Money cut for NOAA Hawai'i office project

Advertiser Staff

Money for a $250 million consolidated office complex for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Hawai'i has been cut from President Bush's proposed federal budget, but NOAA officials said operational funds for existing programs would not be affected.

An Associated Press article yesterday stated the National Marine Fisheries Service's Pacific Islands Regional Office and science center were threatened with elimination.

"At worst, some belt-tightening may be required," said Wende Goo, spokeswoman for the Pacific Islands Regional Office.

Even the new office complex may not be entirely out of the money, said Jennifer Goto, chief of staff for U.S. Sen. Dan K. Inouye, D-Hawai'i.

"The senator is committed to standing up a new facility here, and he will work to put money in the budget to keep it moving," Goto said.

She said the agency is close to selecting a new site for the facility, envisioned as a multibuilding complex that would house offices for most NOAA offices in the Islands, as well as serving as a base for its Hawai'i-based research ships.