WASHINGTON --- The Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday approved more than $120.4 million for 23 Hawai'i-related projects including the continued construction of a regional National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration facility on Ford Island and the protection of the endangered Hawaiian monk seal, Hawai'i U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye announced.

The Hawai'i-related initiatives — which involve ocean resources, marine research, astronomy, crime prevention, and disaster and hazard preparedness — are part of two funding measures for Fiscal Year 2009 for the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and Science, and the Department of Homeland Security – that the Senate Appropriations Committee voted unanimously to approve. The bills now advance to the full Senate for consideration, according to a news release from Inouye's office.

"I am especially pleased that the Senate Appropriations Committee set aside more than $60 million for NOAA's Pacific Regional Facility on Ford Island that will centralize all of the agency's Pacific functions and programs in one location," Inouye said. "That means substantial savings."

The Committee also appropriated $2.6 million to protect Hawaiian monk seals, which are threatened by human-generated marine debris, shark predation, and climate change.

"Hawaiian monk seals are as much a symbol of Hawai'i as Diamond Head. They are our state marine mammal, and we must not allow this endangered species to become extinct," Inouye said in the release.

"We will also grow our (understanding) of the sun and its effects on our satellites, telecommunications, and even our electrical power grids. The Advanced Technology Solar Telescope that will be built at Haleakala is a powerful, next generation instrument that will be the world's largest and most capable solar telescope, and it will offer many scientific breakthroughs."

The ATST project was appropriated $9.5 million.

Other key projects include the Hawaii sea turtle recovery program ($7.1 million), the Hawaii Rural Youth Outreach program ($1 million), and the Natural Disaster Preparedness Training Center ($5 million).