SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE APPROVES $250 MILLION IN FUNDING FOR HONOLULU AUTHORITY FOR RAPID TRANSPORTATION

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono released the following statement after the Senate Appropriations Committee approved $250 million in funding for Honolulu Authority For Rapid Transportation, matching in full President Obama’s 2014 budget request and the 2012 Full Funding Grant Agreement. The funding was included in both House and Senate Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) appropriations bills.

“I appreciate the support of my colleagues on the Senate and House Appropriations Committees for the Honolulu rail transit project. This is yet another indication of the federal government’s commitment to the project. In these difficult economic times, when decisions about federal funding remain highly competitive, these actions by the House and Senate Appropriations Committees demonstrate that support for Honolulu’s rail project remains solid as this project moves forward.”

As a member of the House in 2012, Hirono worked with her colleagues to secure the Full Funding Grant Agreement with the U.S. Department of Transportation that allowed the Honolulu rail transit project to move forward.