Washington, DC - United States Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii) announced today that Honolulu will receive $6.45 million in Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) funding from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in fiscal year 2005. Honolulu was a recipient of UASI funding, which is awarded to cities deemed to be densely populated and high-threat, in fiscal year 2003 but not in 2004.

Akaka hailed DHS's recognition of Honolulu's unique need for homeland security funding assistance. "Unlike most major American cities, Honolulu is geographically insulated from the rest of the country," Akaka noted. "When disaster strikes we cannot call on neighboring states for assistance.

"There are a number of possible high-risk targets in Hawaii, such as Honolulu Harbor and Pearl Harbor, that must be protected. An attack that compromised one of these key pieces of critical infrastructure could cripple the U.S. economy, or worse, our country's ability to defend ourselves against further aggression.

"The revocation of UASI funding to Honolulu in fiscal year 2004 was of great concern to me and the State of Hawaii. I have been working with DHS to rectify this problem, and I'm gratified that the funding has been restored."

Akaka is the Ranking Member of the Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Financial Management, the Budget, and International Security. The Governmental Affairs Committee has jurisdiction over the Department of Homeland Security.

In 2003, the first year the Urban Area Security Initiative grants were awarded, Honolulu received $6.87 million. These funds increased Hawaii's overall homeland security funding by 25 percent and allowed the state to further invest in protective gear for first responders and incident response vehicles.

The UASI recipient cities are chosen by DHS based on a formula that includes presence of critical infrastructure, credible threat, and population, among other criteria.