Appropriations Requests

As a member of the Appropriations Committee, Senator Schatz advocates for federal funding that benefits Hawai‘i. Nonprofits and state/county government agencies that are local recipients, administrators, or stakeholders for federal funding can help determine these priorities by submitting appropriations requests to the senator through this website.  These requests can come in the form of either applications for 1) congressionally directed spending (CDS) or 2) programmatic requests. The submission deadline for FY 26 has passed.

Constituents wishing to express their thoughts on federal appropriations can do so here.

In FY 2026, the Senate Appropriations Committee will accept requests for earmarks, formally referred to as congressionally directed spending.  Earmarks allow senators to set aside federal funds for specific projects in their states.  This is an opportunity for eligible entities to apply to obtain funding for projects that would benefit from a one-time allocation of funds. 

You can view the projects that Senator Schatz funded as earmarks in FY 2024 here and here, and the projects requested in FY 2025 here.

The vast majority of federal discretionary spending, including most of the federal money granted to entities in Hawai‘i (e.g. state and local government, non-profit organizations, and for-profit businesses), qualifies as programmatic funding. Programmatic funds can come in the form of discretionary grants, which are made by federal agencies 1) on a competitive basis (i.e., requiring an application; loans) or 2) using a formula determined by statute. State and local governments, organizations, or other communities that benefit, or stand to benefit, from existing federal programs can advocate for an increase in resources to those programs by submitting programmatic funding requests to Senator Schatz. For more background on programmatic requests and the submission process, please click here.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to a member of the senator’s staff with questions.  The senator’s office strongly encourages first-time requestors to contact a member of the legislative staff far in advance of submission.  Please contact Schatz_Appropriations@schatz.senate.gov to be connected with the appropriate legislative staffer.  A contact list for our office can be found here.  In your initial email, please include a brief description of your project.