The US Senate has approved a measure which will make Native Hawaiians eligible for federally-funded graduate study grants.

Below is an article published by Portfolio:

The U.S. Senate has approved a measure to make Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders eligible for the federally funded McNair Scholars Program.

The program prepares low-income, first generation and underrepresented minority students for graduate studies. The measure came in the form of an amendment to Senate Bill 1642, the Higher Education Bill.

My amendment simply recognizes that Pacific Islanders are an underrepresented group, which will give them the opportunity to apply to the McNair program, said Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, who sponsored it.

Just 14 percent of Pacific Islanders complete four years of college and 4 percent go on to get a graduate degree.