Press Releases

WASHINGTON, DC – Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, joined 17 of her Senate colleagues in a letter to President Joe Biden urging him to act swiftly to finally close the detention facility at U.S. Naval Station Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.  In the letter, led by Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), the Senators wrote that as a...

WASHINGTON, DC – In response to a letter from U.S. Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) and Brian Schatz (D-HI) and U.S. Representatives Jill Tokuda (D-HI) and Ed Case (D-HI), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that it is granting the Hawaii Department of Education (HIDOE) with the flexibility to provide K-12 students with free school...

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) and Bill Hagerty (R-TN) led 27 of their Senate colleagues in sending a bipartisan letter to the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Mike Johnson (R-LA), encouraging him to invite Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to address a Joint Session of Congress during his Official Visit to...

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) joined Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and eight colleagues in introducing the Future Advancement of Academic Nursing (FAAN) Act. This bicameral legislation would support a grant program to increase the number of faculty and students at nursing schools, which is critical to addressing nursing...

WASHINGTON, DC – Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) applauded the unanimous Senate passage of a bipartisan resolution recognizing February 2024 as Career and Technical Education (CTE) Month. The resolution—led by Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), Todd Young (R-IN), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), and Ted Budd (R-NC)—also recognizes the importance of career and...

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, delivered remarks on the Senate floor calling for the text of the recently-renegotiated Compacts of Free Association (COFA) to be added to the national security supplemental bill...

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) released the following statement marking six months since devastating wildfires tore through Lahaina and Upcountry Maui: “Six months after fires tore through Lahaina and Upcountry Maui, we continue to see the heart and resilience of our communities as we recover and remember the lives lost...

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) announced that the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) is awarding over $4 million in funding to various programs and initiatives across Hawaii to prevent the imminent extinction of Hawaiian forest birds. The funding is made possible through the DOI’s Hawaiian Forest Bird Keystone Initiative, a...

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement after voting yes on a procedural vote on the Senate’s national security supplemental funding bill. The measure, which needed 60 votes to advance, failed by a vote of 50-49. “The fate of our allies should...

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) joined 19 of her Senate colleagues in filing an amendment to require that the weapons received by any country under the proposed national security supplemental are used in accordance with U.S. law, international humanitarian law, and the law of armed conflict. “This amendment will help to...

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) joined Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA), U.S. Representative Norma Torres (D-CA), and 18 colleagues in introducing bicameral legislation to improve voter registration efforts at naturalization ceremonies. The Including New Voters In The Electorate (INVITE) Act would designate United States Citizenship...

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) joined over 65 of her congressional colleagues in sending a letter to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairwoman, Jessica Rosenworcel, supporting the Commission’s proposal to expand the E-Rate program to allow schools and libraries to loan out Wi-Fi hotspots to students and educators. In...

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) and Brian Schatz (D-HI) joined Senators Dan Sullivan (R-AK) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) in introducing legislation to increase the amount that hospitals in Hawaii and Alaska can be reimbursed by Medicare to perform outpatient care, such as emergency department visits and imaging services, for...

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) joined Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and four colleagues in introducing the Preventing Algorithmic Collusion Act to prevent companies from using algorithms to collude to set higher prices. “Healthy, transparent competition is critical to making sure consumers and small businesses are treated...

~ Lawmakers introduce legislation to speed up enforcement against companies that allow landlords to collude on rent increases ~ WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) joined Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) and six colleagues in introducing the Preventing the Algorithmic Facilitation of Rental Housing Cartels Act, legislation that would crack...

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and Chair of the Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support, introduced Admiral Samuel J. Paparo, Jr. at a full Committee hearing considering his nomination to serve as the next Commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM)....

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) joined Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) and Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) in reintroducing the Guaranteed Refugee Admission Ceiling Enhancement (GRACE) Act, legislation that would ensure a U.S. President could not set a Presidential Determination on Refugee Admissions below 125,000 refugees. “The...

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, pressed the CEOs of five major social media platforms—Meta, X Corp., TikTok Inc., Snap Inc., and Discord Inc.—about the dangers that underage users face on these platforms. In the hearing, Senator Hirono called out the companies for attracting...

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) and U.S. Representative Grace Meng (D-NY) led 48 other Senators and Representatives in sending a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), urging the...

~ Delegation Worked With USDA To Push For Increase For Hawaii ~ WASHINGTON, DC – Following calls led by U.S. Senators Mazie Hirono (D-HI) and Brian Schatz and U.S. Representatives Ed Case (D-HI) and Jill Tokuda (D-HI), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that it will increase the recently-authorized summer meal benefit for children...