Rep. Case votes against FY 25 House bills slashing education, housing budgets

US Congressman Ed Case’s (HI-01) US House Committee on Appropriations passed on Wednesday three more measures for the upcoming federal fiscal year (FY) 2025, commencing Oct. 1, 2024.

The proposed discretionary funding level for federal labor, health, education, housing and agriculture agencies and programs is a combined $323 billion, a decrease of $30 billion over the FY24 enacted level.

“While these three measures fund many critical national and Hawai‘i priorities, I regrettably had to vote against the measure overall because of slashes in funding for key programs for those especially in need including cuts to Title 1 affecting teachers, guts housing programs at a time when there is an increase in homelessness nationally and takes away support for critical transportation needs for individuals and localities,” said Rep. Case.

Under the fiscal 2025 bill passed by the House committee, federal education spending would be slashed by 14%, or $11 billion. This includes potentially cutting Title 1 grants for eligible K-12 schools, which last year granted $73 million to Hawai‘i public schools, by 25%. Additionally, the House Appropriates Subcommittee proposed prohibiting the Department of Education from using federally appropriated funds to enforce Title IX rules, in its bill

Overall, the Labor-Health and Human Services (HHS) bill, which supports health, education and labor programs, has a discretionary funding level of $198.4 billion, a cut of $24.6 billion below the FY 2024 level, after passing in the House Committee on Appropriations.

This bill supports funding relevant to Native Hawaiian programs, including:

• $46 million for the Native Hawaiian Education Program;
• $25 million for the Strengthening Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions Program;
• $27 million for the Native Hawaiian Health Care Systems, with $10 million being included for Papa Ola Lōkahi;
• $4 million for the Native American/Native Hawaiian Museum Services Program; and
• $5 million, a $1 million increase over FY 2024 funding levels to support the Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander Health Research Office within the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities.

The other two bills included the Transportation-Housing and Urban Development (T-HUD) bill, which supports transit and housing programs, and the Agriculture bill, supporting funding for the US Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

T-HUD’s discretionary funding level is $99 billion, $4.4 billion lower from the FY24 enacted level, while the Agriculture bill, proposed at $25.9 billion, would mark a 3.6% decrease from its current budget.

The T-HUD bill includes the following provisions to improve access to affordable housing specific for Native Hawaiians:

• $28 million for the Native Hawaiian Housing Loan Guarantee Program;
• $5 million for core housing research partnerships with Native Hawaiian serving institutions among other minority serving institutions.

The bills now move on to the full House of Representatives for consideration. 

Bills support funding for Rep. Case’s Hawai‘i projects

The bills fund several of Rep. Case’s requests for Member-designated Community Project Funding (CPF) for Hawai‘i, including:

• $185,000 for the Hawai‘i Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Forestry and Wildlife to conduct a Reforestation and Carbon Forestry Assessment;
• $2 million for the Hawai‘i Department of Transportation to repair and renovate Aloha Tower;
• $400,000 for the Hawai‘i Department of Transportation to conduct a study to assess the operations of Kapiolani Interchange and generate recommendations that will improve congestion and safety;
• $250,000 for Highlands Intermediate School to modernize its media center; and
• $850,000 for Kalihi Waena Elementary to replace deteriorating bridges that connect the school to the state’s largest public housing complex, the Towers of Kūhiō Park, ensuring the safety of keiki traveling to and from school.

“The current bridges pose significant safety risks, with structural damage and lack of ADA compliance hindering accessibility for students and community members, especially the elderly and physically challenged,” said Rep. Case.

Case says funding is needed for a single-span bridge from the housing complex to the school, including an ADA-compliant ramp to Richard Lane, to ensure safe and accessible passage for all.

Rep. Case also secured funding for Highlands Intermediate in Pearl City for its media center to accommodate the growing student population and foster collaborative learning environments.

“The proposed renovations aim to revolutionize the space, facilitating innovative teaching methods and empowering students to explore various multimedia formats,” said Case. “The introduction of a partition and sound booth will enable the segregation of activities within the media center, providing students with designated areas for focused work and creative endeavors.”

The House’s CPF rules require that each project must have demonstrated community support, must be fully disclosed by the requesting Member and be subject to audit by the independent Government Accountability Office. Case’s disclosures can be viewed here.