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The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted at 9:09 a.m., Monday, February 4, 2008

Native Hawaiian programs cut in Bush's 2009 budget

By DENNIS CAMIRE
Advertiser Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — President Bush's $3.1 trillion budget proposal for next year, released Monday, calls for eliminating two Native Hawaiian programs totaling $39 million.

The programs are among the 151 that Bush wants eliminated or cut back to save more than $18 billion in his budget plan.

One, the Native Hawaiian education program, received $33.3 million this year for recruiting and training teachers and for renovating public schools with a high percentage of Native Hawaiian students.

Under the second program, Hawai'i received $6 million this year to provide Native Hawaiians with secondary and vocational training to help them enter and advance in the workplace.

But the proposed cuts face an uncertain future. Each year, Bush tries to reduce or eliminate programs but faces resistance in Congress, which maintains budget authority.