Washington, D.C. -- The U.S. House Appropriations Committee has approved two more of the twelve 2009 annual spending bills that will address a variety of Hawaii needs, including the upgrade of Honolulu’s police crime lab and the prevention of damaging floods in parts of Honolulu. It’s part of funding, secured by U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie, that’s contained in the spending bills for Commerce, Justice and Science, and for Energy and Water Development.

Abercrombie was able to target $300,000 in funding to continue upgrades to the Honolulu Police Department’s Forensic Lab. HPD has the only full forensic laboratory in the state, and it also serves the Federal Bureau of Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Agency, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and several branches of the military, state agencies, city agencies and even Guam, Saipan and Micronesia. Abercrombie included $250,000 for the Crime Lab in the 2008 Appropriation.

He also obtained $100,000 for the Hawaii Innocence Project to assist Hawaii inmates who have been wrongly convicted regain their freedom. Nationally, such programs have investigated and retried cases for nearly 200 wrongly convicted people, including 14 who had received the death sentence.

Abercrombie directed funding to for flood control projects, including $300,000 for preconstruction work for the Wailupe Watershed as part of an effort to reduce stream flooding in parts of East Honolulu. Another $300,000 will continue the feasibility study for improvements to the Ala Wai Watershed which is comprised of Manoa, Makiki, and Moiliili streams. This will lead to a comprehensive solution for this watershed area which experienced devasting flooding in October 2004, resulting in millions of dollars worth of damages.  

With an eye on the fatal breach of the Ka Loko Reservoir Dam in March 2006 on Kauai,  Abercrombie joined with Rep. Mazie Hirono on obtaining $200,000 for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to assist local government agencies in Hawaii and Pacific Territories with technical studies associated with certification of the approximately 100 levees throughout the State of Hawaii.

Abercrombie was successful in targeting research funding in alternative energy, including $400,000 to investigate Hawaii’s potential for the development of high yield feedstock and biomass.

Other research funded in the bill includes $200,000 for the University of Hawaii and Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology to conduct coral reef research in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.

He and Hirono also obtained $1.7 million to support Cellular Bioengineering and allow the Department of Energy to test polymeric hydrogels for use in radiation decontamination in nuclear facilities and Navy propulsion platforms.

The Appropriations Committee is expected to consider more of the funding bills this week, and bring them to the House floor for a vote in July.

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