The House passed a $418 billion 2005 defense appropriations bill yesterday — including $25 billion for war operations — that largely funds most of President Bush's requests and almost matches the Senate bill.

Republican leaders are pushing to complete the bills before both chambers take a weeklong Fourth of July recess starting Saturday. House and Senate negotiators will then have to iron out any differences between the bills.

With Hawai'i Sen. Daniel Inouye, the top Democrat on the Senate defense appropriations subcommittee, carrying the load, Hawai'i is expected to get a significant boost in funding.

"At a time when we must be vigilant in the face of serious threats to our national security, I am pleased that this defense appropriations bill provides the necessary funding," Inouye said.

Among the big-ticket Hawai'i items are:

• $34 million for the Maui Space Surveillance System, which houses the Defense Department's largest telescope.

• $33.8 million for U.S. Army Pacific Command's command, control, communications, computer and intelligence systems. It would include funding for a demonstration project on the Big Island to test communications among county, state and federal agencies in preparation for a terrorist attack.

• $30 million to upgrade the Pacific Missile Range Facility at Barking Sands, Kaua'i.

• $25 million for a Tripler Army Medical Center initiative to develop telemedicine technology to improve access and quality of care for military families and federal beneficiaries.

• $15.5 million to improve the Maui High Performance Computing Center. The center is one of the world's largest IBM supercomputer installations.

• $10 million for the Military Aviation Museum of the Pacific and Ford Island.

• $10 million for the Clinical Cancer Care Partnership. The money would create an alliance between Tripler Army Medical Center and the Cancer Research Center of Hawai'i.

• $9 million for the Pacific-based Joint Information Technology Center, where databases would be created to manage such items as the location of military and federal medical supplies worldwide.

• $7 million for the Pacific Disaster Center. The center has operated since 1996 and supports emergency management in the Pacific and Indian oceans.

The bill also includes $3 million for the Hawai'i National Guard counterdrug program. The funds would be used to block drugs coming through Hawai'i's ports, support youth drug programs, and destroy marijuana.

The defense spending bill is about $1.7 billion below the president's initial request, but is $22.5 billion more than was approved for 2004.