When the Violence Against Women Act was reauthorized in March, it included funding for specialized programs serving Native Hawaiian women. However, a drafting error created an odd quirk: Native Hawaiian organizations could apply for the specialized grants, but could not use the funding to serve Native Hawaiians.

On Wednesday, President Joe Biden signed an amendment authorizing Native Hawaiian access, introduced by Hawaii’s U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono. Programs designed to serve Native Hawaiian communities are overdue, as Hirono noted, and Native Hawaiian women and girls are victims of sexual and gender-based violence at levels far higher than their share of the population.