Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), Chair of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower, successfully included new provisions in the FY 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would strengthen window safety protections for children living in military housing. These protections build on the legacy of...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) announced today that the Senate Armed Services Committee added an $85 million authorization for the Homeland Defense Radar-Hawaii (HDR-H) during its markup of the Fiscal Year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), rejecting the administration’s decision to zero out funding...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), Chair of the Senate Armed Services Seapower Subcommittee, announced that the Fiscal Year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) includes more than $74 billion for critical Navy and Marine Corps Programs. This includes over $2 billion in additional funds on top of the base budget...

HONOLULU — Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) introduced her plan to improve opportunities for women and minorities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. “Amid growing global economic competition, the United States cannot afford to ignore the barriers women and minorities face in pursuing STEM education and...

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), a member of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, introduced the Veterans and Family Information Act, legislation that would require the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to make critical information it provides veterans and their families more accessible for non-English...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Congresswoman Doris Matsui (D-Calif.) reintroduced the bicameral Patsy T. Mink and Louise M. Slaughter Gender Equity in Education Act (GEEA), legislation that would provide additional resources, training, and technical assistance to combat harassment and discrimination in...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.), chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Representatives Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) and Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-Va.), chairman of the House Education & Labor Committee, reintroduced the Pell Grant...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), Representative Ed Case (D-Hawaii), and Representative Steve Womack (R-Ark.) introduced bipartisan, bicameral legislation to restore access to a range of federal benefits for citizens of the Freely Associated States of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), and Susan Collins (R-Maine) wrote to President Joe Biden urging him to take immediate action to ensure women’s rights and safety are protected in the wake of the pending U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. Noting that protecting Afghan women and girls...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) introduced a resolution marking May as Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. The resolution highlights the contributions to our country by generations of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. “This Asian Pacific American Heritage Month is particularly...

WASHINGTON, DC – Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) issued the following statement after President Joe Biden signed the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act into law: “After a year in which the AAPI community experienced a horrifying rise in hate crimes and incidents driven by racist and inflammatory language during the pandemic, I was proud to...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), and Representatives Ed Case (D-Hawaii) and Don Young (R-Alaska) today reintroduced the Filipino Veterans Family Reunification Act (S.1708), legislation that would speed up the visa process for children of Filipino World War II...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), and Tim Kaine (D-Va.) introduced a resolution calling for the United States Senate to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). UNCLOS, which has been ratified by 166 nations and the European Union, details the rights and...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), along with her colleagues Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) reintroduced the I am Vanessa Guillen Act, legislation that addresses sexual harassment and sexual assault...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono, Chair of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower, issued the following statement after reports of a fuel release at the Red Hill Bulk Storage Facility: “Earlier today, I spoke with Admiral Aquilino – who provided me with an update on the fuel release at Red Hill. While the...

HONOLULU – Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), along with their colleagues Senators Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) sent letters yesterday to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby...

HONOLULU – Senator Mazie K. Hirono, Chair of the Senate Armed Services Seapower Subcommittee, issued the following statement after Admiral John C. Aquilino assumed command of the United States Indo-Pacific Command, following last week’s unanimous Senate confirmation vote:  “Last month, I introduced and endorsed Admiral...

WASHINGTON, DC –Today, Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), along with her colleagues Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) sent a letter to President Biden calling on him to direct his administration to address sexual harassment in the scientific professions. As...

WASHINGTON, DC –Today, Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) announced that the Kona Soil and Water Conservation District and seven partners have been awarded $2,028,572 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to boost biodiversity and support wildlife habitat for a variety of Hawaiian forest birds, including the akiapolaau, Hawaii akepa,...

WASHINGTON, DC –Today, the U.S. Senate passed the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act by a vote of 94-1, a bill to address the rise in hate crimes and violence against the AAPI community. Following its passage, Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), and Representative Grace Meng (D-N.Y.) called for swift House consideration of...