WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), along with her colleagues Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), wrote to the Department of Commerce Inspector General (IG), seeking an investigation into the publication of documents falsely denying the...
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, issued the following statement on President Biden’s executive actions on immigration and his comprehensive immigration reform proposal:
“Through some of his first actions as President, Joe Biden has demonstrated that his immigration...
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) questioned President-elect Joe Biden’s nominee for Secretary of Defense, retired General Lloyd Austin, during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing today. The Senator pressed General Austin about his plans to address the scourge of sexual assault and harassment in the military,...
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) met with President-elect Biden’s nominee for Secretary of Energy, former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm. Senator Hirono is a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which will consider Governor Granholm’s nomination. After briefly...
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) issued the following statement after President-elect Joe Biden announced the nominations of Judge Merrick Garland to serve as Attorney General, Lisa Monaco to serve as Deputy Attorney General, Vanita Gupta to serve as Associate Attorney General, and Kristen Clarke to serve as Assistant...
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which has jurisdiction over the confirmation of the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) Secretary, met today with President-elect Biden’s nominee, Congresswoman Deb Haaland. Senator Hirono and Rep. Haaland discussed a...
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), and Representatives Veronica Escobar (D-Texas) and Van Taylor (R-Texas), announced that their bipartisan, bicameral legislation to permanently establish the Servicemembers and Veterans Initiative (SVI) inside the Justice Department (DOJ)’s Civil Rights...
HONOLULU – Senator Mazie K. Hirono successfully advocated for education programs in the emergency coronavirus relief bill that will support K-12 schools, colleges and universities, and early childhood programs as they respond to COVID-19. The bill also includes provisions from Senator Hirono’s Pell Grant Preservation and Expansion Act...
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono, a member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, announced she secured a provision from her Veteran Home Loan Disaster Recovery Act in the recently-passed Johnny Isakson and David P. Roe, M.D. Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act. The legislation now heads to President...
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) announced that Congress is poised to restore Medicaid eligibility for citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau – collectively known as the Freely Associated States – living in...
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) met today with Denis McDonough, President-elect Joe Biden’s nominee for Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
Senator Hirono and Mr. McDonough discussed a wide range of concerns regarding the ongoing challenges facing the VA. Mr. McDonough said that he is committed to...
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono, Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Seapower Subcommittee, announced today that she would support a waiver to the National Security Act of 1947 to allow General Lloyd Austin to serve as the next Secretary of Defense after meeting with the nominee.
“After speaking with General Austin...
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), and Representatives Veronica Escobar (D-Texas) and Van Taylor (R-Texas), announced that their bipartisan, bicameral legislation to permanently establish the Servicemembers and Veterans Initiative (SVI) inside the Justice Department (DOJ)’s Civil Rights...
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) met today with Katherine Tai, President-elect Joe Biden’s nominee for U.S. Trade Representative.
Senator Hirono and Ms. Tai discussed the need to make sure U.S. trade policies work for everyone—specifically workers and consumers. They discussed the need to make sure trade deals...
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) issued the following statement after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Emergency Use Authorization to the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine:
“Today’s announcement is a long-awaited milestone in our nation’s fight against COVID-19, and I commend the many people...
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) introduced S. 4986, the Social Security COVID Correction and Equity Act, which provides temporary emergency relief for Social Security beneficiaries, and makes a technical correction to the formula used for determining benefits to prevent substantial cuts...
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), a Senate Armed Services Committee member, announced that a provision she authored to help military spouses achieve their professional goals through licensing, certification, or associate degree programs passed the Senate and is expected to become law. The provision was included in the...
WASHINGTON, D.C. – In a letter to President-Elect Joe Biden, Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) expressed her “strong support” for California Labor and Workforce Development Agency Secretary Julie Su to serve as the next Secretary of the Department of Labor.
“I am strongly supporting Julie Su for the position of Secretary of...
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono, Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Seapower Subcommittee, welcomed the U.S. Navy’s announcement today that it was establishing a new Tech Bridge in Hawaii. A collaboration between the Navy, the University of Hawaii’s Office of Innovation and Commercialization, and the Hawaii...
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), a Senate Armed Services Committee member and National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) conferee, successfully included $65 million to construct a child development center at Aliamanu Military Reservation and $39 million for a Schofield Barracks child development center in the Fiscal Year...