HONOLULU - Congress has approved a bill authorizing a monument to 8,000 Hansen's disease patients exiled to Kalaupapa between 1866 and 1969.
The measure was included in an omnibus public land management bill passed by the House on Wednesday 285-140.
Rep. Mazie Hirono's office says the legislation is now cleared for President Barack Obama's signature.
The bill doesn't appropriate any funds for the project, which will be built at Kalaupapa National Historical Park.
The nonprofit Ka 'Ohana O Kalaupapa will be responsible for all the project's fundraising, said Valerie Monson, secretary of the group.
"It's going to be a challenge, but we think we're up to it," she said, adding that the project has received warm support and encouragement from people in Hawaii and around the world.
The project's cost isn't known yet. The monument's location, size, design and inscriptions have yet to be decided and must be approved by the U.S. secretary of the Interior.
Monson said a meeting is scheduled next month between members of the Kalaupapa group and U.S. parks service officials, and decisions about the project were expected to be made then.
"It's really been a long journey," said Monson, who noted that the bill for the monument was first introduced in 2005. "It's been worth it. It's turned into a movement for the monument."
Hirono acknowledged the work of leaders of Ka 'Ohana O Kalaupapa in spearheading the movement for the monument. She recognized the "vision and dedication" of Ku'ulei Bell, who died last month, and served as president of the group.
"I have visited the preferred site of the Kalaupapa memorial, just across the roadway from Father Damien's Church, St. Philomena Catholic Church, in Kalawao," Hirono said. "And while the memories of the events that transpired in Kalaupapa are still painful, it is my hope that the Kalaupapa memorial will help bring a sense of peace and closure to family members and loved ones who remain."
