Appropriations/Annual Federal Funding; Red Hill

Aloha, Friend. Among so many ongoing issues, I’d like to highlight, in this e-report back to you, my work on our U.S. House Committee on Appropriations to fund our federal government and the latest on remediation, defueling and closure of Red Hill. Appropriations/Annual Federal Funding Every year since our country’s founding, regardless of the times or issues, we must fund and have funded the activities and programs of our federal government. Our U.S. Constitution makes Congress responsible for that funding, and the U.S. House Committee on Appropriations, on which I am serving my fourth year, is where that annual process starts. Our Committee works first through twelve subcommittees, each covering its own part of the federal government, and then through our full Committee to bring twelve appropriations bills to the full House for passage. For the last two weeks, we have met virtually full time to complete our proposals for upcoming federal Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 (beginning October 1st of this year). My Committee work focuses not only on national priorities but on specific needs and opportunities for Hawai‘i. My work for each fiscal year starts well in advance, right after the prior year’s appropriations process is completed, through our subcommittee and committee meetings, on throughout the process until bills are finally approved, and then continuing on to be sure funds get to needs both nationally and Hawai‘i. The twelve FY23 measures my Appropriations Committee just approved, totaling some $1.6 trillion, include many solid results for our country and Hawai‘i. Here’s a quick summary of each with links to further information. Defense. This measure funds our defense and intelligence efforts. It includes my requests for another $1 billion for the remediation, defueling and closure of Red Hill (to add to the $1.1 billion we secured in the current fiscal year appropriations process), and $6.1 billion for the Pacific Deterrence Initiative, a key effort to counter China throughout the Indo-Pacific. Details here . Military Construction and Veterans Affairs. This measure funds construction at our military facilities worldwide, including many in Hawai‘i, and the Department of Veterans Affairs, serving some 112,000 Hawai‘i veterans and their families. It includes my requests for another $100 million for Red Hill (in addition to the FY23 Defense and FY22 appropriations measures), another $1.3 billion for the Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Program under which our four naval shipyards including Pearl Harbor are receiving major upgrades, and increased funding for key veterans programs including women and minorities. Details here. State, Foreign Operations and Related Agencies. This measure funds our non-defense international programs. It includes my requests for increased funding for Hawaii’s world-leading East-West Center, and to implement my Boosting Long-term U.S. Engagement in the Pacific (BLUE Pacific) Act, which focuses our country’s efforts throughout our Pacific Island ‘ohana. Details here. Interior and Environment. This measure funds our environmental and natural resources protection and conservation efforts and much of our climate change research focus. It includes my requests for support of a major expansion of Haleakalā National Park, protections of special resources on O‘ahu, further monies for Red Hill, protection of a world-class collection at Bishop Museum, and expansion of climate adaptation science centers including a world-leading one at UH-Mānoa. Details here . Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies. This measure funds our agriculture, food security, rural development and conservation programs, and drug development and approval efforts. It includes my requests for support of Hawai‘i-specific tropical agriculture crops, food-to-table and farmers markets, and invasive species protection. Details here . Homeland Security. This measure funds our immigration, customs and border security and emergency preparedness and response efforts along with our U.S. Coast Guard. It includes my requests to strengthen the Coast Guard’s Indo-Pacific presence, focus the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on unique island issues, strengthen cybersecurity nationwide and expedite immigration processing for our Filipino WWII veteran ‘ohana. Details here. Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies. This measure funds our commercial assistance, ocean, atmosphere and climate change research through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), federal law enforcement, scientific research through the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). It includes my requests to increase NOAA ocean research throughout the Pacific, increase support of state and local law enforcement through the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) and other programs, provide for a record increase for the Legal Services Corporation which funds Legal Aid Hawai’i, and continue our exploration of space and of Hawaii’s role. Details here. Labor, Health, Human Services and Education. This measure funds our most critical workforce development, health, education and social services programs. It includes my requests to increase funding of programs in these areas targeted to the unique needs of Native Hawaiians, Job Corps and other efforts to strengthen our workforce, fully fund the National Institutes of Health dedicated to curing our toughest diseases, and enhancing child care and teacher development and retention opportunities. It also includes six of my Community Project Funding (CPF) requests to assist specific local community needs, including $1.74 million for the Lunalilo Home in Hawai‘i Kai. Details here. Energy and Water. This measure funds the range of our efforts to transition away from fossil fuels and achieve energy independence, as well as our major water infrastructure projects. It includes my requests for ongoing funding of advanced energy research, which benefits the UH, along with flood control projects for Ala Wai, Waikīkī and Kalaeloa. It also includes my CPF request to fund the Hawai‘i State Energy Office’s groundbreaking Clean Energy Wayfinders Program. Details here. Financial Services and General Government. This measure funds our small business assistance efforts through the Small Business Administration (SBA), community development, and U.S. Treasury and Secret Service-related law enforcement. It includes my requests to boost the SBA support, which was especially critical to Hawaii’s some 140,000 small businesses during COVID, support Native Hawaiian, women, veterans and minority small business programs, and funds counter-drug efforts. Details here. Transportation and Housing & Urban Development. This measure funds our national transportation programs and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). It includes my requests to boost funding to support reinvestments in our transportation infrastructure under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Package, as well as programs to address our housing crisis including Homeless Assistance Grants, rental assistance, the HUD-Veterans Assisted Homeownership Opportunity Program (HUD-VASH), and Native Hawaiian housing. It also includes my CPF requests of $4.8 million to the City and County of Honolulu to extend a bike/walk corridor from East to West O‘ahu, and $500,000 to the Institute for Human Services for its Village of Redemption project for housing for formerly incarcerated individuals. Details here. Legislative Branch. This measure funds our U.S. Congress and its related agencies including the Library of Congress, Congressional Budget Office, Government Accountability Office and Government Printing Office. It includes my requests to increase funding and service to assure fair salaries and retention of the critical staffs of Congress and these agencies. Details here.Red Hill This past Thursday, the Navy released two critical reports in our effort to remediate, defuel and close the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility. The first was the Command Investigation Report on exactly what happened and why with the May and November fuel spills which has such serious and far-ranging effects. The second was the proposed Red Hill Defueling Plan. Here are the reports. The Command Investigation Report details a series of “cascading failures” that should never have happened, and there are many painful lessons to be learned. There must also be specific accountability for those failures. Additionally, the Hawai‘i Department of Health must approve the Defueling Plan and oversee implementation throughout to assure that our drinking water and public health are fully protected. I will continue to oversee the federal agencies responsible for all of these actions, in particular the Department of Defense, assist in coordinating among federal, state and local efforts, and keep our community fully informed. Through my U.S. House Committee on Appropriations and otherwise, I will also continue to assure the full funding of all of the efforts that will be required in addition to the $1.1 billion our delegation secured for current FY22 and the additional $1.1 billion-plus in our FY23 appropriations bills thus far. As always, I deeply appreciate your consideration and assistance as we all work to find the best way forward for our country and Hawai‘i. For more information on my efforts, and how we can help you, please visit my website at case.house.gov. If I can help you and yours with your own questions and needs, email us at [email protected], or call us at (808) 650-6688. Be safe and be well.

Aloha, Friend.

Among so many ongoing issues, I’d like to highlight, in this e-report back to you, my work on our U.S. House Committee on Appropriations to fund our federal government and the latest on remediation, defueling and closure of Red Hill.

Appropriations/Annual Federal Funding

Every year since our country’s founding, regardless of the times or issues, we must fund and have funded the activities and programs of our federal government. Our U.S. Constitution makes Congress responsible for that funding, and the U.S. House Committee on Appropriations, on which I am serving my fourth year, is where that annual process starts.

Our Committee works first through twelve subcommittees, each covering its own part of the federal government, and then through our full Committee to bring twelve appropriations bills to the full House for passage. For the last two weeks, we have met virtually full time to complete our proposals for upcoming federal Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 (beginning October 1st of this year).

My Committee work focuses not only on national priorities but on specific needs and opportunities for Hawai‘i. My work for each fiscal year starts well in advance, right after the prior year’s appropriations process is completed, through our subcommittee and committee meetings, on throughout the process until bills are finally approved, and then continuing on to be sure funds get to needs both nationally and Hawai‘i.

The twelve FY23 measures my Appropriations Committee just approved, totaling some $1.6 trillion, include many solid results for our country and Hawai‘i. Here’s a quick summary of each with links to further information.

Defense. This measure funds our defense and intelligence efforts. It includes my requests for another $1 billion for the remediation, defueling and closure of Red Hill (to add to the $1.1 billion we secured in the current fiscal year appropriations process), and $6.1 billion for the Pacific Deterrence Initiative, a key effort to counter China throughout the Indo-Pacific. Details here .

Military Construction and Veterans Affairs. This measure funds construction at our military facilities worldwide, including many in Hawai‘i, and the Department of Veterans Affairs, serving some 112,000 Hawai‘i veterans and their families. It includes my requests for another $100 million for Red Hill (in addition to the FY23 Defense and FY22 appropriations measures), another $1.3 billion for the Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Program under which our four naval shipyards including Pearl Harbor are receiving major upgrades, and increased funding for key veterans programs including women and minorities. Details here.

State, Foreign Operations and Related Agencies. This measure funds our non-defense international programs. It includes my requests for increased funding for Hawaii’s world-leading East-West Center, and to implement my Boosting Long-term U.S. Engagement in the Pacific (BLUE Pacific) Act, which focuses our country’s efforts throughout our Pacific Island ‘ohana. Details here.

Interior and Environment. This measure funds our environmental and natural resources protection and conservation efforts and much of our climate change research focus. It includes my requests for support of a major expansion of Haleakalā National Park, protections of special resources on O‘ahu, further monies for Red Hill, protection of a world-class collection at Bishop Museum, and expansion of climate adaptation science centers including a world-leading one at UH-Mānoa. Details here .

Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies. This measure funds our agriculture, food security, rural development and conservation programs, and drug development and approval efforts. It includes my requests for support of Hawai‘i-specific tropical agriculture crops, food-to-table and farmers markets, and invasive species protection. Details here .

Homeland Security. This measure funds our immigration, customs and border security and emergency preparedness and response efforts along with our U.S. Coast Guard. It includes my requests to strengthen the Coast Guard’s Indo-Pacific presence, focus the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on unique island issues, strengthen cybersecurity nationwide and expedite immigration processing for our Filipino WWII veteran ‘ohana. Details here.

Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies. This measure funds our commercial assistance, ocean, atmosphere and climate change research through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), federal law enforcement, scientific research through the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). It includes my requests to increase NOAA ocean research throughout the Pacific, increase support of state and local law enforcement through the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) and other programs, provide for a record increase for the Legal Services Corporation which funds Legal Aid Hawai’i, and continue our exploration of space and of Hawaii’s role. Details here.

Labor, Health, Human Services and Education. This measure funds our most critical workforce development, health, education and social services programs. It includes my requests to increase funding of programs in these areas targeted to the unique needs of Native Hawaiians, Job Corps and other efforts to strengthen our workforce, fully fund the National Institutes of Health dedicated to curing our toughest diseases, and enhancing child care and teacher development and retention opportunities. It also includes six of my Community Project Funding (CPF) requests to assist specific local community needs, including $1.74 million for the Lunalilo Home in Hawai‘i Kai. Details here.

Energy and Water. This measure funds the range of our efforts to transition away from fossil fuels and achieve energy independence, as well as our major water infrastructure projects. It includes my requests for ongoing funding of advanced energy research, which benefits the UH, along with flood control projects for Ala Wai, Waikīkī and Kalaeloa. It also includes my CPF request to fund the Hawai‘i State Energy Office’s groundbreaking Clean Energy Wayfinders Program. Details here.

Financial Services and General Government. This measure funds our small business assistance efforts through the Small Business Administration (SBA), community development, and U.S. Treasury and Secret Service-related law enforcement. It includes my requests to boost the SBA support, which was especially critical to Hawaii’s some 140,000 small businesses during COVID, support Native Hawaiian, women, veterans and minority small business programs, and funds counter-drug efforts. Details here.

Transportation and Housing & Urban Development. This measure funds our national transportation programs and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). It includes my requests to boost funding to support reinvestments in our transportation infrastructure under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Package, as well as programs to address our housing crisis including Homeless Assistance Grants, rental assistance, the HUD-Veterans Assisted Homeownership Opportunity Program (HUD-VASH), and Native Hawaiian housing. It also includes my CPF requests of $4.8 million to the City and County of Honolulu to extend a bike/walk corridor from East to West O‘ahu, and $500,000 to the Institute for Human Services for its Village of Redemption project for housing for formerly incarcerated individuals. Details here.

Legislative Branch. This measure funds our U.S. Congress and its related agencies including the Library of Congress, Congressional Budget Office, Government Accountability Office and Government Printing Office. It includes my requests to increase funding and service to assure fair salaries and retention of the critical staffs of Congress and these agencies. Details here.

Red Hill

This past Thursday, the Navy released two critical reports in our effort to remediate, defuel and close the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility. The first was the Command Investigation Report on exactly what happened and why with the May and November fuel spills which has such serious and far-ranging effects. The second was the proposed Red Hill Defueling Plan. Here are the reports.

The Command Investigation Report details a series of “cascading failures” that should never have happened, and there are many painful lessons to be learned. There must also be specific accountability for those failures. Additionally, the Hawai‘i Department of Health must approve the Defueling Plan and oversee implementation throughout to assure that our drinking water and public health are fully protected.

I will continue to oversee the federal agencies responsible for all of these actions, in particular the Department of Defense, assist in coordinating among federal, state and local efforts, and keep our community fully informed. Through my U.S. House Committee on Appropriations and otherwise, I will also continue to assure the full funding of all of the efforts that will be required in addition to the $1.1 billion our delegation secured for current FY22 and the additional $1.1 billion-plus in our FY23 appropriations bills thus far.

As always, I deeply appreciate your consideration and assistance as we all work to find the best way forward for our country and Hawai‘i. For more information on my efforts, and how we can help you, please visit my website at case.house.gov. If I can help you and yours with your own questions and needs, email us at [email protected], or call us at (808) 650-6688.

Be safe and be well.

P.S. Please sign up for my regular e-newsletter here.

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