Reps. Colleen Hanabusa and Mazie Hirono both voted to support a major defense spending bill, which passed in the House on Wednesday. 

Both congresswomen released statements about the bill, and emphasized that it will help support small businesses and provide hundreds of millions of dollars for Hawaii military construction projects. 

Only Hanabusa addressed the more controversial elements of the measure, which allow for the indefinite detention of suspected terrorists.

“This is not a perfect bill, but it represents two sides coming together in compromise,” Hanabusa said. “Despite my concerns, I was pleased to see key changes made to the problematic detainee provisions, and I will work with my colleagues to make sure the rule of law is upheld.”

The changes include removing restrictions on the executive branch’s handling of terrorism suspects, and led the White House to drop an earlier threat to veto the bill. But groups like the ACLU still argue that the changes don’t go far enough.

Read a related story about how Hawaii senators voted on the defense bill, which faces a final vote in the Senate before it goes to the president to be signed into law. 

UPDATED 12:58 p.m, 12/15/11: Hirono’s office provided a link to a remarks that the congresswoman made on the House floor about her “reservations” regarding detainee provisions. 

“Although the provisions have been modified to provide protections for U.S. citizens, this issue deserves further consideration by the Congress,” Hirono said, according to the transcript. 

Read her complete remarks.