Press Releases

(Washington, DC) – U.S. Representative Ed Case (HI-01) reported that his U.S. House Appropriations Committee today approved its final Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 funding bill – the Defense Appropriations Act. 

The measure, the twelfth of twelve annual federal funding measures considered by Appropriations, provides funding for federal agencies and programs in the Department of Defense (DoD) and intelligence community, including the military branches of services, the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency.

Case, who is in his eighth year on Appropriations, serves on its Subcommittee on Defense, which is responsible for developing the bill.  

Case voted against the FY 2027 Defense bill that proposes $1.1 trillion in discretionary spending, $234 billion more than the current fiscal year. Total defense spending would grow to nearly $1.5 trillion annually if combined with the proposed reconciliation, or mandatory spending, bill requested by the Present.

“While the measure funds many critical Hawai‘i and Indo-Pacific priorities I requested, I regrettably had to vote against this version because the proposed increase in total defense spending is not accompanied by any substantial Congressional oversight of such massive new spending levels, and comes as the Congressional majority and President Trump propose steep cuts to domestic programs that support working people struggling with the cost-of-living crisis,” said Case. (Click here to watch Case explain the flawed overall structure for the President’s funding request and the bill.)

Case also stressed that the bill embraced a partisan approach to various aspects of our nation’s security. For example, it fails to include the $400 million for the bipartisan Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, continues funding for a National Guard Reaction Force to be deployed into American cities and fails to provide any checks on the President’s military operations in Iran.

During the Committee’s debate over the bill, Case also spoke in strong opposition to recent actions by the Secretary of Defense to fire qualified military leaders and undermine military promotion boards that have become political rather than merit based, which has disproportionally targeted women and minorities. He explained that two recent military leaders that served in Hawai‘i were harmed by these purges - General Charles “CQ” Brown (former head of Pacific Air Forces and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs) and Admiral Stephen Barnett (former Head of Navy Region Hawai‘i).

Case warned of the negative message sent throughout the current and future officer corps and enlisted ranks and implications for recruitment, retention and merit-based service and advancement, asking rhetorically what the 75% of Hawai‘i that are minorities would consider their opportunities in the military to be. (See Case’s speech here.) 

Case also warned about the dangers of approving further funding for the Golden Dome missile defense program when the Department of Defense has failed to provide an overall plan and detailed information on the program and proposed spending which even at conservative estimates would cost over $1 trillion. (See Case’s speech here).

Despite his opposition to the bill, Case highlighted programs and provisions that he requested and secured in the Defense funding measure that are especially critical to Hawai‘i, including: 

·        Protecting the special contracting preference for Native Hawaiian businesses. 

·         $10 million for Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility long-term environmental monitoring, additional scientific studies and targeted remediation efforts to facilitate the permanent closure of the site. 

·         $10 million of additional funding for the Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration (REPI) program, which help address shared environmental concerns affecting the military and local communities in Hawai‘i.

·         $10 million to advance Indo-Pacific-focused advance manufacturing efforts in Hawai‘i.

·         $10 million of additional funding for Regional Centers for Security Studies, to include the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies (DKI-APCSS) in Honolulu.

·         $44 million to continue efforts to replace O‘ahu’s outdated air surveillance radar, which is needed to defend Hawai‘i from missile attacks. 

·        $309 million for the Navy’s Environmental Restoration program plus an additional $239 million for the cleanup of Formerly Used Defense Sites. These funds will help accelerate efforts to remediate per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) contamination and remove unexploded ordnance and discarded military munitions in Hawai‘i and throughout the nation. 

·        Funding for two Virginia-class fast attack submarines, which are critical to protecting the Indo-Pacific and are maintained at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard.  

·         $160 million for the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, which maintains critical scientific laboratories at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.

·         $264 million for the Sea-Based X-Band Radar, which helps defend Hawai‘i from ballistic missile threats.  

·        $202 million for the National Guard Youth Challenge Program to help at-risk youth improve life skills, academic achievement and employment potential – an increase of $100 million. These funds will help support Hawaii’s Youth Challenge Academy.  

·        $50 million for Impact Aid and $20 million for Impact Aid for children with disabilities, which help Hawaii’s public schools by partially reimbursing the cost of educating military children.  

·        Blocked efforts to change the command and control structure of the U.S. Pacific Fleet. There have long been efforts within the department to “streamline” control of forces under one command structure, which would limit the ability of Navy forces in Hawai‘i to respond quickly to changing threats in the Indo-Pacific region.  

Case requested and supported other programs and provisions in the measure that are especially critical to the broader Indo-Pacific, including: 

  ·        $18 million for the Asia Pacific Regional Initiative (APRI) Program, managed by U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. APRI supports a wide range of exercises, humanitarian assistance, programs and training symposiums that help expand U.S. influence in the Indo-Pacific. The initiative is an important tool for the U.S. military to strengthen relationships throughout the Indo-Pacific region.  

·        Continued support for providing humanitarian and other assistance by U.S. military Civic Action Teams in the Freely Associated States.  

·        $1 billion for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative to increase Taiwan’s defense, readiness and deterrence capabilities. 

·        Carveout allowing Hawai‘i-based military hospitals to treat civilian patients from American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Palau and Guam. 

General military-related programs and provisions supported by Case related to the DoD overall include:  

·        Providing a military pay raise of 7% for all military personnel ranked E-5 and below, 6% for E-6 to O-4, and 5% for O-4 and above. 

·        $917 million for the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP). The CDMRP fills research gaps by funding high impact, high risk and high gain projects that other agencies may not venture to fund.  

·        $15 million for the Military and Family Life Counseling Program, which provides counseling services to service members and their families to support operational readiness and resilience. 

A summary of the Defense Appropriations bill is available here. 

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