Press Releases

(Washington, DC) – U.S. Congressman Ed Case (HI-01), a member of the U.S. House Appropriations Committee responsible for federal funding, yesterday voted in Committee against the proposed Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) Appropriations bill that slashed support for key small business programs and for agencies that safeguard the public.

The FSGG Appropriations bill funds the U.S. Treasury Department, the Small Business Administration (SBA), federal courts, the Federal Communications Commission, the Office of Personnel Management and various independent agencies. The bill’s proposed FY 2026 discretionary funding level is $23.2 billion, $2.9 billion below the current FY 2025 enacted level.

“While this measure funds many critical national and local priorities for Hawai‘i that I requested, I regrettably had to vote against this version because of severe funding cuts to programs assisting the some 134,000 small businesses who form the backbone of Hawaii’s economy,” said Case. “These include efforts that aid entrepreneurs, provide mentorship training and expand trade opportunities in the international marketplace.” 

“In addition, the bill slashes funding to agencies that protect the public, such as the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which keeps us safe against unreasonable risks of injury and death associated with defective products,” said Case. “The measure also reduces support for the Federal Trade Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission, both of which keep us secure from scams, price-gouging and market manipulation.”

Case spoke in Committee in support of Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI), which play an important role in helping Hawai‘i. It assists specialized community-based financial institutions that promote economic development by providing financial products and services to people and communities underserved by traditional financial institutions, particularly in low-income and minority communities.

He stressed that in Hawai‘i alone, there are 11 certified CDFIs that in Fiscal Year 2022 made 935 loan originations that totaled $132 million, all repayable. He urged full funding to the CDFI Fund which supports CDFI efforts of FY 2025 funding already appropriated by Congress but wrongfully withheld by the administration and noted that his no vote on the FY 2026 funding measure was in part because it slashed $47 million from the current year appropriation. See his speech in the Appropriations Committee here.

Case also offered an amendment directing the Government Accountability Office (GAO, Congress’ own independent oversight agency) to review current budget execution by the executive branch and to provide recommendations on how to modernize and improve these frameworks. His amendment aimed at safeguarding taxpayer dollars and ensuring that agencies implement appropriations in a timely and predictable way. See Case’s speech in Committee here.

Despite serious issues with the bill, through his assignment on the Committee Case was still able to gain approval of his funding requests for federal programs and services important for the State of Hawai‘i including:  

·                 $35 million for CDFIs,

·                 $35 million for the Native American Community Development Financial Institution Assistance Program,  

·                 $5.3 million for the Native American Outreach Program,  

·                 $150 million for Small Business Development Centers,  

·                 $41 million for the Microloan Technical Assistance Program.

·                 $27 million for the Women’s Business Centers Program,  

·                 $11 million for the Regional Innovation Clusters Program, 

·                 $10 million for the State Trade Expansion Program,  

·                 $7 million for the Program for Investment in Micro-Entrepreneurs, 

·                 $3 million for the Historically Underutilized Business Zones Program, 

·                 $110 million for the Drug-Free Communities Program,  

·                 $300 million for the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas Program, and

·                 $1.6 billion for Defender Services.

In addition, the bill included his provision directing the SBA to coordinate with relevant federal agencies, businesses, employees and financial institutions about employee ownership, including cooperatives and employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs), provide technical assistance to assist employees in becoming business owners, and assist in accessing capital sources.

"ESOPs and similar employee ownership structures are vital to building succession plans to ensure small businesses remain in their communities where they belong,” said Case. “In Hawai‘i, we’ve seen firsthand the benefits of ESOPs. Hawai‘i is home to the second-oldest ESOP chapter in the nation, underscoring the success and importance of employee-owned businesses in our state.”

This provision builds off Case’s bipartisan measure (H.R. 2993) that would assist small businesses to adopt ESOPs, which offer a tested solution to employment and business productivity, stability and ownership transfer. (See here for more information.)

A summary of the FSGG Appropriations bill is available here.

This is the 10th bill of twelve separate bills developed and approved by the Appropriations Committee that would fund the federal government at some $1.6 trillion for FY 2026 commencing October 1^st of this year. The bill now moves on to the full House of Representatives for its consideration.

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