Honolulu Reporter

(Washington, DC) – Congressman Ed Case’s (HI-01) U.S. House Committee on Appropriations approved a key measure funding federal homeland security programs nationally and in Hawai‘i for the upcoming Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 (commencing October 1, 2023).

The FY 2024 Homeland Security bill, one of twelve total bills funding the federal government annually, proposes to spend $91.5 billion for all programs under the jurisdiction of the Department of Homeland Security, an increase of $5 billion over the FY 2023 enacted level.

The bill supports the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Immigration and Customs Enforcement ,the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Secret Service and more. Case is a member of the Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Homeland Security which is responsible for this bill.

“My recent site visits to U.S. Coast Guard stations in Honolulu, Washington State and Alaska not only reinforced my understanding of the service’s critical role in our country’s maritime security and emergency search and rescue operations, but the visits also strengthened my push to increase the Coast Guard’s presence in the Indo-Pacific,” said Case. “The Committee responded to my request and approved $335 million for the acquisition of four additional Coast Guard Fast Response Cutters, which will support Coast Guard operations in the Indo-Pacific.”

Through his assignment on the Committee, Case also secured $1.4 million in partial funding for a backup generator for Pali Momi Hospital as a Member-designated Community Project Funding (CPF) project that specifically focuses on local needs in Hawai‘i. The funding of a backup generator will help the hospital to build its resilience in the event of a major storm.

The House’s CPF rules require that each project must have demonstrated community support, must be fully disclosed by the requesting Member, and be subject to audit by the independent Government Accountability Office. Case’s disclosures are here: https://case.house.gov/services/funding-disclosures.htm. 

“Unfortunately, even with these proposed resources for Hawai‘i, I could not support the overall measure in its current form because of the areas in which it underfunds critical operations,” said Case.

“The proposal slashes funding to critical programs I have supported in the past including application processing to reduce the backlog at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and provides a false sense of security by calling for billions of dollars on an outdated and expensive border wall, leaving our ports of entry and interior Border Patrol checkpoints vulnerable to trafficking of fentanyl and other illicit narcotics.”

Case was able to secure a number of programs and provisions, including:

• $355 million for Emergency Management Performance Grants, which support state and local emergency management agencies like the Hawai‘i Emergency Management Agency.
• $360 million for assistance to firefighter grant programs, which are a major source of funding for county fire departments.
• $10 million for the Citizenship and Integration Grant Program, which provides citizenship preparation resources, support and information to immigrants and immigrant-serving organizations.
• Report language encouraging the U.S. Coast Guard to continue to coordinate with U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, expand intelligence-sharing efforts with partners and allies and take steps to improve U.S. Coast Guard facilities in Hawai‘i.  
• A provision directing FEMA to report on its strategies to respond to the unique challenges posed by disasters in Hawai‘i and other non-contiguous areas. 
• Language requiring the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to brief Congress on resources needed to shorten the wait times for family members of Filipino World War II veterans and more quickly process the permanent resident applications of those enrolled in the Filipino War Veteran Parole Program.

The measure also provides the following priorities requested by Case:

·        $335 million for the acquisition of four additional Coast Guard Fast Response Cutters, which will support U.S. Coast Guard operations in the Indo-Pacific

·        $106 million for the National Domestic Preparedness Consortium, a $5 million increase over FY 2023, which funds University of Hawaii’s National Disaster Preparedness Training Center.

·        $530 million for the State Homeland Security Grant program, which provides funding to protect against terrorism and other threats.

·        $105 million for the Transit Security Grant Program, which protects critical transportation infrastructure from acts of terrorism.

The bill now moves onto the full House of Representatives for consideration. 

A detailed report explaining the funding bill is available here.

Attachments: pictures of Congressman Case during site visits at Coast Guard stations in Hawai‘i, Washington State and Alaska.

Original source can be found here.