The East-West Center ($28,070,000)
Funding will allow for the continuation of existing activities and to enhance existing programs at the East-West Center. The center will also be celebrating its 50th Anniversary in 2010, and $5 million of the requested funding will be used to support physical plant modernization efforts and programs to increase the center’s visibility, reach, and private base of financial support.
The East-West Center is an internationally recognized education and research organization that strengthens the understanding and relations between the United States and the countries of the Asia-Pacific region.
The center's mission is to build understanding, relations, and a sense of community among the nations of Asia and the Pacific. The center fosters partnerships to address significant real-world problems, disseminates information, and facilitates collaboration among scholars, scientists, and decision makers in addressing the various political, economic, demographic, resource, and environmental challenges facing the region.
East-West Center initiatives include the East-West Center in Washington, Asia Pacific Center for Journalists and the Media, U.S.-Asia Pacific Council, the Obuchi Education and Research Program, outreach to Asian Muslim communities, the U.S.-Pacific Islands Joint Commercial Commission, and the Asia Pacific Leadership Program.
Recipient: The East-West Center
1601 East-West Road
Honolulu, Hawaii 96848
Why this is a good use of taxpayer dollars: Although the East-West Center is physically located in Hawaii’s First Congressional District, its presence in Hawaii is integral to our country’s position in Asia and the Pacific and also to the expansion of Hawaii’s appropriate role as the spearhead of that national position.