honoluluadvertiser.com

Sponsored by:

Comment, blog & share photos

Log in | Become a member
The Honolulu Advertiser

Updated at 1:34 p.m., Thursday, May 10, 2007

State, Honolulu get $2.4M in Homeland Security grants

Advertiser Staff

U.S. Sens. Daniel K. Inouye and Daniel K. Akaka announced today that the state of Hawai'i and the City and County of Honolulu will receive about $2.4 million in grants from the Department of Homeland Security.

The largest — a grant of $1,616,527 for the state Department of Transportation — is for port security, the senators said in a news release.

The state will also receive $385,000 from Homeland Security's Buffer Zone Protection Program, which aims to protect and secure critical infrastructure such as power plants and other high-risk facilities.

The City and County of Honolulu's Department of Transportation will receive $399,862 from Homeland Security's bus transit security grant program.

"These federal funds are most welcome because they will help to ensure that Hawai'i is protected, and, if necessary, able to respond to and recover from terrorist attacks, natural disasters, and other emergencies," Inouye said in the release.

Akaka added, "Hawai'i's infrastructure is a complex web that serves our local families and businesses well, and we must be vigilant of any potential life-threatening disruption."

Inouye serves as chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Technology, which has jurisdiction over port security. He is also a member of the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee. Akaka is a member of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security.