Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii) issued the following statement in response to notification that the State of Hawaii will receive $10,571,277 in Compact Impact funding for fiscal year 2004 from the federal government:

"The federal government has taken another step toward fulfilling its obligation to the citizens of the Freely Associated States and to Hawaii's taxpayers by reimbursing the State of Hawaii $10.5 million for various services provided to FAS citizens. This allocation is a direct result of the increase in mandatory funding that we obtained during negotiations on the Compact of Free Association Amendments Act of 2003 (P.L. 108-188).

"Although this Compact Impact payment is at a higher amount than Hawaii was allocated in the last two fiscal years, our state's deficit in this area is still many times that amount. I particularly look forward to continuing to work with the Department of the Interior on the calculation of Hawaii's allocation within the Compact Impact Aid total to ensure that the process is fair for all of the affected jurisdictions, as well as on other possible ways to fulfill outstanding obligations to the people of Hawaii."