“I am deeply disappointed, yet sadly not surprised, by President Trump’s ‘skinny budget’ proposal to eliminate funding for the Native Hawaiian Housing Block Grant in the upcoming fiscal year. This action is a blatant betrayal and shows complete disregard for the federal trust responsibility to Native Hawaiians and unfairly shifts the duty solely to the State of Hawai‘i, ignoring generations of legal, historical, and moral obligations to this community. Claiming there is only one grantee shows a lack of understanding that they serve hundreds of thousands of native Hawaiian beneficiaries and their families. Citing unspent balances as justification oversimplifies a much deeper problem—one rooted not in need, but in execution.
For over a decade, I’ve been calling DHHL on the carpet for their failure to spend down federal housing funds effectively. Back when I was Ways and Means Chair in the Hawai‘i State Senate, I was raising red flags about the $55 million of unspent federal NAHASDA dollars sitting idle while native Hawaiian families sat waiting. In fact, the Obama administration cut their funding for the same reason, because DHHL couldn’t demonstrate they were using the money to deliver results. Year after year, millions of dollars intended to provide housing for native Hawaiian housing and community development have gone unused—not for lack of purpose, but for lack of progress. These delays don’t just waste time and jeopardize funding. They deny housing, stability, and dignity to native Hawaiian families who have been left behind for far too long.
We must demand better. DHHL must step up and the federal government must not walk away. As a Member of Congress, I will fight any attempts by the Trump administration to eliminate Native Hawaiian Housing Block Grant funds, and I will work with beneficiaries, homestead associations, and the State to improve transparency and accountability so we finally deliver on the promises made to our native Hawaiian community.”
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