led 28 of their colleagues in introducing the Keep Public Funds in Public Schools Act, legislation that would repeal the school voucher provisions tucked into the Republican-passed One Big Beautiful Bill Act
Introduce and support legislation to repeal the federal private school voucher program and keep public dollars in public schools.
Occurrences
Evidence
Congress.gov lists H.R.1 as Public Law No. 119-21 and says Section 70411 establishes a nonrefundable tax credit of up to $1,700 for contributions to scholarship granting organizations for qualified elementary and secondary school expenses.
The Senate roll call on final passage of H.R.1 shows the bill passed 50-50 with the Vice President voting yea; Hirono (D-HI) is listed as Nay.
The 2009 appropriations law funded $14,000,000 for D.C. opportunity scholarships but provided that scholarship funds after school year 2009-2010 would be available only if Congress reauthorized the program and D.C. approved reauthorization.
Congress.gov records H.R.1105 as Public Law No. 111-8, passed by the House 245-178 on February 25, 2009, passed the Senate by voice vote on March 10, and became law on March 11, 2009.
Division C is the Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Act. It states the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program should be reauthorized and provides opportunity scholarships for students to attend private schools.
Congress.gov records H.R.1473 as Public Law No. 112-10, passed by the House 260-167 and the Senate 81-19, and became law on April 15, 2011.
Assessments
During Hirono's federal House service, Congress enacted 2009 appropriations language that restricted D.C. Opportunity Scholarship funding after the 2009-2010 school year unless Congress and D.C. reauthorized it. That was a real partial phaseout of the federal private-school voucher program, but it was not a full or durable repeal, and Congress reauthorized the program in 2011. Later developments, including Hirono's 2025 nay vote on a new federal K-12 scholarship tax credit, show continued opposition but not delivery of the promised repeal or a permanent policy keeping public dollars in public schools.