Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 30, Number 8, 1 August 2013 — Effort to eliminate Native Hawaiian Education Act defeated [ARTICLE]

Effort to eliminate Native Hawaiian Education Act defeated

House vote protects largest federal program for Native Hawaiians

By Kawika Riley Legislation that would have eliminated funding for Native Hawaiian education programs was defeated in the U.S. House of Representatives on July 18. H.R. 5, the so-called Student Success Act would have eliminated the Native Hawaiian Education Act. For 25 years, the Native Hawaiian

Education Act has invested in critical programs to reduce educational disparities, support Native Hawaiian language revitalization and allow innovative community-based programs to help disadvantaged Native Hawaiians from preschool to post-secondary education. In addition to being the largest federally funded program specifically for Native Hawaiians, this Act affirms the trust obligations that the federal government has to Native Hawaiians as an indigenous people. In a bipartisan amendment sponsored by members of Congress from Hawai'i, Alaska and Minnesota, H.R. 5 was amended on the House floor to include the Native Hawaiian Education Act and its Alaska Native counterpart, as well as important educational programs for American Indians. The Office of Hawaiian Affairs had launched

a campaign to raise awareness about the legislation and urged people in Hawai'i and across the continent to spread the word and contact their congressional representatives. OHA heard from numerous Hawaiians across the U.S. who got involved in this critical effort. Their efforts helped educate members of Congress, who supported the bipartisan effort. However, threats to the act remain. Here are some things you ean do to continue to support the Native Hawaiian Education Act: • Say mahalo to the bipartisan team that sponsored the amendment to protect the Native Hawaiian Education Act and other critical Native programs. The House team includes: Democrats Colleen Hanabusa and Tulsi Gabbard of Hawai'i, Republican Don Young of Alaska and Democrat Betty McCollum of Minnesota. • Encourage Hawaiians and allies on the continent to see how their representative voted. To find your representative, visit www.house.gov/repre sentatives/find. See how they votedat http://clerk. house.gov/evs/20 13/roll367.xml. • Help OHA spread the word that this important program was successfully protected. ■