In Inouye’s absence, state loses big federal projects

Sometimes the big change is who is not in the room.

In the case of Hawaii, the state’s political vulnerability is only emphasized by the absence of Sen. Daniel K. Inouye.

Two big federal projects for Hawaii were on Inouye’s radar screen when he died in December. Since his passing, both have been canceled.

On the Big Island, Inouye was working on a $46 million second runway at Kona International Airport. A former staffer, who asked not to be identified, said Inouye was jockeying to get both the military and federal funding for most of the 3,500-foot auxiliary runway needed for Air Force C-17s training and then enlarge it to serve as a second commercial runway for the Kona airport.

But, the Air Force decided that even the new runway was "cost prohibitive" and the Air Force is not now considering paying for any new training runways in Hawaii, Senior Master Sgt. Mike Hammond, with Pacific Air Force Public Affairs at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, told West Hawaii Today in an interview last week.

"We were getting really close with the runway. If the specs couldn’t be altered we told the Air Force to just do it," the Inouye senior staff member said.

At the same time a $7.5 million special government lab to test infectious agents and viruses was scrapped.

That second deal would have been trickier for Inouye to pull off, but Inouye felt the bio-lab was important for Hawaii because even though the state is the most isolated land mass on the globe, it is an important crossroad with lots of potentially disease-bearing arrivals.

"The senator was not prepared to give up on it," the former aide said.

The lab had originally been slated for Kakaako, but after the construction of the University of Hawaii Cancer Center, planning was shifted to Kalaeloa on land owned by the Army.

According to a story broadcast on Hawaii News Now, the Army changed the deal from a dollar-a-year lease to $220,000 a year and UH decided it could no longer afford the lab known as the Pacific Health Research Laboratory.

The decision was costly because already $1.7 million had been spent preparing the site, although most of the funds had come from the federal government.

"We were definitely working on it," the aide said, but acknowledged that the discussions were at a high level within the federal government and Pentagon.

"It would have been very difficult for any new senator to step in," the Inouye aide admitted.

Inouye was the Senate’s most senior member when he died and was memorialized as one of both the most well-liked and powerful.

Hawaii’s congressional delegation acknowledges that Hawaii and the federal budget are going to be different without Inouye.

U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard’s spokesperson said she was awaiting more information on federal budget cuts. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa said Hawaii’s evolving strategy must recognize the federal government’s new interest in Asia and the Pacific.

"It is a matter of us pulling together and giving recognition that Hawaii is America’s most western state and also home of the Pacific Command — certainly that is more significant with the threats from North Korea," Hanabusa said.

Sen. Brian Schatz, who was appointed to take Inouye’s place by Gov. Neil Abercrombie, said a "tough budget climate" meant that not all projects will come to Hawaii.

Sen. Mazie Hirono, who has picked up several of Inouye’s staffers, said he had warned the delegation that "cuts were coming and that Hawaii would not be immune."

Still Hirono said she would keep on pitching. "It does not mean that all hope is lost when it comes to federal funds for Hawaii," she said.

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Richard Borreca writes on politics on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays. Reach him at rborreca@staradvertiser.com.