Inouye Announces that Senate Passes Flood Relief Aid for University of Hawaii, and Manda Valley
INOUYE ANNOUNCES THAT SENATE PASSES FLOOD RELIEF AID FOR UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII, AND MANOA VALLEY
The U.S. Senate unanimously gave its approval today to the appropriation of nearly $40 million to help the University of Hawaii's Manoa campus recover from last October's massive flooding, and to implement flood-prevention measures in Manoa Valley, U.S. Senator Daniel K. Inouye announced.
"The Hawaii-related earmarks are included in an emergency supplemental funding measure that now advances to a House-Senate conference committee, which will resolve differences in the House and Senate versions of the bill," said Senator Inouye, a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee who was named one of the Senate conferees.
"The legislation provides $23 million that the University of Hawaii will need for replacement costs not covered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and flood insurance. It also provides $16.8 million for flood damage mitigation work involving the Manoa stream and watershed in the residential community and the University campus. Coupled with the $30.6 million in FEMA aid, the total federal funding to recover from the devastating floods - which led the President to issue a major disaster declaration - amounts to $70.4 million," Senator Inouye said.
"I am pleased that my fellow lawmakers have continued with their quick and compassionate response when communities are impacted by disasters. Historically, our response has been twofold. We have appropriated FEMA funds to help impacted communities cope with the aftermath of natural disasters - and even with the bombing of a federal building 10 years ago - and we have allocated additional funds for long-term recovery."
Provisions in the bill provide:
$10 million to partially offset the replacement costs of damages to the research and educational materials and other non-covered losses at the University, including the priceless collections in Hamilton Library.
$10 million for the University's School of Medicine, and other schools and colleges on the Manoa campus to cover the replacement costs of educational and research materials.
$3 million to partially offset the replacement cost of damage to research and educational materials and other non-covered losses at the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources.
$15 million for the Natural Resources Conservation Service to implement near-term measures to prevent future damage to the Manoa watershed similar to the massive flooding that occurred on October 30, 2004.
$1.8 million for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to perform an assessment study and to implement intermediate- and long-term flood mitigation measures.
http://inouye.senate.gov/