Hirono Votes to Pass Bipartisan Spending Package, Helps Secure Over $16 Million in Congressionally Directed Spending for Hawaii

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) voted to pass the second and final bipartisan package of six fiscal year 2024 appropriations bills, helping to secure several major wins for Hawaii. The funding package includes the appropriations bills for Defense; Financial Services and General Government; Homeland Security; Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies; Legislative Branch; and State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs. The bill passed the Senate by a vote of 74-24 and also includes more than $16.5 million in Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) that Senator Hirono requested for organizations in Hawaii. The bill passed the House earlier today, and now goes to President Biden’s desk to be signed into law.

“This spending package includes critical investments for communities in Hawaii and across our country,” said Senator Hirono. “I am proud to have helped secure funding for a number of projects in Hawaii, including several focused on expanding access to education and health care resources, and will continue working to secure federal funding for programs that support families, keiki, and communities across the islands.”

A full list of the CDS projects Senator Hirono secured in partnership with the Hawaii Congressional delegation is below:

FINANCIAL SERVICES AND GENERAL GOVERNMENT:

Maui Economic Development Board, Inc. - $1,750,000

To build a new small business accelerator at the Maui Research and Technology Center in Kihei, Maui.

University of Hawaii System - $1,500,000

To build an innovation laboratory at the Manoa Innovation Center in Honolulu, HI.

LABOR, HEALTH, AND HUMAN SERVICES, EDUCATION, AND RELATED AGENCIES:

Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL) - $84,000

To study the root causes of chronic absenteeism among Micronesian students on Oahu.

Maui Economic Opportunity (MEO) - $105,000

To create a workforce training and apprenticeship program to expand the infant and toddler-trained workforce that may be used to fill positions for critical services used by families who need care for children between birth and age three on Maui.

Hawaii Pacific University - $1,843,000

To establish the first Hawaii-based Physician Assistant (PA) Program to address the critical shortages in the healthcare workforce, diversify the PA profession, and advance health equity among communities in Hawaii.

Hana Health - $1,440,000

To expand its existing health center to include a dedicated facility to provide specialty medical and dental services as well as coverage for building utilities costs.

Special Education Center of Hawaii (SECOH) - $250,000

To make improvements to its Diamond Head Campus, which will allow the organization to improve and expand its capacity to serve adults with disabilities on Oahu.

Honolulu First Church of the Nazarene d.b.a. Waolani Judd Nazarene - $40,000

To expand its Hawaiian Culture Enrichment Program that would provide greater access to Hawaiian language and culture classes for students on Oahu.

Blueprint for Change - $1,150,000

To build between 8 and 10 Family Resource Centers (FRCs) on K-12 public school campuses in Hawaii.

Friends of the Future - $235,000

To further expand its school-based health and wellness program for K-12 students on Hawaii Island.

Carden Academy of Maui - $184,000

To build a collaborative workshop, or “Maker’s Lab,” with the necessary technology and equipment (i.e. 3-D printers and industrial sewing machines) to promote learning, exploring, problem-solving, and sharing among students.

West Hawaii Region of the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation - $2,500,000

To complete and optimize of its new electronic medical records (EMR) system, known as EPIC.

University of Hawaii System - $900,000

To address its classroom occupancy challenges by redesigning a portion of the school’s library stack into an up-to-date audiovisual-supported space to facilitate hybrid learning.

Kauai Planning and Action Alliance - $200,000

To hire additional staff and equipment for their Kauai Resilience Project.

Hawaii Agriculture Foundation - $949,000

To create agricultural-focused education programs in public schools throughout the state.

Hawaii Teach for America - $174,000

To expand its Ignite Fellowship program, which recruits and places college students in part-time, online tutoring roles.

Castle Medical Center dba Adventist Health Castle - $700,000

To replace its hospital’s air handling systems to ensure the comfort and safe delivery of its health services.

Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum - $500,000

To transform its Hawaii ALIVE program from an online resource website into an active, relevant, high-quality, and useful curriculum website that would provide teachers with access to free curricular units, ready for implementation in the classroom.

YMCA of Honolulu - $388,000

To increase its capacity to offer wellness programming and serve 15,000 additional meals to kupuna aged 60 years and older.

Residential Youth Services and Empowerment (RYSE) - $850,000

To provide access to programming and services and to conduct education and outreach.

YMCA of Honolulu - $864,000

To initiate and implement robust programming to improve mental and emotional wellness for youth throughout the state most impacted by the pervasive negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

###