In the News

HONOLULU (KHON2) — Federal dollars that shape classrooms, childcare and Native Hawaiian language learning across Hawai?i are not drying up. After weeks of uncertainty, the United States Department of Education has officially started the process to extend $46 million for the Native Hawaiian Education Program. The move follows an agreement between Senator Brian Schatz and Education Secretary Linda McMahon and keeps critical programs running for thousands of local families. What the funding...

The U.S. Department of Education will extend $46 million in federal funding for Native Hawaiian programs for another year, according to U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz. Schatz said the extension follows an agreement he made with U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon last month. The department today officially began the process of extending the $46 million in funds for the Native Hawaiian Education Program another year, which goes to more than 60 early childhood education sites across the state. “This is...

Hawai?i’s senior U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz generally has a lot to say, not much of it good, about the Trump administration and his GOP counterparts. His floor speeches quickly become social media posts that tend toward clever, biting criticisms of what the Republicans are doing wrong, whether it’s federal health care and social services cuts, immigration enforcement, or Pete Hegseth and the war in Iran. Political skirmishing is much of the job these days for Schatz, who has become one of the most...

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Funding cuts to more than 60 Native Hawaiian education programs have been avoided after the U.S. Department of Education secretary agreed to keep the program fully funded, U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz said. Education Secretary Linda McMahon guaranteed $46 million to keep the programs fully funded for at least another year, Schatz said. The money will go to 60 early childhood education sites across Hawaii. Schatz said the funding will also help sustain programs including home...

HONOLULU (KHON2) — Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz said federal authorities need to do more to educate visitors about our native animals – namely the Hawaiian monk seal, after a video has gone viral, showing a man throwing a large rock at a monk seal in Lahaina. Both visitors and kamaaina flocked to Kaimana Beach to check out 15-year-old Hawaiian monk seal Kaiwi and her brand new pup, believed to have been born on Sunday. Experts said after swimming all day, they need time and space to rest, which is...

HPR has been checking in with Hawai?i’s congressional delegation as the U.S. and Israel's war with Iran stretches into its 20th day. U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz joined The Conversation to discuss his perspective on the escalating war in the Middle East as well as the recent storm damage across Hawai?i. Interview Highlights On preparing for future climate crises U.S. SEN. BRIAN SCHATZ: The other thing we can do in the long run, and that's a, you know, a slower process, is to make sure that we're just...

Hawai?i U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz is searching for ways to protect a federal contracting program targeted by the Trump administration that brings millions of dollars into the Native Hawaiian community, including implementing reforms to buffer it from future attacks. At issue is the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 8(a) program, which provides special contracting privileges to socially and economically disadvantaged individuals and groups, including tribes, Alaska Native corporations and...

A group of senators has written a letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg asking why his company delayed launching key protections for users under 18. The letter, signed by Brian Schatz (D-HI), Katie Britt (R-AL), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), James Lankford (R-OK), and Christopher Coons (D-DE), cites court documents unsealed late last year that revealed claims that Meta may have downplayed its platforms’ harm in favor of increasing user engagement. Meta started automatically putting teens on Instagram into...

The bipartisan funding package approved by the U.S. Senate Friday Opens in a new tab includes nearly $75 million in earmarks for Hawaii, according to U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz. “We secured nearly $75 million in new earmark funding to support Native Hawaiians and communities across Hawaii in critical areas, including health care, housing, and education,” the Hawaii Democrat said in a news release Friday. “In spite of the challenges in Washington, we made sure that Hawaii got its fair share of...

A group of Senate Democrats on Wednesday urged U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to press the government of Israel to protect journalists in Gaza and allow international media to access the war-torn territory. Their letter, which was led by Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) and signed by 16 other Democratic senators, cited the recent deaths of Palestinian journalist Anas al-Sharif, who Israel claims is connected to Hamas, and five other reporters by an Israeli drone strike. More than 190...

A bipartisan group of senators wrote to Meta to raise concerns about the company’s artificial intelligence chatbots. The letter, signed by Sens. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, Josh Hawley, R-Mo., Katie Britt, R-Ala., and others, followed stories from Reuters about CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s frustration with the slow pace of Meta’s AI rollout and about how Meta’s digital companions were permitted to hold “sensual” conversations with children. “The wellbeing of children should not be sacrificed in the race...

U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz has spent the last several weeks back home in Hawai?i, traveling across the islands to talk to voters. He heads back to the nation's capital next week. HPR talked to Schatz about what’s on voters' minds and what the Democratic Party can do to counter the Trump administration's actions. Interview highlights On which national issues are at the forefront for Hawai?i residents U.S. SEN. BRIAN SCHATZ: Most people are just trying to survive and want to understand what all of...

Nearly 250 people gathered at the Kahilu Town Hall in Kamuela on Tuesday to engage with U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, who fielded over a dozen questions about topics ranging from ICE raids and protecting democracy, to the environment and America’s relationship with Israel. Concerns about cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program also were brought up several times in questions from residents. Schatz advised that understanding new eligibility requirements and managing...

Hawai?i U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz visited the Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center on O?ahu as health care facilities and low-income families brace for looming federal cuts. WCCHC serves thousands of low-income households every year, and provides not just health care, but food, job training and other services. Congressional cuts to programs like SNAP and Medicaid, along with cuts to other types of funding, could impact the services of facilities like WCCHC. The health center and Schatz are...

Kauai had the opportunity for an in-person visit with U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) who visited the Garden Island Thursday to visit two of the national wildlife refuges, and meet with the Kauai Chamber of Commerce. During a tour of the Hanalei National Wildlife Refuge and the Kilauea National Wildlife Refuge and Lighthouse, Schatz was able to tour some of the habitat restoration projects and discuss issues. Schatz, a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, has helped secure...

The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs unanimously voted Tuesday to advance a bipartisan housing package that included the Reforming Disaster Recovery Act. The provision, authored by US Sens. Brian Schatz of Hawai‘i and Susan Collins of Maine, would help communities recover from major disasters. “Right now, each time a disaster happens, communities in crisis are forced to wait for Congress to pass a disaster funding bill before Housing and Urban Development can help. Our...

WASHINGTON >> Members of Congress are expressing renewed support for the nation’s weather forecasting system after deadly flooding in Texas and elsewhere put the focus on cuts within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The Trump administration proposed cutting NOAA’s fiscal 2026 budget to $4.5 billion — a 27%, nearly $1.7 billion reduction from the estimated fiscal 2025 spending. But Senate appropriators from both parties highlighted the importance of NOAA, and...

U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, upped his criticism of the Trump administration Wednesday, grilling Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine about the deployment of National Guard and U.S. Marine personnel to quell protests in Los Angeles during a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense hearing. He called on Republicans to kill the president’s so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill” in a speech from the Senate floor.  At the subcommittee hearing,...

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, says he’s in for a fight against cuts by President Donald Trump’s administration. Hawaii is in the midst of several lawsuits against the Trump administration. “I’m more on the side of fighting them because there are very few opportunities for compromise,” Schatz told Hawaii News Now. “It’s a very, very scary time,” he added. Schatz met with various Hawaii groups Tuesday on impacts from the Trump administration and he spoke with leaders...

US Sen. Brian Schatz and a coalition of 29 senators are calling on the US Department of Health and Human Services to immediately reinstate federal Title X family planning funding that was recently withheld from 23 states, including Hawai‘i. In a letter led by Schatz and Sens. Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Mazie Hirono (D-Hawai‘i), the lawmakers warned that the funding lapse endangers health care access for nearly one million low-income and uninsured people. “We urge you to...