Hawaii may be in line to see more spending on military construction in the next fiscal year than any other state after the U.S. House Appropriations committee recently passed its version of a military construction spending bill with $1.55 billion slated for Hawaii projects.
“By allocating fully 8 % of our total national and worldwide military construction budget to Hawaii, we are making a generational reinvestment in Hawaii in the critical facilities we need to meet the challenges of the Indo-Pacific, ” said U.S. Rep. Ed Case, who serves on the committee.
Hawaii is home to U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, which oversees all U.S. military operations across the Pacific and much of Asia—the Pentagon’s top priority theater of operations amid tensions with China and North Korea.
Both Hawaii elected leaders and contractors have been keen to rake in defense dollars, particularly after the COVID pandemic devastated the state’s tourism-dependent economy. Defense spending stayed relatively steady during the pandemic. And although tourists have made their way back, some Hawaii leaders see the military as a pathway to diversifying the islands’ economy.
“It’s not just about construction, ” said Jason Chung, the vice president of the Hawaii Chamber of Commerce’s Military Affairs Council. “It’s about the different jobs and careers and diversification and opportunity to keep Hawaii’s talent here in Hawaii. Because along with…
