Tokuda: Defense bill blocks military land condemnation in Hawaiʻi

The US House has passed the $900 billion fiscal year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act without granting the military any authority to condemn public or private land in Hawaiʻi — an outcome US Rep. Jill Tokuda maintains is critical to protecting the state’s open spaces and community trust.

Tokuda, who serves on the House Armed Services Committee, said she worked to ensure that language allowing the Department of Defense to seize land did not make it into the final bill.

“In Hawaiʻi, we have learned a painful truth: once land is taken, it’s gone forever,” Tokuda said in a statement following the House vote. “Under no circumstances should we entertain the idea of giving land away to the military. If they attempt such an illegal action, they will lose in court and — more importantly — they will lose the trust of the people of Hawaiʻi.”

The defense authorization act serves as an annual policy bill that sets military and defense priorities for the coming year. The measure passed the House this week and now moves to the US Senate for consideration.

US Rep. Ed Case, who serves on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, also voted in favor of the bill, which he reported calls for spending $900 billion, including $1 billion for US construction projects in Hawaiʻi.

“Our National Defense Authorization Act is a critical annual measure that not only authorizes our defense spending for the year, supplementing my Appropriations Committee’s parallel funding responsibilities, but also establishes defense policies, including organization and administration of the Defense Department,” Case said. “While the NDAA also addresses military readiness, the measure also supports several quality-of-life provisions that are critical to service members and their families.”

Military spending in Hawaiʻi

Case provided bullet points for spending provisions in the bill:

• $142 million to commence a multi-year project to build a water treatment plant at Red Hill that would allow the drinking water shaft to be reopened and help remove any residual contaminants from the ground surrounding Red Hill.
• $493 million of additional funding to continue construction a new drydock at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility. This is a multi-billion-dollar project requiring sustained funding over several years and is currently the largest
  military construction project in the Department of Defense.
• $66 million for airfield improvements at the Pacific Missile Range Facility.
• $147 million for Military Housing Privatization Initiative projects (460 units) at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.
• $37 million for water reclamation facility compliance upgrades at Marine Corp Base Hawai‘i.
• $49 million to replace the main gate at Marine Corps Base Hawai‘i.
• $83 million for DDG-1000 ship support infrastructure upgrades at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.
• $15 million to modernize the electrical distribution system at Marine Corp Base Hawai‘i.

Provisions addressing Hawaiʻi’s needs

Tokuda added that the bill includes several measures she authored or supported to address issues affecting Hawaiʻi, service members, and military families. These include:

• Requiring the Department of Defense to include civilian and contractor employees in regular housing market analyses — important for states like Hawaiʻi where military and civilian housing markets overlap.
• Mandating an independent review of Defense Department land in Hawaiʻi to assess its suitability for service member housing.
• Adding a 24-hour parental notification rule for suspected child abuse or neglect at Defense Department child development centers.
• Blocking the decommissioning of the Kilo Moana and other oceanographic research vessels.
• Allowing new intergovernmental agreements to fund ordnance disposal, enabling Hawaiʻi and other states to help clear former military lands.
• Requiring a congressional briefing on efforts to prevent misconduct by service members stationed in Okinawa, Japan.
• Extending the “Child Care In Your Home” pilot program for service members in Hawaiʻi, which helps cover nanny or in-home care costs.
• Eliminating TRICARE referral requirements for obstetrical and gynecological care.

Tokuda said the bill reflects Hawaiʻi’s priorities both in protecting land and supporting local military families. “This year’s NDAA includes important provisions for Hawaiʻi, military families, and the nation as a whole,” she said.