{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://case.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=888", "U.S. House Approves Case Measure To Pursue Federal Project To Assist In Preserving Waikiki Beach", "2022-06-08", "2022", "2022-06", "Democrat", "House", "HI", "Ed Case", "C001055", "case.house.gov", "case", "https://case.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx?DocumentTypeID=27&Page=19", "scraper", "(Washington, DC) \u2013 U.S. Congressman Ed Case (Hawai\u2018i \u2013 District 1) today announced that the U.S. House has passed the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2022, which includes his requests to pursue potential federal projects to address the impacts of climate change and sea level rise on Waik\u012bk\u012b Beach, provide $20 million to fund water and wastewater infrastructure projects for the City and County of Honolulu, and streamline the process for Native Hawaiian Organizations to receive federal assistance for water resources projects.\n\nThe WRDA, which Congress passes every few years, is the measure authorizing the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers to conduct water resources development projects and studies throughout the nation. It also establishes federal policies to address inland and coastal flooding, improve our ports and inland waterways, address the unique needs of communities across the country and ultimately strengthen the U.S. economy.\n\n\u201cPreserving Waik\u012bk\u012b Beach is critical for our state, for not only our tourism industry but our own recreation,\u201d said Case. \u201cWe all are faced with the real-life evidence every day of the effects of climate change, high tides and coastal erosion on Waikiki Beach, and must increase our efforts now to assure it survives.\n\nThe majority of tourists who visit Hawai\u2018i stay at some point in Waik\u012bk\u012b hotels and resorts, right on Waik\u012bk\u012b Beach or right next to it so they can visit the beach. A 2016 report by the University of Hawai\u2018i concluded that some 58% of tourists to Waik\u012bk\u012b would not have visited if there was no beach and easy ocean access at Waik\u012bk\u012b.\n\n\u201cOnly the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers can conduct a project of this magnitude. It is a unique federal entity with capacity to address specific locations suffering from environmental challenges across the country. Very few new studies and projects, deemed \u2018new starts\u2019 are authorized in each WRDA; in our last WRDA, just 27 new feasibility studies were approved nationally. A new study of potential projects to preserve our Waik\u012bk\u012b shorelines is a critical opportunity to pursue a project that is more than just patchwork.\u201d\n\nThe House approval of the Waik\u012bk\u012b study under conditions requested by Case is significant since current law restricts studies to only rivers and harbors. The current law does not include surveys of related shorelines or nearby buildings and infrastructure.\n\n\u201cThere is no justification for this distinction, especially in the specific case of Waik\u012bk\u012b Beach where the basic challenge extends from the land through the beach to the marine environment,\u201d said Case.\n\n\u201cThis study is needed to make sure we take into consideration the outsized issues like this that remote and coastal locations like Hawai\u2018i face as our country debates how to approach impacts to infrastructure due to climate change.\u201d\n\nCase also won House approval of his WRDA provisions authorizing $20 million to fund water and wastewater infrastructure projects for the City and County of Honolulu. This authorization will enable necessary investments in wastewater treatment and related facilities, stormwater management, sewer overflow, water supply storage facilities and other projects as needed.\n\nAdditionally, the House approved Case\u2019s and Congressman Kaiali\u02bbi Kahele\u2019s (Hawai\u2018i \u2013 District 2) call to exempt indigenous peoples\u2019 organizations, to include Native Hawaiian Organizations, from being required to advance money to match the amount the federal government would fund towards the cost of a water resources project. This will allow for a direct relationship between Native Hawaiians and the federal government to collaborate on critical land and water projects dealing with flood damage, environmental restoration, and ultimately, preservation of cultural and natural resources.\n\n\u201cFor Native Hawaiian Organizations and other indigenous peoples\u2019 groups that do not have the same access to funds as their State government agency counterparts, this cost-share waiver removes the barrier for these groups to have a place at the table in U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project process. Native Hawaiians have a unique relationship with the environment, and under our amendment they will be able to fully address the issues they see arise that are often overlooked from an outside perspective.\u201d said Case.\n\nThe bill passed the House on a bipartisan vote of 384 to 37. The legislation now moves to the Senate for its consideration.\n\n\u00b7 Link to the bill text and additional information is available here.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T02:39:01Z"]], "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=888"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8743149228394032, "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"}