STAR-BULLETIN / NOVEMBER 2005
A medium-range missile flies skyward from the Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai. The facility will receive $14.6 million for upgrades and equipment.
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Bill budgets $372M for isles
Associated Press
A House-Senate conference committee has approved a defense-related spending report that includes $372 million for Hawaii-based programs, Sen. Daniel Inouye said yesterday.
The largest single appropriation for Hawaii, $25 million, goes to the Maui Space Surveillance System satellite tracking facility, which houses the Department of Defense's largest telescope.
Pacific Command's intelligence system, known as C41, will receive another $20 million.
The initiatives are part of the fiscal year 2007 defense appropriations conference report, which was filed Monday for congressional approval. The report includes figures negotiated between members of the House and Senate from both parties.
"Given our nation's tight budget situation, I am glad that House and Senate conferees were able to resolve differences and find middle ground to craft the final version of this important appropriations measure," Inouye said.
More than $18 million is slated to train airmen to support new C-17 cargo planes to be based at Hickam Air Force Base next year.
The Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai is to receive $14.6 million for upgrades and equipment.
Inouye said the Hawaii- related defense projects awaiting final approval by both chambers "will help to ensure that we, as a nation, will be well prepared for any challenge we may face in the Asia-Pacific region or any other part of the globe."
The senator said he was especially pleased that the Hawaii initiatives include numerous high-technology projects that will ensure more efficient mission operations and protect U.S. servicemen and women.
Including the Military Construction-Veterans Administration Appropriations Bill, which is pending before the Senate, and three other programs under consideration, the state could receive as much as $622 million in total military-related funding in the next fiscal year.