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The Honolulu Advertiser

Updated at 5:26 p.m., Wednesday, November 15, 2006

$209 million in military construction approved for state

Associated Press

The U.S. Senate has approved nearly $209 million for military construction projects in Hawai'i this fiscal year, Sen. Daniel K. Inouye said today.

A new National Security Agency intelligence-gathering center in Wahiawa was allocated $47 million, making it the Hawai'i project due to receive the most money. The facility will replace the current NSA center that dates to the 1940s.

Other major items include $42 million for Schofield Barracks operational facilities and $31 million to dredge West Loch Channel.

"The Hawai'i projects help to ensure that our national defense remains strong and ready," Inouye, D-Hawai'i, said in a statement.

The money is included in the Military Construction Appropriations Bill for the current fiscal year that passed the Senate by voice vote Tuesday night.

The legislation now advances to a House and Senate conference committee where lawmakers will resolve differences between their respective versions. Inouye will be among those representing the Senate in conference discussions.

Congress has already passed another military spending bill for this fiscal year, the Defense Appropriations Bill, that includes $372 million for Hawai'i-based programs.

Inouye said all the bills combined may provide Hawaii with $622 million in military-related spending.