Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 31, Number 10, 1 October 2014 — SCHATZ, BRIAN DEMOCRAT [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

SCHATZ, BRIAN DEMOCRAT

Q1. I support restoration of a government-to-government relationship between the United States and a Native Hawaiian government. Without thislegalandpolitical relationship, Native Hawaiians

will eonīinue to laek true selt-determination. Separate is not equal, and it is long past time for Native Hawaiians to be treated fairly under federal law. I have often spoken about the need for justice for Native Hawaiians on the floor of the Senate, in committee hearings and in private conversations with my Senate colleagues, the President and key Administration officials. I have also said that I firmly believe that it is up to the Native Hawaiian people to eome to a consensus about the form of their own governing entity. My job is to implement that eonsensus, and, in the meantime, continue to fight for federal support for programs and services that benefit the Native Hawaiian community. Q2. The Native Hawaiian Health Care Program was enacted to address health disparities and ameliorate barriers to quality health care for the Native Hawaiian community. The five Native Hawaiian Health Care Systems (NHHCSs), run through the Native Hawaiian Health Care Program, provide critical access to health education, promotion, disease prevention and basic primary care services for more than 7,700 Native Hawaiians on Hawai'i lsland, Kaua'i, Moloka'i, Maui and O'ahu. We have secured $14.4 million in FY14 omnibus appropriations for the Native Hawaiian Health Care Program, and I continue to fight for funding in FY15. 1 know that we need to do more, and to achieve that goal, we need to raise the level of conversation about the health challenges facing Native Hawaiians. I have passed the Cardin-Schatz resolution to promote awareness of health disparities faced by minority populations, including Native Hawaiians, and introduced a bill to improve health-disparity data eolleeiion.