Hawaii slated to
get $485M federal
fund package
The state could be getting almost $5 million in federal funds to expand crystal methamphetamine treatment programs on Kauai, Molokai and Lanai.
The money is part of more than $485 million in Hawaii-related initiatives included in the fiscal 2004 Omnibus Appropriations Bill.
Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, said House and Senate negotiators have reached agreement on the measure, but it is unclear when Congress will take a final vote on the bill.
"This massive bill provides funds for programs on every island," Inouye said. "It covers justice, commerce, agriculture, labor, education, health, housing and transportation."
In addition to funds for neighbor island programs to combat crystal meth, or "ice," use in the state, the bill includes $1 million to support improvements to the Honolulu Police Department's crime lab.
The bill also proposes allocating:
>> $12 million for the design of a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration facility that would house all the agency's programs under one roof.>> More than $60 million for native Hawaiian social programs, including almost $3 million for the state's elderly native Hawaiian population.
>> $15 million to expand and enhance an existing ferry project in the state, with a likely candidate being Maui's ferry services.
>> $7.3 million to collect data on Hawaiian sea turtles and ensure that current conservation goals are being met.
>> $2.2 million for a new visitor center at the Maui Humpback Whale Sanctuary facility.
