Congressional bill boosts spending in Pacific

Congress has passed a fiscal year 2022 appropriation measure that includes billions of dollars in funding for military projects in Hawaii and the Pacific.

The bill includes over $700 million for response efforts to contamination of the Navy’s water system by fuel from its Red Hill storage facility, $235 million for military construction projects throughout the islands, and billions to fund the Pacific Deterrence Initiative, a Pentagon project to counter China’s increasing military power.

Approved earlier this month by both the Senate and House of Representatives, the measure awaits President Joe Biden’s signature.

The Red Hill funding includes $686 million to continue supporting displaced service members, civilians and their families as well as $50 million to the Navy for planning and design of future water treatment and distribution infrastructure projects to address the Red Hill drinking water crisis.

It also includes $5 million to continue improving the safety of underground fuel storage tanks at Red Hill as the Navy works to defuel the facility, and requires the Pentagon give Congress a report within 90 days that would identify future military construction and remediation requirements for Red Hill’s permanent shutdown.

“These funds are in addition to the $403 million in emergency funding we obtained in another bill we passed just weeks ago, bringing Congress’ total funding for all aspects of Red Hill in the current fiscal year alone to over $1.1 billion,” U.S. Rep. Ed Case, D-Hawaii, said Monday in a news release. “But billions more will be required to complete all aspects of the cleanup, stabilization, de-­fueling and closing of Red Hill and the relocation of its fuel and build fuel storage capacity elsewhere.”

The Red Hill water crisis has strained relations between military leaders and lawmakers. However, Hawaii’s congressional delegation has continued to push for boosting military budgets and operations in Hawaii and the Pacific.

Hawaii is the headquarters of U.S. Indo-Pacific command, which oversees all operations in the Pacific Ocean, much of the Indian Ocean and parts of the Arctic region.

INDOPACOM’s top officer, Adm. John Aquilino, told Congress last week that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been “a real wake-up” on the possibility of a major conflict in the region.

“I see actions that give me concern that the timeline is shrinking, and the mission that I’ve been given is to be prepared for it,” Aquilino told lawmakers.

He cited Beijing’s crackdown on Hong Kong and China’s actions in setting up positions in disputed territory in the South China Sea and skirmishing with Indian forces in disputed territory along the Chinese-Indian border.

The bill includes $75 million to continue development of Homeland Defense Radar-Hawaii, along with $19 million for advance planning and design efforts to support its construction.

The HDR-H has been a controversial project. Originally approved in 2018, the Pentagon has repeatedly tried to defund the program, citing a desire to explore alternatives and the potential difficulties placing it in Hawaii, while Hawaii’s congressional delegation has continued efforts to fund it.

“Given the prominence of Hawaii’s military and strategic value, Hawai‘i has become far more of a target to those who wish to do us harm. The need for a fixed, persistent and comprehensive missile defense cannot be understated,” Case said. “The Homeland Defense Radar Hawaii is the solution. It is regarded by the Missile Defense Agency and U.S. Indo-Pacific Command as vital and appropriate.”

Congress also appropriated $65 million to upgrade Marine Corps Base Hawaii’s aging electrical system. The base in Kaneohe is at the center of an ambitious restructuring of the Marine Corps. The Marines this month officially activated their first littoral regiment at the base, which will focus on amphibious and missile warfare, and is expected serve as a blueprint for reorganizing the entire service.

The bill puts $51 million toward construction of the West Loch Naval Magazine Annex. The Army has made plans to move its munitions from its current storage facilities at the Navy’s Lualualei Annex near Waianae to the Navy’s West Loch Annex.

That move has been controversial, with the military facing pushback from Ewa Beach residents who believe it would put stockpiles of explosive munitions too close to residential areas. Army and Navy officials have argued that keeping the munitions there will be safer and more efficient than at the aging facilities in Lualualei.

The bill also includes $59 million in the Pacific Defense Initiative for INDO­PACOM to support planning and design efforts to advance future construction projects throughout the region. Congress created the PDI in the 2021 fiscal year as a means of channeling funding into specifically countering China.

The PDI funding also includes $80 million for the missile defense programs on Guam, twice the amount the Biden administration had included in its budget request.

During a March 9 congressional hearing, Aquilino told lawmakers he was concerned about the proliferation of hypersonic weapons and “the speed and pace they are showing up” in China’s arsenal and the threat they could pose to Guam, in particular.

“The area in the Indo-­Pacific is expansive — half the globe and a lot of it water,” Aquilino told lawmakers. “About $11 billion worth of construction, as we work through our posturing of our forces … will end up on Guam, and we have to protect it.”

Guam is home to the new Marine Corps Base Camp Blaz, which is under construction and is expected to become a duty station for approximately 5,000 Marines.

Hawaii companies have been involved in building the base. Last year the Navy awarded the Hensel Phelps- Shimizu Joint Venture of Hono­lulu an initial $53.9 million for the construction of what will be the base’s headquarters building.