Press Releases

(Washington, DC) – U.S. Representative Ed Case (HI-01), a member of the key House Committee on Appropriations, responsible for all federal discretionary funding, yesterday voted for final House passage of a measure consolidating three more of twelve annual appropriations bills for the current Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 (commencing October 1, 2026).  

The measure, which passed the House, included Case’s requests for funding of hundreds of millions to federal programs of direct benefit to Hawai‘i. It also included all of Case’s six requests for Community Project Funding in these three measures to specific projects throughout his district.  

The measure includes three bills, starting with $39 billion to fund the Department of the Interior, including the National Parks Service (NPS), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Environmental Protection Agency.

The measure also includes $63 billion for the Department of Energy, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) civil works programs and various energy programs.

Finally, the measure includes $81 billion for Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) and Related Agencies programs that support the U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. Department of Justice and various science agencies.   

Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Bill 

The Interior, Environment and Related Appropriations bill funds the U.S. Department of the Interior, including the National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey, Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Forest Service and various independent agencies including the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities. 

The bill includes Case’s request for a Member-designated Community Funding Project (CPF) of $1,092,000 to the Department of Hawaiian Homelands (DHHL) to upgrade the sewer infrastructure at Papakōlea.  

“Papakōlea is the only Hawaiian Home Lands community located in central Honolulu with more than 300 homes and some 1,300 residents,” said Case.

“As the infrastructure in Papakōlea ages, the sewer system has become susceptible to cracks, root intrusions and other defects that diminish the effectiveness of the service lines. My CPF will assist DHHL to work on a sewer line rehabilitation/replacement program for the community.” 

The House’s CPF rules require that each project must have demonstrated community support, must be fully disclosed by the requesting Member and must be subject to audit by the independent Government Accountability Office.

Case’s disclosures are here: https://case.house.gov/services/funding-disclosures.htm.  

The measure approved several of Case’s priority requests, including: 

·        $4.75 million for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s State of the Birds Activities to respond to the urgent needs of critically endangered birds that now face possible extinction. These funds are helping to save numerous endemic birds in Hawai‘i that have been devastated by climate change and avian malaria.

·        $45.5 million for the U.S. Geological Survey Biological Threats and Invasive Species Research Program.

·        $64 million for the U.S. Geological Survey’s Climate Adaptation Science Centers, which includes the Pacific Islands Climate Adaptation Science Center based out of the University of Hawai‘i-Mānoa. These centers provide regionally relevant scientific information, tools and techniques to resource managers and communities in Hawai‘i in response to our changing climate.  

·        $62 million for State Historic Preservation Offices which help preserve Hawaii’s treasured historic properties.

·        $76 million for State Fire Assistance, which provides financial and technical support directly to states to enhance firefighting capacity, support community-based hazard mitigation and expand outreach and education to homeowners and communities concerning fire prevention. 

·        $4.6 million for Japanese Confinement Site Grants and funding for the Amache National Historic Site, which was one of ten incarceration sites established by the War Relocation Authority during World War II to detain Japanese Americans who were forcibly removed from their communities on the West Coast.  

·        $3 million for the Joint Fire Science Program, which supports a national collaboration of fire science exchanges providing science information to federal, state, local, tribal and private stakeholders.

A summary of the Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations is here.

Energy and Water Bill 

The Energy and Water bill funds the Department of Energy (DOE), the USACE’s civil works programs, the Bureau of Reclamation and agencies focused on nuclear energy. 

The bill includes numerous wins for Hawai‘i requested by Case, including funding for USACE programs that aid in the preservation of Hawaii’s coastlines across all seven inhabited islands. Specifically, the bill includes $2 million to study avenues of protection for public infrastructure on small beaches from erosion and damage caused by storms and natural wave currents; $2 million for regional sediment management, construction, operations and regulatory functions in the coastal zone; and $36.5 million for programs which manage aquatic weeds in public waters.

Notably, one of Case’s highest priorities, an instruction to the USACE to improve plans to upgrade Honolulu Harbor, was included in the bill. This provision directs the USACE to investigate modifications to Honolulu Harbor to better handle the impacts of military operations in the state and throughout the Indo-Pacific as a whole, which can open up additional federal resources for the planned improvements of Honolulu Harbor.

Also included in the bill is $9.5 million for a USACE program that aids in the planning, designing and construction of small projects for commercial navigation purposes such as channels, breakwaters and jetties. This funding will assist in statewide harbor modifications.

Other energy and water related programs and provisions requested and secured by Case in the measure include: 

·        $2 million for the USACE’s beach erosion and hurricane and storm damage reduction activities.

·        $40 million for flood control and coastal emergency efforts.

·        $18 million for the USACE’s National Coastal Mapping Program, which provides high-resolution elevation and imagery data along the U.S. shorelines on a recurring basis which can provide a better understanding of human uses, issues and constraints in coastal regions.

·        $36.5 million for the USACE’s Aquatic Plant Control Program, which conducts research and development of biological, chemical, cultural and ecological capabilities for controlling invasive aquatic plants.

·        Language modifying a clean energy program under DOE that has been widely beneficial for Hawai‘i. The newly named Energy Technology Innovation Office, previously known as the Energy Transitions Initiative, supports island and remote communities by providing personalized technical and financial assistance. Case recently introduced legislation to make this program permanent. (See here for more details.)

·        Language directing the DOE to investigate potential benefits of small-modular nuclear reactors as a source of clean, domestically sourced electricity for remote, noncontiguous U.S. areas such as Hawai‘i.

A summary of the energy and water provisions is here.

 CJS and Related Agencies 

The CJS and Related Agencies Appropriations bill supports the U.S. Department of Commerce, including the International Trade Administration, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Institute of Standards and Technology; the U.S. Department of Justice; the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); the National Science Foundation (NSF) and more.

During deliberations last year in his Appropriations Committee, Case secured a direction to the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to produce its agreements with other federal agencies including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for use by those other agencies of BOP facilities such as the Federal Detention Center (FDC)-Honolulu. The amendment was prompted by BOP’s refusal to provide Case its agreement with ICE and details on ICE’s use of FDC-Honolulu and other facilities for ICE detainee needs.

Case remarked that a request by a Member of Congress for such information was a normal part of legislative, funding and oversight duties and any refusal to produce such information was not acceptable.

His amendment was adopted, and his remarks in Committee (which also addressed support for funding of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), especially given Hawaii’s recent tsunami and hurricane close calls) are here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7mFWp4FpWc 

Through his assignment on the Committee, Case also secured his following five Community Project Funding requests that specifically focused on local needs in Hawai‘i: 

·        $1 million for the Hawai‘i Division of Aquatic Resources to survey and remove invasive coral spread at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. 

·        $1 million  for the University of Hawai‘i for its Fireshed Partnerships program, which would facilitate wildfire risk reduction.  

·        $1 million for the Hawai‘i Division of Aquatic Resources to restore fishpond habitat and enhance water quality at Maunalua Fishpond.  

·        $1.15 million for Hawai‘i Pacific University to develop its Aquaculture Program, improving the workforce pipeline and bolstering the aquaculture industry in Hawaiʻi. 

·        $1 million for the Honolulu Police Department to do acquire a new Emergency Mobile Command Vehicle to replace its current vehicle which is over 20 years old.  

Other provisions which Case requested and were included in the measure to fund the Department of Justice include:

·        $397 million for Byrne Justice Assistance Grants (Byrne-JAG). Byrne-JAG is the leading federal source of criminal justice funding to state and local jurisdictions. The funds are used to support a range of program areas including law enforcement; prosecution and court; prevention and education; corrections and community corrections; drug treatment and enforcement; planning, evaluation and technology improvement; and crime victim and witness initiatives.  

·        $800 million for Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS). The COPS program provides funding directly to law enforcement agencies to hire and/or rehire additional career law enforcement officers to increase their community policing capacity and crime prevention efforts.  

·        $54 million for grants to reduce the sexual assault kit backlog.

·        $48 million for the Anti-Methamphetamine and Anti-Heroin Task Forces.  

·        “Rising crime, both related and unrelated to gun violence, is of great concern to us all, and must be combatted at all levels of government,” said Case. “State and local law enforcement need increased assistance from our federal government to address crime at the state and local level.”

“The funding I secured in the bill will help local and state law enforcement to not only investigate and prosecute crime but will also go to prevention and education programs to stop crime before it happens.” 

The provisions which Case won support to fund various science initiatives include:

·        $250 million for the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, which enhances the research competitiveness of Hawai‘i by strengthening STEM capacity and capability.

·        $104 million for the Climate Laboratories and Cooperative Institutes program to support the maintenance and needed repairs at the Atmospheric Baseline Observatories, including the Mauna Loa Observatory where the famous Keeling Curve proving rapid climate change was developed.  

·        $143 million for STEM Engagement Programs at NASA including Space Grant, to inspire young people to pursue future careers in science and engineering.  

·        $33.5 million for the Coral Reef Conservation Program.  

·        $67 million for Sanctuaries and Marine Protected Areas, which supports Papahānaumokuākea and our Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale sanctuaries.  

·        $178 million for Marine Mammals and Sea Turtles Protection, which safeguards our Hawaiian monk seals, dolphins, false killer whales and green sea turtles.  

·        $47.5 million for the Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS), which supports our Hawaii’s Pacific Island (Pac) IOOS. PacIOOS provides easily accessible coastal and ocean observing and forecasting to increase ocean safety and protect public and environmental health.

·        $17 million for the Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments program, which provides vital research that allows communities to prepare for and respond to long-term shifts in weather patterns, resource availability and coastal conditions.

·        $34 million for the National Estuarine Research Reserve System, which includes support for education and restoration of coastal and marine habitats in He‘eia .

·        $80 million for the Sea Grant Program, which supports the Hawaiʻi Sea Grant Program at the University of Hawaiʻi that promotes healthy coastal ecosystems, sustainable fisheries and aquaculture, resilient communities and economies and environmental literacy and workforce development.  

Provisions which Case secured to promote commerce in Hawaiʻi include:

·        $175 million for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program. This public-private partnership has centers in all 50 states, including Hawaiʻi, dedicated to serving small and medium-sized manufacturers.

·        $4 million for the Minority Business Development Agency specifically for the Native American Business Development Program that awards grants to Tribes and American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian populations to address barriers to economic development, and another $5 million for grants to American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian entities qualified to provide business, financing and technical assistance.   

·        $3.5 million for the Assistant Secretary of Travel and Tourism position, which Case worked to establish in the Visit America Act to drive a cohesive federal response to the challenges facing the industry.

A summary of the CJS and Related Agencies Appropriations funding bill is here. 

The omnibus measure funding these agencies now moves on to the full U.S. Senate for consideration.

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