August 2009

 

"Recovery Funds August Update"

 

Dear Friends:

In February, President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) into law, providing billions in dollars of tax cuts and funding to keep Americans employed and to invest in our cities, counties and states. I wanted to highlight some of the Recovery funding headed for Hawaii.

“If the fiscal stimulus package didn’t exist…we would anticipate that there would be higher unemployment,” Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told the House Financial Services Committee recently. The Fed’s semiannual Monetary Policy Report to Congress showed consumer spending and interest rates improving, even though less than half of the Recovery funds have actually been spent.

So far, Hawaii is receiving more than $1.3 billion, including $300 million for education, $262 million for Defense Department projects, $198 million for health and human services, and $184 million for transportation projects throughout the state. These projects include:

Education

• $192 million for the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund, a one-time investment to stabilize state and local budgets and help them avoid cuts in education and other essential public services.
  
• $33 million for Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) grants, which go to schools with a lot of low-income children to help ensure that very child can meet state academic standards.

Law Enforcement

• The Honolulu Police Department will receive $5.2 million to pay salary and benefits for 21 additional police officers for three years.
  
• The Hawaii Attorney General is getting $6.4 million to beef up efforts against sex crimes, gang violence, property crimes, cyber crimes, and for drug and mental health courts, youth services and drug enforcement.

Defense

• $31 million for facilities maintenance, restoration and modernization of the Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai.
  
• $20 million for the repair of Wharf S1 at Pearl Harbor Naval Station.

Health and Human Services

• $136 million to avoid cuts in Medicaid, the federal/state partnership that provides health benefits to certain low-income children, parents, pregnant women, the elderly and people with disabilities.
  
• $8.5 million to upgrade and expand Hawaii’s Community Health Centers and open their doors to more patients.

Transportation

• $43.8 million in federal funding for Hawaii’s mass transit system.
  
• $18 million for bridge replacement and improvement at the Punaluu Stream on Kamehameha Hwy on Windward Oahu.
  
• $15 million for repairs and improvement at Maui’s Kahului Airport.

These are just a few of the projects being funded by Recovery Act. I will continue to work in Congress to be sure that Hawaii gets the support we need from the federal government.

 

   Sincerely,

   Neil Abercrombie
   Member of Congress