WHEREAS, living kidney donation is already among the most tightly regulated medical procedures in the United States, with comprehensive medical, psychological, and ethical safeguards to protect donor safety and prevent coercion; and

     WHEREAS, the number of living kidney donors has remained largely unchanged for more than twenty-five years, demonstrating that existing policies have failed to meet the growing need for donors; and

     WHEREAS, H.R. 2687, also known as the End Kidney Deaths Act, was introduced on April 7, 2025, to the 119th Congress; and

     WHEREAS, the End Kidney Deaths Act would allow for regulated, refundable tax credits for individuals who donate a kidney to a stranger; and

     WHEREAS, providing tax credits for non-directed living donation recognizes the burdens of donation while preserving existing donor protections; and

     WHEREAS, non-directed kidney donation can initiate transplant changes that save multiple lives from a single act of generosity; and

     WHEREAS, the End Kidney Deaths Act is a bipartisan, evidence-based proposal that address human suffering and fiscal responsibility; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2026, the Senate concurring, that this body urges the United States Congress to pass H.R. 2687, also known as the End Kidney Deaths Act; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this body urges Hawaii's congressional delegation to support the End Kidney Deaths Act as a means of saving lives, reducing health inequities that affect rural and low-income communities, and improving the sustainability of the nation's health care system; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, President Pro Tempore of the United States Senate, and members of Hawaii's congressional delegation.

Report Title: 

Kidney Disease; Kidney Donation; Tax Credits; End Kidney Deaths Act