Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 1, Number 4, 1 Mei 1984 — Matsunaga Amendment Follows NHEAP Report Recommendations [ARTICLE]

Matsunaga Amendment Follows NHEAP Report Recommendations

An amendment by U.S. Sen. Spark M. Matsunaga would include native Hawaiians as native Americans under the American I ndian set-aside program of the Vocational Education Act. The amendment was offered May 2 by Matsunaga and approved by the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee of whieh Matsunaga is a member. committee. The Hawaii lawmaker said his amendment is consistent with the recommendations of the Native Hawaiian Educational Assessment Project report whieh was the subject of hearings both in the Labor Committee and the Select Committee on lndian Affairs several weeks ago. It was at this meeting in Washington, D.C., on Mar. 22 that Trustee Gard Kealoha, chairman of the OHA education subcommittee, presented testimony seeking federal assistance for the educational needs of Hawaiian children.

Matsunaga noted in his amendment that "native Hawaiians will now be eligible for special set-aside funding," adding that "this modification of the Vocational Education Act will foster the establishment of programs to address the unique needs of native Hawaiians; that is, programs whieh consider, accommodate and capitalize on their special cultural traits." Matsunaga said he was pleased with the committee's acceptance of his amendment, but added that "there still is a need and responsibility for our government to continue to address and study the problems faced with native Hawaiians." The senator's amendment is part of a package whieh increases overall authorization for vocational education programs and doubles the Indian setaside from one or two percent — a substantial increase from less than $7 million to $17.6 million a year.