{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://case.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=3472", "Case Announces Final U.S. House Approval Of The Annual National Defense Authorization Act Including $1.4 Billion In Military Construction Projects For Hawaii", "2024-12-11", "2024", "2024-12", "Democrat", "House", "HI", "Ed Case", "C001055", "case.house.gov", "case", "https://case.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx?DocumentTypeID=27&Page=8", "scraper", "(Washington, DC) \u2013 U.S. Congressman Ed Case (HI-01) announced that the full U.S. House has approved the final version of the $883.7 billion Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).\n\nThe NDAA is the major annual measure authorizing and directing our national defense. The FY 2025 NDAA now goes to the U.S. Senate, which is expected to approve the bill as well before it goes to the President, who is expected to sign it.\n\nThe FY 2025 NDAA as finally passed incorporates several requests by Case, including five of his full House floor amendments to the bill earlier this year, as well as his priorities on strengthening America\u2019s national security interests in the Indo-Pacific, boosting Hawaii\u2019s economy and continuing to improve the relationship between the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and Hawaii\u2019s community.\n\nThe bill also includes four amendments Case advocated for with the Pacific Islands Caucus, which he cofounded, to identify and report on China\u2019s malign influence in the Pacific Islands and enhance the DoD\u2019s posture and partnership with the Pacific Island nations.\n\n\u201cThis measure is critical as it not only authorizes defense spending for the year, supplementing my Appropriations Committee\u2019s actual funding responsibilities, but also establishes defense policies and restrictions, and addresses organizational and administrative matters related to the DoD,\u201d said Case, who currently serves on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense and previously served on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs.\n\nAs requested by Case, the NDAA authorizes $505 million for a multi-year project by the Navy to build a water treatment plant to treat water from the Red Hill shaft, which would allow the shaft to be reopened and help remove any residual contaminants from the ground surrounding Red Hill. To begin this important project, the NDAA recommends appropriating $75 million for the project in FY 2025.\n\n\u201cThis water treatment plant is not just another infrastructure project. It is our assurance that those in the service area can be fully confident that the quality of the water they rely on complies with safe drinking standards,\u201d said Case.\n\nThe bill authorizes further or continued construction projects in Hawai\u2018i for FY 2025 with a combined value of $1.4 billion. This includes:\n\n\u00b7 $1.2 billion in current year funding for the new dry dock at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard now underway,\n\n\u00b7 $75 million for the Red Hill Water Treatment Plant,\n\n\u00b7 $36 million for an Aircraft Maintenance Hangar at Wheeler Army Airfield,\n\n\u00b7 $36 million for an Air National Guard Space Control Facility at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, and\n\n\u00b7 $33 million for an Aircraft Hangar and Parking Apron at Marine Corps Base K\u0101ne\u2018ohe Bay.\n\nAmong the other provisions for which Case advocated, and which were included in the measure are:\n\n\u00b7 A pilot program for inclusive playgrounds on military installations for families enrolled in the Exceptional Family Member Program.\n\n\u00b7 An assessment on how to maximize enrollment in the public shipyard apprenticeship programs.\n\n\u00b7 Having the DoD provide an assessment on wildfire mitigation efforts and interoperability in Hawai\u2018i.\n\n\u00b7 A study on the Navy\u2019s use of net metering to support efforts by the Pacific Fleet Submarine Museum to generate and share the power it generates through its solar panels.\n\n\u00b7 Clarifying that the DoD\u2019s Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation is authorized to support installation and workforce modernization efforts within its grant program and that state and local governments are eligible to apply. This office recently provided a $3.2 million dollar grant to the State of Hawai\u2018i to establish a Military and Community Affairs Office to determine how to improve the relationship and economic benefit of the defense presence in Hawai\u2018i.\n\n\u00b7 Fully authorizing the President\u2019s $100 million budget request for replacing the outdated radar on Mt. Ka\u2018ala needed to help defend Hawai\u2018i from missile attacks.\n\n\u201cThese projects, taken together, assures that our military will enhance its good neighbor relationship with the islands by helping to create well-paying local jobs, supporting our energy grid, and assisting in wildfire mitigation, among other benefits for our communities,\u201d said Case.\n\nThe bill also includes a historical 14.5% pay raise for junior enlisted servicemembers and a 4.5% pay raise for all other troops. It also includes the following provisions to help our nation\u2019s servicemembers:\n\n\u00b7 A review of how cost-of-living allowances are calculated so they include appropriate costs of location-specific items,\n\n\u00b7 Permanently grants authority to DoD to make transferring professional licenses between states easier for military spouses.\n\n\u00b7 Increases the Basic Needs Allowance (BNA) for qualifying servicemembers to 200% of the federal poverty guidelines. The BNA helps military households better afford basic needs.\n\n\u00b7 Requires the DoD to provide a review of the Military Spouse Employment Partnership Program, in order to find ways to maximize spouse participation and awareness of support available.\n\n\u00b7 Requires the DoD to study ways to increase hiring and retaining childcare employees for child development centers and ways to better partner with childcare centers in the community.\n\n\u201cWhile we ensure that our service members have the training, equipment and resources necessary for them to carry out their duties while in the defense of our nation, we also must ensure that we look after their needs and concerns on the home front including their loves ones,\u201d said Case.\n\nThe bill further includes several provisions to continue the military\u2019s investment in Hawai\u2018i:\n\n\u00b7 Requires the DoD to provide an assessment on allowing servicemembers with dependents to ship more than one car when they move to or from locations outside the continental United States, to include Hawai\u2018i.\n\n\u00b7 Creates an initiative to control and combat invasive rhinoceros beetles and put protocols in place to prevent introduction and spread of other invasive species.\n\n\u00b7 Requires the DoD to develop a plan for the repair and maintenance for Kolekole Pass for emergency use in the event of a wildfire or other emergency.\n\nThe bill continues the DoD\u2019s reinvestment in the Indo-Pacific, including provisions offered by the Congressional Pacific Islands Caucus, which Case co-founded and co-chairs. For example, the bill:\n\n\u00b7 Authorizes $2.8 billion for Pacific Deterrence Initiative construction and infrastructure improvement projects aimed at countering China.\n\n\u00b7 Requires the DoD to study ways to expand the State Partnership Program in the Pacific. The Hawai\u2018i National Guard partners with the Philippines and Indonesia through this program.\n\n\u00b7 Requires a review of the Pacific Deterrence Initiative to ensure the program is effectively meeting the needs of US Indo-Pacific Command.\n\n\u00b7 Directs the DoD to provide assessments on Chinese influence in the Pacific Islands and the impacts that may have on our national security.\n\n\u00b7 Requires the DoD to assess workforce investment opportunities in the Freely Associated States to enable military construction projects on the islands.\n\n\u00b7 Requires the DoD to assess establishing a coalition of representatives from federal agencies, the governments of the Freely Associated States, non-governmental organizations and landowners and land managers to advance sustainable land use practices around military properties that would assist in efforts to prevent encroachment and promote conservation in the Freely Associated States.\n\n\u00b7 Authorizes the military to support the Coast Guard in executing existing maritime laws agreed upon between the U.S. and friendly countries to combat transnational crimes, including illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.\n\n\u00b7 Establishes an Indo-Pacific medical readiness program that would establish a medical readiness program with countries in the Indo-Pacific region, ensuring access to foreign medical facilities during peacetime and wartime operations.\n\n\u00b7 Supports the restoration of civic action teams in the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia, if deemed feasible.\n\nNOTE:\n\n\u00b7 A summary of the FY 2025 NDAA is available here.\n\n\u00b7 The text of the bill is available here\n\n\u00b7 The explanatory committee report is available here.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T22:13:55Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://case.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=3472"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.0455730371177197, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}