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WASHINGTON -- On Monday evening, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act was about to clear a key hurdle in the Senate. But first, Republicans who opposed the bill were given a chance to voice their criticism on the Senate floor. After all, there had already been speeches from senators who backed the legislation. But then something surprising...

WASHINGTON — A bipartisan group of senators began an effort Wednesday on Capitol Hill to pass a measure removing sexual assault prosecutions in the military from the chain of command. Opposed by the Defense Department and top lawmakers such as Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., the controversial bill nevertheless...

Several members of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, last week announced a bill to help extend emergency care coverage for veterans. The legislation, sponsored by Sens. Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) and Mark Begich (D-Alaska), would expand eligibility for reimbursement for...

In another milestone moment in the pursuit of equal rights for LGBT Americans, the U.S. Senate voted by a narrow margin on Monday to bring to the floor the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. By a vote of 61-30, senators invoked cloture on the legislation as Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) presided. The vote enables up to 30 hours of debate and...

Most people think of tax write-offs as a benefit of money given to charity or expenses related to running a small business. Corporations play by a different set of rules. In their world, costs related to financial settlements with the government for wrongdoing can be written off, reducing the real-world effect of the imposed fines and reducing the...

A loophole in veterans’ healthcare that is leaving some Iraq and Afghanistan veterans facing big medical bills for emergency room treatment is under study by a Senate committee and the Veterans Affairs Department. Fixing the problem has raised larger issues about the long waiting times for initial medical examinations required before a...

WASHINGTON — In the wake of the latest confrontation that pushed the nation to the brink of financial default, lawmakers are posing a management question: Can we continue to trust Congress with raising the nation's debt ceiling? Sen. Barbara Boxer is among a growing group of lawmakers and outside budget experts that say no. "Paying your bills...

You're not the only one who's sick of the debates on increasing the U.S. debt ceiling. Some in Congress are, too. In an effort to keep the threat of default from continuing to serve as a political tool, a group of three Democratic senators has introduced a bill that would change the way negotiations over the country's borrowing limit are...

The Senate voted along party lines Tuesday to reject a GOP effort that would have blocked the approved increase in the national debt limit. The chamber voted 54-45 against the GOP move to try to use a special "disapproval" process to block that increase. The move came as Senate Democrats proposed to avoid future showdowns over the so-called debt...

After voting to reopen the government and avoid default Wednesday, Hawaii's congressional delegation said they were exasperated about how close the nation came to being unable to meet financial obligations and underscored the importance of moving forward. "When you look at how long it took for us to have this vote tonight … I think it gives...

The head of the Senate panel overseeing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said that the agency’s chief is committed to restarting its operations as soon as possible once the government shutdown ends. “Knowing Gina McCarthy the way I do, Administrator McCarthy, she will get up and running as fast as she can,” Sen. Barbara...

During the immigration-bill markup, Hawaii’s Mazie Hirono grilled South Carolina ­Republican Lindsey Graham about college-diploma requirements for new visas. She noted the disparity in female access to education in the developing world. “Could you share with us how you think that unmarried women would fare under the merit...

Like Hawaii’s other congressional delegates, U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono is also not taking pay during the government shutdown, which is now in Day 11. Both CNN and The Washington Post published stories this week listing the members of Congress who are declining pay. Hirono’s office confirmed today that the...

More than 80 students from Mililani Middle School and their escorts booked their trip to Washington, D.C., months ago, so there was no way to know that the U.S. government would shut down during their visit this week. Fortunately, Sen. Mazie Hirono was happy to help out. She and her staff led the students and their...

WASHINGTON -- Democratic female senators are stunned the government is on the verge of shutting down and Republicans are once again using the crisis to target birth control and preventative care for women, a group of them said on Monday. Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) told reporters...

Hawaii's congressional delegation reacted angrily to the partial government shutdown that took effect at midnight in Washington, placing the blame squarely on House Republicans for refusing to compromise. "Republicans accomplished two things tonight, both bad," said U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono said in a statement. "They have manufactured a crisis over...

Mazie Hirono joined Democratic female colleagues Wednesday (Sept. 25) — along with pregnant women, new mothers and medical professionals — to condemn U.S. House Republican attempts to defund health care reform by forcing a government shutdown. Read the entire piece...

Only five women have served as judges on the D.C. Circuit Court in its entire 120-year history. With the D.C. Circuit widely considered to be one of the most important courts in our nation, it's not only troubling but shameful to see female perspectives so underrepresented. Fortunately, the Senate now has the opportunity -- and really, the...

The U.S. Department of Transportation has released another $236.3 million in federal funds for the Honolulu rail transit project, Hawaii’s senators said Thursday. The funding, part of a total $1.55 billion in federal funding for the project from the Federal Transit Administration, comes from the current fiscal year budget,...