Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, applauded the Department of Defense’s (DOD) step to release of directed policies expanding access to reproductive care for servicemembers. The policies extend the timeframe for servicemembers to inform their commanders...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, questioned a panel of experts about the importance of updating military infrastructure and collaborating with Pacific region partners and allies—two of her top priorities as the incoming Chair of the Subcommittee on Readiness...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) today joined 11 of her Senate Democratic colleagues in sending a letter to President Biden urging the Biden administration to take new steps to protect reproductive freedom amidst divided control of Congress and increasing efforts to restrict access to abortion. In addition to Senator...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, along with her Judiciary Committee colleagues Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), introduced legislation to strengthen online privacy protections for children when websites collect their personally identifiable...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) joined Senators Jon Ossoff (D-GA) and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) and a bipartisan group of Senate colleagues in a letter urging the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to address the challenges veterans face when seeking mammogram services, key medical examinations that help detect early signs...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) sent a letter to Dr. Kilolo Kijakazi, Acting Commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA), urging her to take action to reduce call hold times for individuals calling from Hawaii. Due to a recent change in how calls to SSA call centers are routed, callers from Hawaii...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) joined Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Representatives Jill Tokuda (D-HI) and Ed Case (D-HI) in introducing the Macadamia Tree Health Initiative Amendments Act. “This legislation will build on the Hawaii’s delegation’s work to strengthen research initiatives into...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) and Michael Bennet (D-CO) introduced the Secure Access for Essential Reproductive (SAFER) Health Act, legislation that would expand patient privacy protections by strengthening the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) to prohibit medical providers from...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) joined the Hawaii congressional delegation in introducing the Coffee Plant Health Initiative Amendments Act, bipartisan legislation that would broaden current language included in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) high priority initiatives in support of the coffee...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, was named Chair of the Committee’s Subcommittee on Readiness & Management Support for the 118th Congress. The Readiness Subcommittee oversees the capabilities and preparedness of U.S. Armed Forces and has jurisdiction over military...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) released the following statement on President Biden’s State of the Union Address: “Tonight, President Biden highlighted the historic progress Democrats have made for the American people over the past two years. From capping health care costs, to rebuilding our infrastructure, to fighting...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) has invited Kalei Grant, a Native Hawaiian trafficking survivor leader who now advocates for other survivors of sex trafficking and other forms of gender-based violence, to be her guest for President Biden’s State of the Union Address. Last month, Kalei participated in a...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, joined Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) in a letter to the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Department of Education (ED) amid reports of students being forced to join the Junior Reserve...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) applauded the U.S. Mint’s announcement that its 2024 American Women Quarters collection will include a quarter honoring Rep. Patsy T. Mink, the first woman to represent Hawaii in the U.S. Congress and the first woman of color to serve in Congress. The announcement follows a...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) led 5 of their Senate colleagues in sending a letter to Danco Laboratories, a manufacturer of mifepristone, urging them to submit an application to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to add miscarriage management to the...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) joined Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Martin Heinrich (D-NM) in a press conference calling on Republicans to show the American people their plan to end the threat of a first-ever default on the national debt.   “The...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) joined several of her House and Senate colleagues to introduce a bicameral resolution affirming the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), which would enshrine gender equity in the U.S. Constitution. Despite the required 38 states voting to ratify the amendment,...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) and Representative Jill Tokuda (D-HI) joined their colleagues in introducing a bicameral package of bills honoring civil rights icon Fred Korematsu on the anniversary of his birthday. The bills, also introduced by Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Representative Mark Takano...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, sent a letter to Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro pressing him for details on the Navy’s response to the fuel leaks at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility on Oahu. Specifically, Senator Hirono requests updates on a...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) released the following statement applauding the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) decision to update their discriminatory blood donor deferral policies for men who have sex with men (MSM): “For too long, gay and bisexual men have been unjustly banned from donating...