Press Releases

HONOLULU, HI – Today, Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), toured the Honolulu Harbor and Kapalama Container Terminal (KCT) site, and met with officials from the Hawaii Department of Transportation (HDOT) and shipping companies to discuss the progress of the KCT expansion project and the importance of the $3 billion included in the Inflation...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – As Republicans continue pushing to ban abortion nationwide and attack the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) historic action to provide abortion care for Veterans in certain circumstances, U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, condemned Republicans’...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), introduced a resolution designating the week of September 26th through October 2nd, 2022 as Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions (AANAPISI) Week. The resolution recognizes the achievements and goals of AANAPISIs in their work to provide quality educational...

WASHINGTON, D.C. –Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, voted to pass the Speak Out Act, bipartisan, bicameral legislation she led with Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) to limit the enforceability of non-disclosure agreements and non-disparagement...

WASHINGTON, D.C. –Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, introduced a resolution recognizing the 50th anniversaries of the establishment of Hanalei National Wildlife Refuge on Kauai and Pearl Harbor National Wildlife Refuge on Oahu. The resolution, cosponsored by Senator Brian Schatz...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, announced the introduction of legislation to research the use of “natural infrastructure,” or naturally occurring landscape, to protect communities from the impact of climate change at a Senate Energy and Natural...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) voted to pass legislation to fund the government through December 16th, expand aid to Ukraine, provide emergency relief aid, reauthorize FDA user fees, and help families to afford heating. “Funding the government should never be up for debate, which is why I’m glad the...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, joined 18 of her Senate colleagues in introducing comprehensive legislation to address the rise in threats targeting election workers. The Election Worker Protection Act would provide states with the resources to recruit and train election...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Following a successful push led by Senator Mazie K. Hirono, member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, to get the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to begin providing abortion services, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) confirmed in a legal opinion that VA has the legal authority to provide abortion services in...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) joined Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) in introducing legislation to support survivors of sexual assault on college campuses. The Survivor Outreach and Support on Campus Act, or S.O.S. Campus Act, would require every college and university that receives federal funding to have an independent...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, questioned a panel of experts about developments in energy storage and battery technologies, and the importance of these technologies to Hawaii’s goal of transitioning to 100 percent renewable power by 2045, during a full...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), all members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, opened an investigation into the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) program following disturbing reports of widespread patterns of sexual...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), a member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, announced that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) awarded $1.5 million in federal funding to Hawaii to support veterans’ suicide prevention efforts. The funding is made possible through the Commander John Scott...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, voted to advance the DISCLOSE Act of 2021, legislation to end dark-money spending in our elections. The legislation failed by a vote of 49-49, without a single Republican voting in favor. Shortly before voting, Senator Hirono spoke about...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, questioned a panel of Department of Defense (DOD) leaders about the impact that access to reproductive health care, family planning, and military culture have on military recruitment and retention efforts during a hearing of the...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, questioned Denis McDonough, Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA), about legal protections for VA employees who provide abortion care—as well as challenges veterans in Hawaii face, including excessive wait times in VA...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) introduced legislation to combat Rapid Ohia Death (ROD), which has killed more than a million Ohia trees in Hawaii since its discovery in 2014. The Continued Rapid Ohia Death Response Act of 2022 authorizes $55 million in federal funding over the next eleven years to support ongoing...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, delivered remarks at a Senate National Parks Subcommittee hearing, emphasizing the importance of the Kaena Point National Heritage Area Act, which she introduced earlier this year. This bicameral legislation would require the...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) announced that the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding a $3.8 million grant to Hi‘ipaka, LLC, Haleiwa, Hawaii, to boost tourism through the renovation and expansion of an important Native Hawaiian cultural site and popular...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement on the appointment of Rear Admiral John Wade to serve as Commander of the Joint Task Force responsible for the safe defueling and closure of the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility on Oahu: “In...