Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C.– Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) joined Senators Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), and 16 of their colleagues, to unveil new legislation aimed at improving school infrastructure in the United States. The bill, the Rebuild America’s Schools Act, would provide $100 billion in federal grants and school...

WASHINGTON, D.C.– On what would have been his 100th Birthday, Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Chris Coons (D-Del.), and Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) and Representative Mark Takano (D-Calif.) introduced bicameral legislation to award Fred Korematsu the Congressional Gold Medal in recognition of his fight against the...

WASHINGTON, D.C.– Today, Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) joined 32 BJ SEIU union members and several of her colleagues, including Senators Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), to urge the passage of legislation that would secure back pay for federal contractor employees...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In a bipartisan letter to Margaret M. Weichert, Acting Director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska.), and several of their colleagues wrote to the Trump Administration urging OPM to provide back pay for federal workers as...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono released the following statement after the announcement that a deal has been reached to end the Trump shutdown:  “Today’s announcement is a welcome, albeit temporary, end to this unnecessary, unconscionable Trump shutdown. “Over the past 35 days, Donald Trump took hundreds...

WASHINGTON, D.C.– Today, Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) announced that Hawaii will receive nearly $1 million in continued support under the federal Preschool Development Grant program. This funding will support ongoing efforts to promote and improve the quality of early learning opportunities for children by better connecting and aligning...

WASHINGTON, D.C.- Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), and 21 of their colleagues introduced legislation to secure back pay for the federal contractor employees impacted by the government shutdown. The bill—the Fair Compensation for Low-Wage Contractor Employees Act—would provide back pay up to $600 per...

WASHINGTON, D.C.- Senator Mazie K. Hirono was reappointed to serve as the Ranking Member on the Senate Armed Services Seapower Subcommittee, which oversees the vast majority of U.S. Navy and Marine Corps programs. “Our Navy and Marine Corps are at the center of confronting many of our country’s most pressing strategic...

WASHINGTON, D.C.– Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) joined hundreds of furloughed federal employees who are members of more than 20 labor unions at a rally to call on President Donald Trump and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to end the government shutdown.   From Senator Hirono’s remarks at the rally:   “We...

WASHINGTON, D.C.–Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Senator Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) led 13 senators in urging Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen to reexamine her Department’s “arbitrary detention and deportation” of many long-term U.S. residents from Southeast Asia, including those who fled war and...

Senator Mazie K. Hirono announced that she will donate pay she receives during the partial government shutdown to food banks in all four counties across Hawaii. “More than 2,500 federal workers in Hawaii are either furloughed or working without pay during the holidays because Donald Trump shut down the government,” Senator Hirono said....

Senator Mazie K. Hirono issued the following statement on the partial government shutdown: “Two nights ago, the Senate did its job by passing a bill to keep the government open with the expectation that the House would pass it and that the President would sign it into law. But at the 11th hour, Donald Trump succumbed to pressure from his far...

WASHINGTON, D.C.– The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bipartisan bill sponsored by Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) to recognize the contributions of more than 18,000 Chinese-American World War II veterans with the Congressional Gold Medal—the highest civilian honor that Congress can bestow. The Chinese American World War II Veterans...

Senator Mazie K. Hirono issued the following statement after the Trump Administration announced it would end its policy of requiring fingerprinting of all adult members in the households of potential sponsors for unaccompanied minor immigrants to the United States: “Last weekend, I visited Tornillo – a tent city housing 2,700...

WASHINGTON, D.C.- Senator Mazie K. Hirono released the following statement on Department of the Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s resignation: “During his tenure as Secretary of the Interior, Ryan Zinke continuously demonstrated blatant disregard for science, conservation, and the federal workforce—all critical components of the Department. Like...

WASHINGTON, D.C.- Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) voted today to pass a resolution to end U.S. involvement in the Saudi-led war in Yemen. Following the 56-41 vote, Senator Hirono released the following statement: “The humanitarian crisis in Yemen continues unabated. But today, a bipartisan majority in the Senate voted to end U.S. military...

Washington, D.C. – In a letter to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), joined Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and 33 colleagues in calling on the Federal Aviation Administration to implement Section 152 of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018.   This provision will provide...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono successfully included her Macadamia Tree Health Initiative – legislation that prioritizes research into combating the macadamia felted coccid, an invasive pest threatening Hawaii’s macadamia nut industry – in the 2018 Farm Bill Conference Report. The bipartisan Farm Bill, which sets...

WASHINGTON, DC – The United States Senate unanimously passed legislation supported by Senator Mazie K. Hirono that would remove existing barriers that limit citizens of the Freely Associated States (FAS) from accessing long-term, REAL ID compliant, state-issued driver’s licenses and identification.  The bill, H.R. 3398, the REAL ID Act Modification...

WASHINGTON, D.C.– Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), the Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, released the following statement on the nomination of William Barr to serve as Attorney General: “The selection of William Barr to serve as Attorney General is another example of Donald Trump’s...