WASHINGTON, D.C. -- United States Senator Daniel K. Inouye announced that the Senate approved the Fiscal Year 1999 Omnibus Appropriations Bill which includes $10 million in the budgets for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education for important job training and community development initiatives for Hawaii. The Fiscal Year 1999 Omnibus Appropriations Bill includes funding for the: Department of Transportation; Departments of Commerce, Justice, State, and the Judiciary, and Related Agencies; Department of the Interior and Related Agencies; Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies; Department of Treasury, Postal Service, and General Government; Department of Agriculture; District of Columbia; and Foreign Operations.

$2.5 million was included for the Lanai Project which will continue to expand and provide training, education, employment, and entrepreneurial opportunities to improve the economic and social health and welfare of Lanai, and the rural communities on the Neighbor Islands. The Congress recognized that limited access to human development services has contributed to the increase in negative health and social indicators, such as high rates of poverty, unemployment, school dropouts, teen pregnancy, substance abuse, and mental illness. Senator Inouye introduced this pilot program in Fiscal Year 1997, and is very pleased that many of the solutions are being found right in the communities.

The Congress approved $4,000,000 for a comprehensive community resource center to be utilized by American Samoans and Pacific Islanders at Kuhio Park Terrace (KPT) in Honolulu. In addition, the Congress also approved $2,000,000 for the center in the appropriations for the Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development and Independent Agencies, for a total of $6,000,000 for the center. The center will replicate a traditional Polynesian structure and provide a place for American Samoans and Pacific Islanders to meet, share and practice their cultural traditions. In addition, the center will have a recreational component to provide a safe location and constructive activities for KPT residents who are under the age of 18. The center will also be open to community based economic development initiatives, such as an open marketplace.

The Congress also approved $500,000 for a new High Technology Training initiative on the Island of Maui, with a focus on women, to improve their representation in the computer networking and telecommunications fields, and to develop a training and curriculum model for meeting the rising need for workers in these emerging industries. The State of Hawaii shall administer the program in partnership with the Maui Economic Development Board and Maui Community College.

In addition, the Congress approved $3,000,000 to continue the American Samoan/Asian Pacific Job Training Program in Hawaii.

The Fiscal Year 1999 Omnibus Appropriations Bill will now be transmitted to the White House.