Bill Text: HI HR42 | 2013 | Regular Session | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Federal Sequestration; Military and Defense Spending

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 10-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-03-11 - Referred to FIN, referral sheet 34 [HR42 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2013-HR42-Introduced.html

---

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	42
TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2013
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

 

urging the united states congress and hawaii's congressional delegation to avoid sequestration and avert the dramatic financial implications such cuts would have for hawaii.

 

 

 

     WHEREAS, the United States has a massive budget deficit that poses a serious crisis for the nation and is a divisive problem that both the President and Congress must address; and

 

     WHEREAS, impending sequestration, which threatened immediate budget cuts as an attempt to drive Democrats and Republicans in Congress to compromise on a solution for the national debt, has not resulted in such compromise; and

 

     WHEREAS, sequestration will result in critical job losses and decreases in revenue for both defense and nondefense programs in Hawaii and throughout the nation; and

 

     WHEREAS, Hawaii is one of the largest recipients of federal defense funding and expenditures in the nation which have been estimated at more than $8,000,000,000 annually and result in more than $14,000,000,000 being driven into the State's economy each year; and

 

     WHEREAS, the proposed cuts and job losses predicted for Hawaii would be a devastating blow to the economy, affecting both military personnel and their family members based in Hawaii, along with those Hawaii residents who depend on the well-paying jobs and the stable source of revenue the military and other defense contractors provide in the State; and

 

     WHEREAS, if sequestration occurs, it is estimated that 11,000 jobs would be lost in Hawaii, 19,000 Department of Defense civilian workers would be subject to furloughs, and $2,300,000,000 in defense contracts would be jeopardized; and
     WHEREAS, the Department of Defense has already planned for spending cuts, in addition to sequestration cuts, that would further reduce the military presence in Hawaii and affect both the State's security as well as its fiscal budget; and

 

     WHEREAS, should sequestration occur, Hawaii would experience major force realignments that would involve relocating units from Hawaii and potential base closures because the threat of activating another Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission looms as early as 2015; and

 

     WHEREAS, Hawaii's strategic military location in the Pacific, along with serving as the home of the United States Pacific Command, is an invaluable resource to the national security of the nation, and the indiscriminate cutbacks of sequestration would have serious and urgent impacts on the nation's military readiness in the Pacific; and

 

     WHEREAS, as the Asia Pacific region becomes more relevant to the nation's strategic interests, particularly in response to recent nuclear tests in North Korea, weakening the nation's military presence in the Pacific would make the United States and Hawaii more vulnerable and slower to respond to serious security issues if they should arise; and

 

     WHEREAS, cutbacks in federal funding would seriously marginalize the capabilities of the State's civil defense program by depriving the Hawaii National Guard of the resources it needs to respond to natural disasters and other emergencies that may occur statewide, which is especially concerning given Hawaii's isolated location; and

 

     WHEREAS, two of the State's delegates in the United States Congress, Senator Mazie Hirono and Representative Colleen Hanabusa, are members of their respective Armed Services Committees and are in the position to bring forth these serious issues regarding the reduction of military expenditures and the effect this will have on the State of Hawaii; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-seventh Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2013, that the United States Congress and Hawaii's Congressional delegation are urged to work to prevent sequestration in order to avoid the indiscriminate reductions in defense expenditures that would directly impact Hawaii; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Hawaii's Congressional delegation is also urged to initiate interventions to protect against the relocation of military units from Hawaii, avert the possibility of base closures, and minimize spending cuts that would place Hawaii's troops and their families, as well as Hawaii's residents, at risk; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Hawaii's Congressional delegation, in particular Senator Mazie Hirono and Representative Colleen Hanabusa, as they are members of their respective Armed Services Committees, is encouraged to meet with appropriate military commanders as soon as possible to discuss steps that should be taken to minimize the anticipated impacts of cuts in defense spending; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Majority Leader of the United States Senate; Speaker of the United States House of Representatives; and members of Hawaii's Congressional delegation.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

Federal Sequestration; Military and Defense Spending