Press Releases

(Washington, DC) - U.S. Congressman Ed Case (Hawai‘i-01) today announced that the U.S. House of Representatives has included $403 million to address drinking water contamination at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility in its proposed Fiscal Year 2022 federal funding continuing resolution introduced today and expected to be voted on by the full House tomorrow.

H.R. 6617 will extend all current federal discretionary funding through March 11^th while the House and Senate work to complete the full appropriations process for the current fiscal year expiring September 30^th of this year. It is expected to pass both the House and the Senate and be signed by the President this week.

“It is highly unusual to include new funding in such a continuing resolution and is reserved for truly urgent matters that cannot await the normal appropriations process,” said Case, a member of the U.S. House Appropriations Committee responsible for all federal discretionary funding.

“This initiative to include desperately-needed Red Hill funding was led by Senator Schatz, who negotiated the funding request with the executive branch and his Senate colleagues. I contributed to securing agreement within the U.S. House and our Appropriations Committee, where all federal appropriations must originate.”

The $403 million is provided in three portions of the continuing resolution:

·        $250 million to address current drinking water contamination resulting from the Red Hill leak,

·        $100 million to implement the State of Hawaii’s emergency order to defuel Red Hill, and

·        $53 million in existing general operational funding now directed specifically to Red Hill.

“These amounts are immediately appropriated on enactment of the continuing resolution,” said Case. “We are pursuing further funding in our overall spending bill for current Fiscal Year 2022, as well as for the upcoming Fiscal Year 2023 and beyond.”

A section-by-section summary is here.

The full text of the legislation is here.

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