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Hawaii finds new influence in Washington

HONOLULU -- Even with an island-born president and three senior members in Congress, Hawaii may not see much more federal government money flowing its way.

Hawaii already receives an outsized amount of money from Uncle Sam compared to other states, and it's unlikely additional cash will arrive despite having President-elect Barack Obama in the White House and the state's congressmen in charge of three key military subcommittees, said U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawaii.

 
"If anything, because we're in the position we're in, we have to reach out more," said Abercrombie, chairman of the House Air and Land Forces Subcommittee. "Of course we're going to pay attention to Hawaii and the Pacific, but I can assure you it's all in the context of advancing the strategic interests of the country."

Hawaii gets the sixth-most amount of federal money per person - $10,018 in 2005, according to the Washington-based Northeast-Midwest Institute. Alaska collected the most federal dollars at $13,788 per person.

Much of the Hawaii spending goes to the military because the U.S. Pacific Command is based here, and that won't change no matter who is in charge in Washington, D.C., Abercrombie said.

U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, is known for his prowess in securing money and in January he will take over the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, which handles the annual budgets of all federal agencies. The group Taxpayers for Common Sense claims Inouye was the senator with the fourth-largest amount of earmarks _totaling $222 million - in a year-end spending bill for 2009.

Hawaii's leaders will have to guard against the perception that they're favoring their home states too strongly, said Hawaii Pacific University political science professor Ralph Burr.

"Our senior senator has already lavished the state with as much as we could expect," Burr said. "I don't think there's going to be a great change. They'd embarrass themselves if it was too obvious."

The slumping national economy and strains on the national purse strings by the incoming Obama administration will make it difficult for Hawaii to grab more money, said Republican state Sen. Sam Slom.
"There's not a lot more to get. The money is not there. That's the harsh reality for everybody," said Slom, director of Small Business Hawaii. "We may share the wealth, but more importantly we're probably going to be sharing the deficits."

The federal government spent about $8 billion on Hawaii in 2006, making up nearly one-seventh of the state's gross domestic product, said state economist Pearl Imada Iboshi.

Military demands to maintain Pearl Harbor, Schofield Barracks, Hickam Air Force Base, Marine Corps Base Hawaii in Kaneohe Bay and other operations probably will remain the same for the near future, she said.

"At least on the military side, things seem pretty stable," Iboshi said. "We don't have any clue what the federal government will do, but it's not something we have any ability to change."

What may change is the effectiveness of Hawaii's leaders when they push for policies they support, such as renewable energy research and pending federal legislation that would give Hawaiians autonomy rights similar to those provided American Indians, which Obama supports.

The Department of Energy is already working with Republican Gov. Linda Lingle's administration on a goal to create 70 percent of Hawaii's energy use from clean energy sources by 2030. Hawaii is currently the most dependent state on foreign energy, and it only produces about 10 percent of its energy from renewable sources like the sun, wind, waves and volcanic gasses.

"We could be a shining example for everyone else to focus on 'green jobs' as we develop our renewable energy resources," said Robert Harris, director of the Sierra Club's Hawaii chapter. "There's a lot of optimism, and we're all still crossing our fingers and waiting to see."

Along with leading the Senate Appropriations Committee, Inouye also will retain his position as chairman of the Appropriations Defense Subcommittee. Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, is widely expected to keep the chairmanship of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, but he could lose leadership of subcommittees dealing with homeland security, national parks or armed services readiness.

Even Hawaii's newest member of Congress may have some pull in efforts to steer money toward Hawaii, where Honolulu officials are hoping for up to $1 billion to help pay for a massive $5.5 billion rail transit system that's expected to break ground late next year. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, is a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

Hawaii's congressional delegation hopes to find a sympathetic ear from Obama, who spent much of his childhood in Honolulu, Abercrombie said.

"We now have someone in the White house who understands and appreciates what's important for Hawaii. That simply hasn't happened in the past," Abercrombie said. "I don't think anyone can begrudge us a center focus with the new president."

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