WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Senator Daniel K. Inouye announced that the Congress approved a Justice Department proposal for an additional $25 million for a federal detention facility adequate to address the current and future federal detention needs in Hawaii. This initiative is the result of a request by Senator Inouye to Attorney General Janet Reno to increase funding for this facility to $100 million to meet Hawaii's needs.

"Establishing a federal detention facility in Hawaii has been a top priority. There is presently no federal facility in Hawaii and only 50 beds available under contract with a state prison facility. Consequently, the U.S. Marshals Service is spending millions of dollars each year shuttling prisoners back and forth between Hawaii and California for pretrial and trial proceedings. This is an inefficient, costly, and potentially dangerous method of dealing with federal detainees, and one which presents significant constitutional and docketing problems for Hawaii's federal judicial system," stated Senator Inouye.

With this additional funding, a total of $100 million has been appropriated for site acquisition, design and construction of a federal detention facility of approximately 670 beds in Hawaii. The Bureau of Prisons (BOP) and the State of Hawaii have settled on a 3.75 acre site on Elliot Street at the western perimeter of the Honolulu International Airport as the location for the facility, and the property has been transferred from the State to the BOP.