Press Releases

Senator Mazie K. Hirono marked the 100th anniversary of America’s National Parks at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on Hawaii Island. The Senator presented Hawaii fourth graders with Every Kid in a Park program passes, which provide free admission to National Parks for fourth graders nationwide to encourage exploration and...

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced that it is expanding the U.S. Custom and Border Protection’s (CBP) preclearance program to include Kansai International Airport in Osaka, Japan. Senator Mazie K. Hirono pushed top Administration officials to include Kansai in today’s expansion.   “Including Kansai...

Senator Mazie K. Hirono will introduce a bill in the new Congress to protect foreign fishermen from exploitation and preserve Hawaii’s longline fishing industry. The Senator laid out her principles for this bill in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser: “Hirono’s bill would give the fishermen temporary work visas designed to afford the...

Senator Mazie K. Hirono announced that the Hawaii Department of Education will receive $1.56 million in federal funding to improve academic achievement at schools throughout the state. The U.S. Department of Education funding will be allocated among Hawaii’s priority status schools to provide students and teachers with additional resources to...

Senator Mazie K. Hirono joined Oahu Veterans Council members to discuss a recent Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Inspector General report, prepared at the Senator’s request, that assessed the impact of a six-point plant to improve patient wait times at the VA Pacific Islands Health Care System (VAPIHCS).  “Our veterans deserve...

Senator Mazie K. Hirono today commemorated the service of Japanese American World War II veterans at a new exhibit in the Honolulu International Airport. The Nisei Veterans Legacy Exhibit includes profiles of members of the 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team, Military Intelligence Service, and the 1399th Engineer Construction...

Senator Mazie K. Hirono today convened state and local leaders to examine how federal partnerships protect and sustain Hawaii’s freshwater resources. Senator Hirono, Governor David Ige, state elected officials, and watershed resource experts outlined what Hawaii groups are currently doing to improve water security, and how the federal...

Senator Mazie K. Hirono today commended Hawaii’s employee owned business for creating a shared sense of success and responsibility in the workplace. Senator Hirono addressed Hawaii’s Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) Association, which supports employee owned businesses across the state. “Hawaii’s ESOPs show that when...

Senator Mazie K. Hirono renewed her commitment to the Native Hawaiian community at the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement’s annual convention. “The Native Hawaiian community has made significant strides in growing culturally significant and relevant initiatives that benefit families across Hawaii,” said Senator Hirono....

President Obama signed Senator Mazie K. Hirono’s (D-HI) bipartisan Federal Aviation Administration Veteran Transition Improvement Act into law today. Disabled veterans who work for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will now have access to additional leave to treat service-related...

Senator Mazie K. Hirono led a coalition of Senators to urge the Justice Department to investigate and, if appropriate, prosecute individual wrongdoing at Wells Fargo after revelations that the bank’s employees had opened millions of accounts without customer approval. In September, the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued its...

Senator Mazie K. Hirono introduced a bipartisan resolution in the United States Senate to recognize the month of October as Filipino American History Month. The resolution acknowledges the key role Filipino Americans play in shaping our country. Representative Mike Honda (D-CA) introduced an identical measure in the House of...

Today, Senators Mazie K. Hirono, Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and others told the Obama Administration that the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) should not be considered by Congress until it is renegotiated. In a letter to the Administration today, the Senators outlined TPP’s fundamental flaws and the need to fix them before Congress votes on the...

In response to a request by Senator Mazie K. Hirono, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of the Inspector General released an inspection report on a six-point plan the VA Pacific Islands Health Care System (VAPIHCS) undertook to improve patient wait times for VA medical services. The VA first pledged to implement the plan at Senator...

Senator Mazie K. Hirono continued her call to guarantee access to legal counsel for unaccompanied children who come to the United States fleeing violence in their home countries during a visit to immigration “Kids Court” in Baltimore today. These children, some as young as three, are forced to navigate through immigration proceedings...

“Today’s announcement is the long-time culmination of efforts to provide a pathway for Native Hawaiians to achieve self-determination. I commend the Obama administration for creating this opportunity that will enable the Native Hawaiian community to establish a government-to-government relationship on par with Alaska Natives and Native...

The U.S. Senate today passed S. 2683, the Federal Aviation Administration Veteran Transition Improvement Act, legislation authored by Senators Mazie K. Hirono and Deb Fischer (R-NE) to equalize paid sick leave for veterans who work for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Transportation Security Administration (TSA). S. 2683 is cosponsored...

Senators Mazie K. Hirono, Cory Booker (D-NJ), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Al Franken (D-MN), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Ed Markey (D-MA), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) today introduced the Youth Access to Sexual Health Services (YASHS) Act, a bill that would create a competitive grant program to expand access to fact-based,...

The U.S. Senate today approved the extension of a package of veteran health and benefit programs, which includes the Keeping Our Commitment to Ending Veteran Homelessness Act authored by Senators Mazie K. Hirono and John Boozman (R-AR) to renew a number of important veteran housing programs. Without action, these programs, which served over 600...

Senator Mazie K. Hirono successfully included several Hawaii priorities in S. 2848, the Water Resources Development Act of 2016, which passed the Senate today. The bill authorizes over $12 billion in funding for the Army Corps of Engineers, and supports water infrastructure projects across the country. “Hawaii residents know too well the...