Rep. Case pushes to keep federal government open, provide $49M funding to Hawai‘i community projects

The US House passed a $565 billion measure on Wednesday for the current fiscal year to avert a partial shutdown of the federal government before the deadline this Friday. The bill contains billions in assistance for Hawai‘i, including $49 million directed to 14 specific needs under Community Project Funding (CPF) supported by US Rep. Ed Case (D-HI-01).

The bill included six of Congress’ normal twelve annual appropriations bills, with the remaining annual funding bills expected before the end of the month.

The package included six bills: Agriculture-Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Commerce-Justice-Science (CJS); Energy and Water; Interior and Environment; Military Construction-Veterans Affairs (VA) and Transportation-Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

It now moves to the Senate for consideration and expected approval and enactment by the President by this weekend. Next week the House is expected to consider the remaining six appropriations bills, according to a release from Rep. Case.

Provisions of Special Interest to Hawai‘i

Some of the provisions of special interest to Hawai‘i and for which Rep. Case advocated throughout the FY 2024 appropriations process include:

• $1.4 billion to continue constructing a new dry dock at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility, Hawai‘i’s largest industrial employer with some 6,000 local employees.
• $713 million, an increase of $13 million above FY 2023, for Violence Against Women Act programs.
• Legislative language directing the National Institute of Standards and Technology to develop wildland-urban interface risk metrics to mitigate wildfire risks.
• $22.3 million for the Native Hawaiian Housing Block Grant (NHHBG), which supports the building, acquisition and rehabilitation of affordable homes.
• $33 billion for child nutrition programs, a $4.5 billion increase over FY 2023 for the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, Summer Food Service Programs and other important programs.
• $4.8 million for the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s State of the Birds Activities to help protect critically endangered birds that face potential extinction.
• $3.1 billion for veterans’ homelessness programs.
• $4.7 million for Japanese Confinement Site Grants and funding for the newly authorized Amache National Historic Site, which was one of ten World War II incarceration sites used to detain Japanese Americans.
• $50 million for the Community Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative, which supports partnerships between law enforcement and the communities they serve to address violence intervention and prevention programs, including gang and gun violence.
• $67 million for the Sanctuaries and Marine Protected Areas Program, including the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.

Community Project Funding (CPF)

Rep. Case’s CPF projects are listed below:

• $8.7 million for pedestrian safety improvements in Waipahu, Kalihi, urban Honolulu and Wai‘anae
• $1.3 million for food storage equipment and various repairs at The Pantry Food Bank.
• $1.5 million for the Big Brothers Big Sisters Hawai‘i’s new headquarters.
• $1.9 million for renovations at the Hale Aloha apartment building that helps single mothers with children who need stable and affordable housing.
• $963,000 for the University of Mānoa Department of Public Safety’s Community Safety Network Integration.
• $700,000 for limu cultivation research and development at the Ānuenue Fisheries Research Center.
• $959,757 to the Hawai‘i Department of Land and Natural Resources for deep water monitoring wells in Wai‘alae East and Wai‘anae.
• $959,757 to the Hawai‘i Department of Land and Natural Resources to conduct a statewide water security audit of over 50 public water systems. The audit will help small systems identify and address efficiency issues, including leak detection, water meter testing and calibration, water meter replacement and meter installation for unmetered systems.
• $959,757 for the Honolulu Board of Water Supply for Kahilinai Place and ‘Aiea Heights Drive Area Water System to help replace 3,900 linear feet of critical aging potable waterline infrastructure segments at the end of their useful life.
• $5.4 million to begin initial work to build a new air traffic control tower to support Wheeler Army Airfield and general aviation in central O‘ahu.
• $23 million for a drinking clearwell and booster pump at Fort Shafter.
• $1 million for the Honolulu Career and Learning Center for Goodwill Hawai‘i
• $940,600 for an outdoor multi-purpose community facility for Special Olympics Hawai‘i.
• $500,000 for the Waikīkī Beach Environmental Restoration and Coastal Storm Risk Management Project.

Compacts of Free Association (COFA)

The bill would also enact new Compacts of Free Association with the Republic of Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands.

This measure further includes provisions to extend federal benefits to Freely Associated States (FAS) citizens who work and reside in Hawai‘i and elsewhere in the United States.

These provisions are from the Compact Impact Fairness Act, a bill co-introduced last year by Rep. Case and Congressman Steve Womack (R-AR-03) that, along with a companion measure by US Sen. Mazie Hirono, called for the restoration of a range of federal benefits that provide relief to states like Hawai‘i with large communities of FAS citizens.