Hirono meets with students, advocates, local businesses on O‘ahu

U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono, a Hawai‘i Democrat, recently met with kindergarten through 12th-grade educators, community advocates and small businesses on O‘ahu to discuss the importance of federal funding and harmful consequences of policies enacted by the President Donald Trump Administration .

Those policies include Trump’s “on-again, off-again” tariffs on small businesses and families, and the administration’s deep cuts to education funding.

Hirono hosted a K-12 education roundtable Jan. 20 with local education leaders and groups to discuss the recent decision by U.S. Department of Education to transfer dozens of federal education programs to other federal agencies.

“Since Day 1, Trump and his regime have been illegally attacking the Department of Education, sowing chaos for millions of students across the country in an attempt to abolish the department altogether,” said Hirono in a release about her visit. “Now, in an attempt to dismantle [the Education Department], this administration plans to transfer federal education programs to agencies like the [U.S.] Department of Labor and the Department of Health and Human Services — agencies that are not at all equipped to handle these programs.”

She added that the administration is jeopardizing the futures of keiki. She will continue doing everything in her power to continue federal support for public education and ensure every child has access to a quality education.

“I was glad to meet with local education leaders and groups [to] discuss the importance of collaboration as we fight to defend our students, educators and communities against these attacks,” Hirono said.

She also visited Mōkapu Elementary School on Marine Corps Base Hawai‘i, where she toured the new campus made possible by federal funding.

Hirono met with student ambassadors who are part of the school’s transition center, which was created to better assist other students with the transition to a new learning environment. Campus renovations included adding an administration and library building, as well as two classroom complexes with capacity to support nearly 1,000 students.

The renovations were made possible by $96 million in federal funding through the U.S. Department of Defense’s Public Schools on Military Installations program, for which Hirono has consistently advocated.

Hirono also stopped by the Blood Bank of Hawai‘i Bloodmobile at her alma mater Kaimuki High School, where she met with student organizers, donors and blood bank leadership.

American Red Cross recently declared a severe national blood shortage, with national blood supply falling about 35% during the past month.

The senator discussed the importance of these lifesaving contributions and significance of the Blood Bank of Hawai‘i and Hawai‘i Department of Education’s innovative phlebotomist training program that helps students earn money and receive college credits to help jump start their careers in health care.

Hirono also visited the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America chapter on O‘ahu.

The nonprofit youth mentoring organization in 2024 received $1.5 million in federal funding Hirono helped secure, which supported the purchase and renovation of its new headquarters in Honolulu.

Hirono continued her visit by heading to local businesses, including Times Supermarket Liliha, where she met with store management to discuss rising costs of groceries because of inflation and Trump’s cuts to benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP and often still called food stamps.

They also discussed DA BUX Double Up Food Bucks, a statewide program offered by The Food Basket — Hawai’i Island’s food bank to help make locally grown produce more affordable for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program customers.

Hirono then visited family-owned candy and snack shop Lin’s Hawaiian Snacks serving the Kakaʻako neighborhood.

She met with store ownership and management to discuss how Trump’s reckless tariffs impacted their business operations and bottom line.

“As a result of the reckless tariffs Trump has imposed on other countries, small businesses in Hawai‘i and across the country are feeling an existential threat, as they are forced to make difficult decisions to keep their doors open,” Hirono said. “Trump and Republicans’ ‘Big Ugly Bill’ has also gutted funding for [Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program], putting over 160,000 people in Hawai‘i and 40 million Americans at risk of not being able to put food on the table.”

The Hawai’i U.S. senator added that while the president and his administration give millions in tax breaks to his billionaire buddies, businessowners are struggling and the cost of living increases day by day.

“I will continue working with partners in Hawai‘i and across the country to better protect businesses like Lin’s from the fallout of Trump’s tariffs,” she said. “And I remain committed to combatting this regime’s chaos and cruelty and will not stop working until every American has access to the resources they need to keep their families healthy and fed.”