{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.hirono.senate.gov/news/press-releases/hirono-announces-over-14-million-investment-in-public-health-infrastructure-in-hawaii", "Hirono Announces Over $14 Million Investment in Public Health Infrastructure in Hawaii", "2022-11-30", "2022", "2022-11", "Democrat", "Senate", "HI", "Mazie K. Hirono", "H001042", "www.hirono.senate.gov", "hirono", "https://www.hirono.senate.gov/news/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) announced that the Hawaii State Department of Health will receive $14.4 million in federal funding to improve critical public health infrastructure throughout the state as part of the newly developed Public Health Infrastructure Grant Program. The grant program\u2014which is supported in part by the American Rescue Plan\u2014provides awards directly to state, local, and territorial health departments to support investments in public health workforce, infrastructure, and data modernization.\n\n\u201cWhen the COVID-19 pandemic hit, our families, communities, and health care workers in Hawaii felt the devastating consequences of a historically underfunded, understaffed, and under resourced public health system,\u201d said Senator Hirono. \u201cDemocrats in Congress passed the American Rescue Plan to not only help our communities respond to and recover from COVID-19, but to strengthen our nation\u2019s public health infrastructure and better protect the populations they serve. These critical investments will help keep our communities safer now and ensure Hawaii is better prepared for future health crises.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe COVID-19 pandemic cast a spotlight on the importance of public health\u2014a system that is chronically underfunded and resource constrained,\u201d said Cathy Ross, Deputy Director of the Hawaii State Department of Health. \u201cThis new federal funding will help the Department build stronger, more resilient public health infrastructure in Hawaii through investments in workforce, technology, core systems, and health equity. These investments will support healthier communities across the state.\u201d\n\nOver the last decade, state and local public health programs have lost 20 percent of their workforce capacity. These programs are essential for preventing chronic diseases and protecting the nation from current and emerging public health threats.\n\nThe grant\u2014administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)\u2014is the first of its kind, and provides flexible investment so jurisdictions can address their most pressing needs to support their unique public health infrastructure. This funding will help address the historic underinvestment in communities that are economically or socially marginalized, rural communities, and communities comprised of high-risk and underserved populations. In total, the CDC will award $3.2 billion to 107 public health departments throughout the country, $3 billion of which came from the American Rescue Plan.\n\nSpecifically, the grant program supports investments in:\n\nWorkforce: To recruit, retain, support, and train the public health workforce;\n\nFoundational capabilities: To strengthen systems, processes, and policies;\n\nData modernization: To deploy scalable, flexible, and sustainable technologies.\n\nSenator Hirono has long worked to ensure Hawaii\u2019s communities can access the health care they need. In 2020, she helped Community Health Centers across the state secure federal funding during the pandemic, and also helped secure CARES Act funding for the UH Systems to develop workforce training programs in the health care industry. Last month, during a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee hearing, Senator Hirono emphasized the need to address the strain caused by the shortage of health care workers in Hawaii and across the country.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T03:24:37Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.hirono.senate.gov/news/press-releases/hirono-announces-over-14-million-investment-in-public-health-infrastructure-in-hawaii"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.478211022913456, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}