Congressman Kaialiʻi Kahele (HI-02), a member of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC), successfully amended the Fiscal Year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (FY22 NDAA) during the Committee’s consideration of the bill. The NDAA includes a number of policies championed by Congressman Kahele, and was approved by a bipartisan vote of 57-2. The bill will now move to floor consideration by the full U.S. House of Representatives.

“Hawaiʻi plays a critical role in supporting our national defense strategy in the Indo-Asia Pacific region. As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, I have the privilege to help strengthen our national security and the responsibility to ensure locally-important projects are reflected in the NDAA,” said Congressman Kaialiʻi Kahele.

The NDAA sets the funding levels, expenditures and authorizations for the Department of Defense every fiscal year. The House and Senate Armed Services Committees write versions of the NDAA for their respective chambers of Congress. The two versions are then negotiated into a final bill which is sent to the President’s desk to be signed into law. Congress has successfully passed the defense bill for 60 consecutive years.

U.S. military spending is vital to Hawaiʻi’s economy. According to the Hawaiʻi Chamber of Commerce, direct and indirect military expenditures generate approximately $14.7 billion into our local economy and over 102,000 jobs for residents.

Congressman Kahele included several bills and funding for locally-important projects as amendments to the larger defense bill, including:

  • The ‘1095 Rule’ Amendment Act which strengthens the National Guard and Reserve by increasing the maximum number of days reservists can serve on active duty from 1,095 days out of 1,460 days to 1,825 days out of 2,190 days.
  • The National Guard and Reserve Incentive Pay and Parity Act which requires the military to provide Reserve and National Guard service members incentive and special duty pay at the same rate as their active duty counterparts. The Armed Services use more than 60 special and incentive pays to influence retention and sustain the size of the force. Current legislation caps the amount of pay that members of the National Guard and Reserves receive to a fraction of what those on active duty receive. The National Guard and Reserve Incentive Pay and Parity Act requires equal pay for equal proficiency. 
  • The AAPI Veteran Medal of Honor Review Act which requires the Department of Defense (DoD) to conduct a comprehensive review of the service records of Asian American and Pacific Islander war veterans to determine whether they should be awarded the Medal of Honor.
  • Rep. Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan’s (CNMI) Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) bill which Congressman Kahele is an original cosponsor of and a sponsor of the bipartisan NDAA amendment with Rep. Hartzler (MO-04). The Byrne JAG program is the primary provider of federal public safety and criminal justice funding to state and local jurisdictions. The funding is intended for a variety of areas, such as personnel, training, and equipment. The bill allocates funding to American Samoa (AS) and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI).

Congressman Kahele successfully sponsored and included Directive Report and Bill Language to support policies and projects important to Hawaiʻi, including:

  • Kawaihāpai (Dillingham) Airfield Water System provision to direct the Secretary of the Army to provide a briefing to HASC by December 2021 on the current status and long term options for Kawaihāpai (Dillingham) Airfield, including an assessment of whether this property is in excess and could be returned to the State of Hawaiʻi. This briefing shall include options that would facilitate establishment of a water utility cooperative or other regime to manage the water system on the airfield. 

  • Lualualei Naval Road/Kolekole Pass provision to direct the Secretary of the Navy to provide a briefing to HASC no later than March 2022 to provide an update on current renewal of existing memorandum between the City and County of Honolulu and interested parties to reestablish daily access for credentialed DoD individuals/members, among other things. 

  • Hawaiʻi Infrastructure Readiness Initiative (HIRI) provision to direct the Secretary of the Army to provide a report to the House and Senate Committees on Armed Services by March 1, 2022 laying out a detailed plan for infrastructure formerly covered by the HIRI to address major facility and infrastructure deficiencies, including aviation maintenance facilities, operations facilities, tactical equipment maintenance facilities, Pōhakuloa Training Area, West Loch Ammunition Storage, and base operations.
  • Feasibility Study on the Establishment of a Hawaiʻi Air National Guard Aeromedical Squadron at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam provision to direct the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Chief of the National Guard Bureau and the Director of the Air National Guard, to complete a feasibility study on establishing a Hawaiʻi Air National Guard aeromedical squadron at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam to support the aeromedical mission needs of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and the State of Hawaiʻi. 

  • Feasibility Study on the Establishment of a Permanent Basing Air Force Unit on Guam provision to direct the Secretary of the Air Force, in consultation with the Chief of the National Guard Bureau and the Director of the Air National Guard, to conduct a feasibility study on establishing a permanent basing Air Force associate flying unit on Guam, to include the Guam Air National Guard. 

  • Waikoloa Maneuver Area provision to direct the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Energy, Installations, and Environment to provide a report to the HASC by February 1, 2022, that shall include an updated estimate for the cost to complete the investigation, cleanup, and long-term monitoring of the site; among other things.  

  • Energy Infrastructure at Former Naval Air Station Barbers Point provision to direct the Secretary of the Navy to provide a briefing to the HASC by February 2022 that examines the nature of the upgrades required, to include improvement in resiliency, reliability, and necessary upgrades to bring existing infrastructure up to current code requirements; among other things. 

Congressman Kahele Cosponsored Amendments with other HASC members

  • Rep. Jason Crow’s (CO-06) Space National Guard Amendment which approves the establishment of a Space National Guard as a reserve component of the U.S. Space Force. The Space National Guard is a concept that is long overdue. Each military branch has a unit-focused, combat-capable, reserve component. The U.S. Space Force should not be the exception. The National Guard, with a 25 year history of excellence in space operations, is that reserve component and is ready to transfer immediately and at no cost.

  • Rep. Anthony Brown’s (MD-04) Countering Extremism in the Military Amendment which creates an Office of Countering Extremism to establish policy to address extremism within the Armed Forces and DoD, and helps the Department better understand and address the scope of the problem with improved data collection and reporting and insider threat training for extremism. It also clarifies in law that extremism and membership in an extremist organization has no place in the Armed Forces.

  • Rep. Seth Moulton’s (MA-06) Brandon Act which allows service members to confidentially seek mental health treatment by using a designated safe word, like “Brandon Act.” It is designed to protect service members who experience mental health emergencies. If the Brandon Act becomes law, it would allow Americans serving in uniform to seek help confidentially and, if necessary, outside of the chain of command. 

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