WASHINGTON — The $787 billion economic stimulus package Congress approved yesterday would pump more than $940 million into Hawai'i over the next two years.

All four members of the state's congressional delegation voted for the bill, which President Obama is expected to sign next week. The stimulus package yesterday passed the House 246-183 on a party-line vote with no support from Republicans. Later yesterday, the Senate approved the measure 60-38 with three GOP moderates providing crucial support.

Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, D-Hawai'i, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said he tried to craft a bill to put people back to work and position the nation for the future.

"Throughout this whirlwind of discussion and debate, compromise and concession on the stimulus plan in our nation's capitol, I always had one eye firmly on my beloved Hawai'i to be sure that we not only got at least our fair share, but have a strategic plan of action to compete for additional federal funds that we desperately need to put Hawai'i back on more solid economic footing," the senator said in a statement.

In Hawai'i, where Gov. Linda Lingle and state lawmakers are trying to close a substantial budget deficit, the initial analysis was that the stimulus would help but will likely not solve the state's budget problems.

"We don't think it will necessarily be the panacea for the budget situation," said Barry Fukunaga, the governor's chief of staff, who is leading a team looking at the stimulus.

Fukunaga said the state would likely benefit from federal education and social-service money but would probably not see immediate relief from some of the other provisions. "I think we still need to be realistic about the situation that we are facing," he said.

State Rep. Marcus Oshiro, D-39th (Wahiawa), the chairman of the House Finance Committee, said lawmakers are still looking at the details of the stimulus but doubt it will bring an immediate fix. "It may not address and fix our budget shortfall," he said.

Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann, who was among the mayors who lobbied for the stimulus, praised the work of Inouye and the delegation. "This will benefit our communities in many ways and keep thousands of Hawai'i workers employed," the mayor said.

The stimulus package combines tax cuts; help for victims of the recession in the form of unemployment, health insurance and food stamp benefits; and major investments in infrastructure, energy and education.

Economists say the legislation will not quickly solve the historic problems besetting the economy but could reduce the damage while providing relief for the unemployed and the uninsured.

"But as important as it is, it's only the beginning of what we must do to turn our economy around," Obama told business leaders at the White House.

Rep. Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawai'i, said the bill represents a "dramatic and decisive turnaround" from the end of the Bush administration, which saw businesses closing, families losing homes and jobs disappearing.

Rep. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawai'i, said in a statement the stimulus "will bring critical help to Hawai'i, already facing a $1 billion deficit."

Estimates vary on the amount of federal spending that will flow to Hawai'i under the bill because it contains money distributed by formulas, tax cuts and credits, and competitive grants.

TAX RELIEF

Inouye said formula-based spending in the bill for Hawai'i is estimated at $678 million. The state would also get additional money through tax relief, federal Medicaid reimbursements and extended unemployment benefits.

The Center for American Progress, a liberal-leaning think tank, said Hawai'i could receive $2.2 billion from the stimulus bill's spending and tax provisions.

Another estimate came from the Federal Funds Information for States, a state-financed research group, which found Hawai'i would get more than $940 million from the bill's spending provisions.

Inouye said the bill includes $125.7 million for highways and bridges in Hawai'i, $43.8 million for transit systems, $50.5 million for clean water projects, $16.3 million for public housing improvements, $9.6 million for affordable housing and $6.2 million for homeless prevention.

Most of the highway and bridge money would be distributed through existing formulas. But states would have to obligate at least half their money to projects within four months, and all of it by Sept. 30, 2010.

Hawai'i also would receive $158.2 million for education programs, $39.9 million for special-education programs, $44.5 million to help educate low-income children, and $4.8 million for education technology improvements.

"I am pleased to support the provisions included in (the bill) designed to increase and support educational opportunities for our country's children as well as provide much-needed resources and infrastructure improvements for educators nationwide," Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawai'i, said on the Senate floor.

The state also would get $360 million in additional Medicaid funding, $25.9 million for energy projects, $13.4 million for law enforcement, and $9.6 million for employment and work training programs.

Other stimulus money coming to Hawai'i would include $4.4 million for home weatherization, $5 million for community services block grants, and $2.1 million for Head Start programs.

Under the bill, about 490,000 Hawai'i residents could obtain tax credits of up to $400 for individuals and $800 for couples. The credit would phase out for individuals earning more than $75,000 and married couples earning more than $150,000.

Another 11,000 Hawai'i families would be eligible for a college tax credit of up to $2,500 for tuition, books and other expenses.

Inouye also added a $198 million authorization for a one-time payment to Filipino veterans who fought for the United States against the Japanese in World War II. The veterans would receive $15,000 if they are now U.S. citizens or $9,000 if they are not.

OBAMA VICTORY

The passage of the stimulus package was considered a major victory for Obama, who described it as essential to combating the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.

Supporters said the measure would save or create 3.5 million jobs. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., conceded there was no guarantee, but he said that "millions and millions and millions of people will be helped, as they have lost their jobs and can't put food on the table of their families."

Vigorously disagreeing, House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, dumped a copy of the 1,071-page bill to the floor in a gesture of contempt. "The bill that was about jobs, jobs, jobs has turned into a bill that's about spending, spending, spending," he said.

The legislation, among the costliest ever considered in Congress, provides billions of dollars to aid victims of the recession through unemployment benefits, food stamps, medical care, job retraining and more.

Tens of billions are ticketed for the states to offset cuts they might otherwise have to make in aid to schools and local governments, and there is more than $48 billion for transportation projects such as road and bridge construction, mass transit and high-speed rail.

Democrats said the bill's tax cuts would help 95 percent of all Americans. At the insistence of the White House, people who do not earn enough money to owe income taxes are eligible, an attempt to offset the payroll taxes they pay.

In a bow to political reality, lawmakers included $70 billion to shelter upper middle-class and wealthier taxpayers from an income tax increase that would otherwise hit them, a provision that the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said would do relatively little to create jobs.

Also included were funds for two of Obama's initiatives, the expansion of computerized information technology in the healthcare industry and billions to create so-called green jobs to reduce dependence on foreign oil.