Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Cory Booker (D-NJ), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) introduced the Sexual Harassment Independent Investigations and Prosecutions (SHIIP) Act to remove sexual harassment from the military chain of command. The bill...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), Cory Booker and Bob Menendez (both D-NJ) led 10 of their Senate colleagues in submitting comments in support of the Biden Administration’s proposal to better support immigrants by updating the “public charge” regulation. The Biden Administration’s proposed...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), Chair of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower, convened a subcommittee hearing to examine investment priorities for the Navy and Marine Corps for fiscal year 2023 (FY23). In the hearing, she questioned Navy and Marine Corps leadership about budget priorities including...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) held events on Hawaii Island focused on lowering costs for working families and investing in Hawaii communities. Amid rising costs around the world, Senator Hirono and her Democratic colleagues are doing everything in their power to lower costs for families. Senate Democrats have taken...

HONOLULU, HI – Today, Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI) held a roundtable discussion with members of the American Diabetes Association Hawaii Chapter on the need to address the rising cost of insulin and other prescription drugs. Last month, Senator Hirono co-sponsored the Affordable Insulin Now Act, legislation to limit out-of-pocket cost of...

HONOLULU, HI – Today, Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI) visited Kalihi Kai Elementary School to meet with Hawaii Department of Education officials and discuss the need to extend flexibilities that have allowed schools to continue feeding students throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Last month, Senator Hirono co-sponsored legislation to extend these...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), and SASC Chairman Jack Reed (D-RI) toured the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility on Oahu and met with Servicemembers at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. During the tour, they received an update on the Department of Defense’s...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI) joined Senators Chris Coons (D-DE) and Roy Blunt (R-MO) introducing bipartisan legislation to reauthorize the Victims of Child Abuse Act (VOCAA). The law, first enacted in 1990, provides the only dedicated source of funding for Children’s Advocacy Centers, which bring together teams of law...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI) joined Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) in reintroducing legislation to prohibit the selling of essential goods and services at exorbitant prices during or in anticipation of a natural disaster, pandemic, or state of emergency....

WASHINGTON, D.C. – At a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) questioned Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin about next steps for fuel storage and environmental remediation following his decision to defuel and permanently close the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility on Oahu, which Senator Hirono strongly...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, voted to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to serve as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Judge Jackson was confirmed by a vote of 53-47. “Today is a historic day. For the first time in our country’s...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, delivered remarks on the Senate floor in support of the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to serve as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Throughout the confirmation process, Senator Hirono has repeatedly...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today voted to advance the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to serve as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States out of Committee. “Through 2 days of questioning in front of the Judiciary Committee, Judge...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI) joined Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), 18 of their Senate colleagues, and 76 members of the House in a letter to President Biden urging the administration to act now and extend the pause on federally-held student loan payments until at least the...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI) joined Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Chair of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, and a bipartisan group of Senators in introducing the Support Kids Not Red Tape Act, legislation to keep children from going hungry by extending U.S. Department of Agriculture...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) joined Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) and 15 of their Senate colleagues in introducing a resolution recognizing the achievements and courage of the transgender, nonbinary, gender-nonconforming, and gender-diverse communities around the world, and to celebrate International Transgender Day of...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) joined a bipartisan group of women Senators in sending a letter to President Biden, urging his administration to take action in response to the Taliban’s decision to renege on a commitment to allow Afghan girls to return to secondary school. The Senators wrote, “While we are...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) today announced the promotion of Coti Haia to Chief of Staff. “I am proud to announce that Coti Haia will serve as my Chief of Staff,” said Senator Hirono. “Coti has been an invaluable member of my team, most recently serving as my Deputy Chief of Staff in Washington,...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) announced that the state of Hawaii will receive $3,641,796 in federal funding for the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP), which provides grants for households with low incomes to save money by increasing the energy efficiency of their homes. The funding comes from the...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – At an Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing, Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) questioned Dr. Siddharth Mohandas, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for East Asia, Mark Lambert, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, and Keone Nakoa, Deputy Assistant Secretary for the...