Posted at 9:55 a.m., Friday, November 2, 2001

Agencies to get $1.6 million in ADB reimbursement

Advertiser Staff

Congress has agreed to reimburse Hawai'i law enforcement agencies $1.6 million for expenses incurred during the Asian Development Bank conference in Honolulu last May.

The funds were part of the Department of Treasury budget that was approved by a House and Senate conference committee yesterday. The measure goes to the president for final approval.

Honolulu Police and the state Department of Public Safety spent an estimated $3.3 million in security expenses to prepare for the ADB meeting. Congress was asked to cover all or some of the costs.

Hawai'i Sen. Daniel Inouye yesterday said the conference committee agreed to follow a precedent it set after the World Trade Organization meeting in Seattle and the International Monetary Fund meeting in Washington. Inouye said conferees decided to provide Hawai'i with 50 percent reimbursement of the law enforcement costs.

"I knew that we were going to have a difficult debate with the House conferees who were of the belief that there should be no reimbursement because Hawai'i volunteered to be the host," Inouye said. "In the end, I was pleased that the Senate conferees prevailed."