A House subcommittee approved more than $400 million in military construction spending, which will be included in the proposed National Defense Authorization Act, said Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, a member of the House Armed Services’ Subcommittee on Readiness.

Hanabusa, a member of the subcommittee, said proposed spending for  military construction includes:

—  Fort Shafter – $65,000,000

— Marine Corps Base Hawaii – $236,982,000

—Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard – $57,998,000

— Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam – $37,600,000

— Ford Island – DISA – $2,615,000

“This funding recognizes the military’s continued commitment to Hawaii being a center piece of its rebalance to the Asia-Pacific,” Hanabusa said. “ It is anticipated that military construction will advance to new all-time highs in the years ahead and help Hawaii conduct a significant and sustainable expansion, all while providing jobs and acting as a catalyst for the state economy.  Projects like the Aviation Plan at Marine Corps Base Hawaii will get our state ready as we prepare to receive thousands more Marines from the Defense Posture Review Initiative.”

The bill also included a measure Hanabusa helped craft requiring a report by the Comptroller General on the Department of Defense implementation of civilian furloughs.  

“I have not been shy in voicing my opposition to the process that DoD has used to implement furloughs on its civilian workforce,” she said.  The Pentagon is still planning to mandate that all furloughs be applied in the same manner across all services, even after several branches stated they have excess operating funds to avoid furloughs entirely.  I believe that flexibility should be present to mitigate the impacts of sequestration, and it is my hope that a full review of the DoD policy will lead us in that direction.”

Photo courtesy Official U.S. Navy Imagery.

— Kery Murakami