Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Tom Carper (D-Del.), and 40 of their U.S. Senate colleagues introduced legislation that would prevent the U.S. from withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement. The International Climate Accountability Act would also require the President...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) highlighted the efforts of Kauai Island Utility Cooperative (KIUC) and Hawaiian Electric to deploy renewable energy plus storage facilities across the state at a Senate Energy and Natural Reurces Committee hearing on energy storage today. Senator Hirono also spoke about her visit to the...

HONOLULU – Last week, Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), along with twenty of her U.S. Senate colleagues, introduced a resolution to commemorate the life and legacy of Representative Patsy Takemoto Mink, who served in the U.S. House of Representatives for 12 terms. November 3, 2019 will mark the 55th anniversary of Rep. Mink’s election...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Last week, Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), along with 22 of her U.S. Senate colleagues, introduced a resolution recognizing the significance of Asian Pacific American (APA) Heritage Month and the contributions of the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. “APA Heritage Month is an opportunity to...

HONOLULU – Following a meeting with Dr. Jim Reilly, Director of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Senator Mazie K. Hirono announced that USGS has committed to keeping the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) on Hawaii Island. “The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory is an integral part of the Hawaii Island community, as we saw when HVO...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) fought successfully to include critical priorities for Hawaii in the FY2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The bill, which sets policy and funding levels for the Department of Defense and the national security programs of the Department of Energy, passed the Senate Armed...

WASHINGTON, D.C. –  Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) successfully secured a number of provisions in the Bipartisan Disaster Supplemental Bill to assist individuals and communities in Hawaii impacted by natural disasters in 2018. The $19.1 billion measure passed the Senate on an 85-8 vote. “Last year’s natural disasters...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) introduced the Adoptee Citizenship Act of 2019 – a bipartisan legislation to close a loophole in the Child Citizenship Act of 2000 that prevented internationally-adopted children from receiving U.S....

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) introduced the Filipino Veterans Family Reunification Act, a bill that would expedite the visa process for children of Filipino World War II veterans. Representatives Ed Case (D-Hawaii) and Don Young (R-Alaska) introduced companion legislation in the...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.), along with six of their U.S. Senate colleagues, introduced the Youth Access to Sexual Health Services (YASHS) Act. The YASHS Act would authorize the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to award grants that support access to sexual health...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Earlier this month, Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), and eight of their U.S. Senate colleagues sent a letter to Facebook to demand the social media giant do more to block gun sales facilitated on its social media enterprises, Facebook and Instagram. In their letter to Facebook Chairman and CEO...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) sent a letter to Lee Francis Cissna, the Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and Chad Wolf, the Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Under Secretary at the Office of Strategy, Policy, and Plans, and urged them to take immediate action...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) announced that University of Hawaii West Oahu (UHWO) will receive nearly $2.5 million in support from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to improve college readiness and success for Native Hawaiian high school and college students, and provide them with STEM learning...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) introduced legislation to better inform the public about the effects that sunscreen chemicals have on coral reefs around the world. The Oxybenzone and Octinoxate Impact Study Act of 2019 would require the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to study...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Tuesday, Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) sent letters to Robert L. Sumwalt, Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), and Dan Elwell, the Acting Administrator at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), over safety concerns following a deadly helicopter crash last week in a residential area of...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Last week, Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), along with U.S. Senators Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), and Tina Smith (D-Minn.), introduced the Protecting American Consumers from Robocalls Act. The bill would help end illegal robocalls in...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) welcomed the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s (PTO’s) announcement that it had extended its full-time telework program, the Telework Enhancement Act Pilot Program (TEAPP), to Hawaii and Alaska. The decision to extend TEAPP follows Senator Hirono’s...

WASHINGTON, D.C. –Today, Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Angus King (I-Maine) introduced S.Res.177, a resolution supporting the designation of April 30, 2019, as “National Adult Hepatitis B Vaccination Awareness Day.” Hepatitis B is a viral infection of the liver transmitted via infected blood and other body fluids and is...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) led 11 Senators in urging Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz and Director of the Department of Justice’s Office of Professional Responsibility Corey Amundson to investigate Attorney General William Barr’s conduct while handling Special Counsel Robert...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Earlier this month, Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), along with nine of her colleagues, sent a bipartisan letter to the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations’ Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies to request $50 million in funding to the U.S. Department...