Press Releases

(Washington, DC) – Congressman Ed Case (HI-01) announced that the full U.S. House has approved the $886 billion Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), including his priorities on strengthening America’s national security interests in the Indo-Pacific, boosting Hawaii’s economy and continuing to improve the relationship between the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and the local community. 

“The 2024 NDAA authorizes another $1.7 billion in construction projects in Hawai‘i that will boost both our national defense preparedness and local economy,” said Case, a member of the House Committee on Appropriations and of its Subcommittee on Defense.

“The bill also advances Hawaii’s critical role in our country’s efforts to increase our presence throughout the Indo-Pacific. It further includes several provisions which I authored and advanced that require the DoD to strengthen communications and partnerships with, and support to, our local community at a critical juncture for our military-civilian relationship.” 

·       Requiring the Secretary of Defense to (1) review federal programs and services available to individuals exposed to petroleum and submit a report on impacted individuals from the Red Hill fuel contamination and (2) assess the feasibility of an epidemiological study or studies to assess outcomes for individuals impacted by the Red Hill incident. These efforts will support ongoing work to establish a registry for those impacted by the fuel leak. This provision is based on legislation authored and introduced by Senator Brian Schatz and Congressman Case that was also cosponsored by Senators Mazie K. Hirono and Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Congresswoman Jill Tokuda. 

·      Directing the military to issue a report on efforts to renew training land leases in the State of Hawai‘i. The bill includes a related provision sponsored by Congresswoman Jill Tokuda to create a senior official responsible for coordinating lease negotiations between the services and the State of Hawai‘i. 

·       Amending DoD’s Readiness and Environmental Protection Initiative (REPI) to ensure that services can coordinate more closely together on conservation projects which could affect multiple installations. In 2023 alone, REPI will provide $10 million of DoD funding for projects in Hawai‘i, which will be coupled with $18 million in partner contributions. REPI provides a strong opportunity for the military and local community to partner together to protect our land and ocean for future generations. 

·      Allowing additional federal agencies to join the Sentinel Landscape Program, which makes it easier for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to participate in effort to help private landowners to advance sustainable land management practices around Pacific Missile Range Facility. 

·      Directing the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs to brief Congress on plans to assess and develop further Civic Action Teams (CATs) in the Pacific Islands. The military currently has a highly effective and welcomed CAT stationed in Palau working on community projects, apprenticeship training, vehicle maintenance, medical support and construction. (Case is a Co-Chair of the Congressional Pacific Islands Caucus whose focus is on strengthening relationships with our Pacific ‘ohana.)

·      Modifying the Pilot Program to Develop Young Civilian Defense Leaders in the Indo-Pacific to also include civilians working for ministries with a security mission so that Pacific Island countries without militaries can participate.  

The bill also includes several provisions to continue the military’s investment in Hawai‘i: 

·      The bill would require each DoD installation that has an Indian Tribe, Native Hawaiian Organization or Tribal interests in the area surrounding the installation to have an indigenous person as liaison.   

·       The legislation establishes a special account to receive funding from the Australian government to support the AUKUS agreement under which the United States will assist Australia in building nuclear submarines. A senior Australian official has said Australian government plans to invest up to $3 billion into the U.S. shipyards, to include the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, as part of the AUKUS arrangement. 

·      The military is required to develop a comprehensive strategy for developing, acquiring and establishing an integrated air and missile defense systems for the Indo-Pacific. It specifically includes building the ability to identify and intercept missile threats to the Hawaiian Islands. To assist in oversight of these efforts, the bill requires the submission of an annual report to Congress outlining: (1) the activities conducted and progress made in developing and implementing the strategy over the previous year, (2) the planned activities for developing and implementing the strategy in the upcoming year, and (3) a description of likely risks and impediments to the successful implementation of the strategy.  

·      The bill authorizes the Navy to divest its electrical utility operations at Kalaeloa. Due to various legal restrictions, the Navy is not allowed to bring the electrical grid up to Navy standards because it does not serve any Navy facilities, thus hampering the further redevelopment of Kalaeloa for needed commercial and housing capacity. 

·      The military must conduct a housing requirement and market analysis for military installations in Hawai‘i and report on impacts to Hawaii’s affordable housing supply and private rental market. 

·      The bill makes the Defense Community Infrastructure Pilot permanent. This program provides grants to support community infrastructure projects that benefit military installations and those who live near military bases. In 2022, Hawai‘i received $2.5 million through this program to work with the Department of Land and Natural Resources to construct a new firefighting and conservation warehouse to improve wildfire response and enable maintenance and repair of firefighting vehicles. The military wants to continue to use this program to help Hawai‘i in future years.  

·       The measure directs the Government Accountability Office to submit a report assessing the state of ongoing testing and remediation by the DoD of current or former military installations contaminated with perfluoroalkyl substances or polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). 

·      DoD is authorized to transfer as much as $5 million to the Health and Human Services Department to assess the health implications of PFAS in drinking water. 

The bill authorizes further or continued construction projects in Hawai‘i with a combined value of $1.7 billion. This includes two projects specifically requested and secured by Case – clearwell and booster pumps upgrades at Fort Shafter ($23 million) and commencement of the construction process for building at new air traffic control tower at Wheeler Army Airfield. Below is the full list of projects:

·      Joint Base Pearl Harbor- Hickam, Dry Dock Replacement Project, $1.3 billion

·       Marine Corps Base Hawai‘i, Water Reclamation Facility Compliance Upgrades, $135 million

·       Joint Base Pearl Harbor- Hickam, Military Privatized Housing Investments, $75 million 

·      Joint Base Pearl Harbor- Hickam, Waterfront Production Facility Planning and Design Funds, $60 million 

·      Helemano Military Reservation, Wells and Storage Tanks, $33 million 

·      Schofield Barracks, Water Storage Tank, $21 million  

·       Āliamanu Military Reservation, Water Storage Tank, $20 million

·       Fort Shafter, Clearwell and Booster Pumps, $23 million 

·      Schofield Barracks, Elevated Tank and Distribution Lines, $16 million  

·      Joint Base Pearl Harbor- Hickam, Waste Water Treatment Plant, $15 million  

·       Joint Base Pearl Harbor- Hickam, Primary Electrical Distribution Upgrades, $13 million

·      Joint Base Pearl Harbor- Hickam, 500 KW PV Covered Parking Electric Vehicle Charging Station, $7.5 million

·        Wheeler Army Airfield, Air Traffic Control Tower Planning and Design Funds, $5.4 million  

The bill continues the DoD’s reinvestment in the Indo-Pacific. For example, the bill includes provisions to: 

·      Authorize $14.7 billion for the Pacific Deterrence Initiative, aimed at countering China;

·       Establish an Indo-Pacific Campaigning Initiative to deter military aggression by potential adversaries against the U.S. and allies in the region;

·       Authorize $1.3 billion for campaigning activities in the Indo-Pacific, which is $508 million above the President’s budget request;

·      Create a plan for enhancing security cooperation with Japan;

·       Establish a comprehensive training, advising and institutional capacity building program for the military forces of Taiwan, an effort the Hawai‘i National Guard has long supported;

·      Create a Senate-confirmed Special Envoy to the Pacific Islands Forum, the central multilateral organization of the Pacific Islands;

·       Authorize the DoD to sell up to three Virginia-class submarines to Australia in support of the AUKUS agreement; and 

·       Establishes an "Indo-Pacific Maritime Domain Awareness Initiative" with allies and partners of the United States in the Indo-Pacific, including Australia, Japan and India.

Other key provisions include:

·      A 5.2 percent pay raise for military personnel.

·       An increase to the number of service members and military families who may qualify for the Basic Needs Allowance (BNA) by authorizing the Secretaries of the military departments to exclude the Basic Allowance for Housing from their gross household income in certain instances. The BNA helps military households better afford basic needs.  

·       Providing access to commissaries and morale, welfare and recreation programs for remarried Gold Star Spouses.

·       Expanding access to family and medical leave for veterans working as federal employees by allowing them to take Family and Medical Leave Act Leave, including paid parental leave, sooner.

·       A $300 million authorization for security assistance to help fortify Ukraine’s military after nearly two years of fighting against the Russian invasion. That is separate from the tens of billions of dollars in aid requested by President Biden.

 

*Text of the FY 2024 NDAA is here. 

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