The goal of closing the digital divide — ensuring fast internet speeds for all was embraced as a goal for public good. But last month on social media, President Donald Trump targeted the Digital Equity Act as racist and illegal, and is now proposing cuts.
The spending bill that squeaked by the House on one vote is now under scrutiny in the Senate.
Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke is headed to Washington, D.C., this week to talk with federal officials on a number of issues, but she says Hawaiʻi stands to lose $6 million in broadband funding under the president's proposed spending bill. The money had been budgeted for outreach over five years.
The Conversation spoke to Luke about the potential loss of broadband funding and uncertainties about funding for the early education program Head Start.
Interview highlights
On the broadband funding loss and Connect Kākou
LT. GOV. SYLVIA LUKE: Broadband is so important and one of the things that we really touted, because our office is heading up the Connect Kākou initiative, which is to provide every resident in the state of Hawaiʻi affordable, reliable internet service. And that is really important, because it is a game-changer. And no matter where you live, whether it's in Nāʻālehu or Puna or Kekaha, you know, I mean, we should try to equalize the playing field for many of the communities. And we were so grateful to the federal government during the prior administration, because they provided close to, I would say, half a billion dollars of investment to the state of Hawaiʻi alone to expand broadband services. And so now it's disappointing that the federal government is taking a look at some of these broadband initiatives, and taking it down and terminating or suspending. So the amount that we're talking about, so let's put that in perspective. So broadband is, when we look at broadband, it's a three-legged stool, so we need the infrastructure, which is the lines, right, and then the second thing is, even with the infrastructure, you need the devices, so these are the digital, the laptops or pocket Wi-Fis, or even your phone, you need the devices. But the third thing, which is an important component, is we need to bring digital literacy up for our residents, because even if we have the infrastructure, we have the devices, if people don't know how to use it, then all those amounts that we have invested becomes wasted, and the part that we are very disappointed in is the $6 million that has been canceled goes directly into digital literacy. And we were working with the various county folks to engage the community organizations and nonprofits to see what is the best way to bring digital literacy up in the entire state.
On Ready Keiki and uncertainties about Head Start funding
LUKE: Our Ready Keiki initiative is an effort to ensure that all 3- and 4-year-olds have access to high-quality preschool education. And few months ago, we heard that the White House and the federal administration was poised to eliminate Head Start. Head Start funding was crucial for the state of Hawaiʻi, and Head Start is something that is specifically allocated for some of our low-income families, and it's not just preschool education, but it's a lot of wraparound services for their family members. So it provided a specific need for a certain community. And the loss of Head Start funding, it would have had a huge impact in our state. Thankfully, that did not happen. I think a lot of the other states raised concerns about the loss of Head Start. Doesn't mean that it won't happen in the next coming years. So this is something that we're watching very closely. So that's why, for the state of Hawaiʻi, we want to make sure that regardless of what happens on the federal side, we want to continue to provide high-quality early education access for our kids. So the Ready Keiki initiative is not just about building public preschool seats, but it's supporting private providers and low-income and middle-income individuals in getting access to private childcare centers as well. So those efforts continue. And the last couple years, we've opened close to 60 public classrooms. In the next two years, we're planning to open another 50.
This interview aired on The Conversation on June 2, 2025. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. Hannah Kaʻiulani Coburn adapted this interview for the web.
