Isles get $475 million
from new spending billSen. Inouye says the bill supports
programs that help both Hawaii
and the entire nation
The belated spending bill passed by Congress yesterday includes hundreds of millions of dollars in aid for Hawaii programs.
Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, said the 1,182-page bill that passed the Senate 65-28 supports island programs from ferry improvements to fruit fly control, from studying sea turtles to supporting leprosy patients -- in all, $485 million in aid.
"Its passage ensures funding for programs that are important for not only Hawaii, but also the entire nation," said Inouye, the state's senior senator.
He said he did not agree with some provisions of the spending bill, including language that allows the administration to go ahead with rules allowing companies to pay overtime to fewer white-collar workers, and vowed to "right these injustices imposed on working families."
Sen. Daniel Akaka, also a Democrat, also voted in favor of the bill.
Included in the bill is $150 million in federal highway funds, about $40.7 million to fund education of dependents of military and federal government personnel, and $17.5 million for the State Department-funded East-West Center in Honolulu.
The spending tome also includes funding for a number of building projects, including a laboratory at the University of Hawaii at Hilo to address agricultural concerns of farmers in Hawaii and the Pacific; a new facility for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; and an astronomy education center atop Mauna Kea.
All are among the bill's 7,932 allocations for local items such as museum upgrades and agricultural research, at a national cost of $10.7 billion, according to Taxpayers for Common Sense, an independent group devoted to cutting wasteful government spending.
The bill also sets aside $15 million for state ferry projects, $4 million to fund rural bus service and $4 million for improvements to Saddle Road on the Big Island.
Among other inclusions in the bill is funding for airport quarantine inspections, rodent control on island farms, expansion of Hawaii County methamphetamine treatment programs and the study of sea turtles.
The measure that now goes to President Bush melds seven spending bills into one, covering 11 Cabinet departments and scores of other agencies, plus foreign aid and the District of Columbia government.
Six other spending measures, including those covering the Pentagon and Department of Homeland Security, were already enacted.