Press Releases

HILO– Senator Mazie K. Hirono visited with Hawaii Island residents who have been displaced by volcanic activity in lower Puna. Senator Hirono received a briefing at Emergency Operations Center in Hilo from Hawaii County Mayor Harry Kim, the Hawaii Volcanoes Observatory, the Hawaii National Guard, Hawaii County Civil Defense, Federal Aviation...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senators Mazie K. Hirono, Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) secured the passage of S. 346, the National Volcano Early Warning and Monitoring System Act. This legislation improves the nation’s volcano monitoring and early warning capabilities to help keep communities and travelers...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Ahead of the successful Senate vote to restore net neutrality rules, Senator Mazie K. Hirono emphasized the importance of a free and open internet to local media. Senator Hirono highlighted how the Trump administration’s plan to undermine net neutrality protections could make it more difficult and expensive for...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono pledged to work with Small Business Administration Administrator Linda McMahon to assist Hawaii small business owners affected by recent natural disasters. Administrator McMahon also committed to visiting Hawaii. Senator Hirono urged her to meet with business-owners impacted by natural disasters on...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono released the following statement on the President’s approval of a federal disaster declaration to bolster the response to volcanic activity on Hawaii Island.  “Federal, state, and county governments are coordinating and working together to ensure the safety of Hawaii Island...

WASHINGTON – Today, Hawai‘i’s Congressional Delegation urged President Donald Trump to act swiftly on Governor David Ige’s request for a presidential disaster declaration for areas on Hawai‘i Island impacted by the ongoing Kilauea Volcano eruptions. The declaration will help ensure that the affected communities can...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono urged her colleagues on the Senate Judiciary Committee to support former Hawaii Attorney General Mark Bennett’s nomination to serve on the U.S. Circuit Court for the Ninth Circuit during a Committee markup today. Only Senators Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) opposed Mr....

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono continued her engagement with local and federal stakeholders in response to the ongoing volcanic activity on Hawaii Island. Today, Senator Hirono spoke with Hawaii County Mayor Harry Kim and Federal Emergency Management Agency Region IX Administrator Robert Fenton. “The impact of ongoing...

Senator Mazie K. Hirono issued the following statement after President Donald Trump announced that the United States would withdraw from and violate the Iran Nuclear Deal. “Today, Donald Trump jeopardized our national security by unilaterally violating an international agreement whose compliance by all parties until now has effectively...

Senator Mazie K. Hirono released the following statement on the President’s approval of a federal disaster declaration to assist communities on Kauai and Oahu affected by April’s floods. “Rebuilding Kauai and Oahu communities affected by historic flooding requires a long-term, comprehensive response, and approval of a disaster...

WAIMANALO – Senator Mazie K. Hirono, Governor David Ige, and representatives from State Government agencies met with farmers and business owners in Waimanalo who were affected by destructive flooding last month.  “Farmers and businesses in Waimanalo lost their crops and inventory to flooding last month, but this resilient community...

HONOLULU – Today, Hawai‘i’s Congressional Delegation urged President Donald Trump to act swiftly on Governor David Ige’s request for a Presidential disaster declaration for areas on Kaua‘i and O‘ahu impacted by severe flooding. The declaration will help ensure that the impacted communities can access important...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono led nine Senators in urging Senate appropriators to provide full funding to the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) National and Regional Climate Adaptation Centers and requested that all eight regional centers across the country, including at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, be...

HONOLULU – Senator Mazie K. Hirono and Lieutenant Governor Doug Chin visited Mililani High School to highlight the Aina Pono Farm-to-School Initiative and Harvest of the Month programs that increase the use of locally grown produce and beef in public school lunches. “The Aina Pono Farm-to-School Initiative and Harvest of the Month...

WAINIHA – Senator Mazie K. Hirono joined Kauai Mayor Bernard Carvalho, soldiers from the Hawaii National Guard, and federal, state, and local emergency management officials to assess storm damage on Kauai’s North Shore and discuss ways the federal government can assist community residents as they work to recover from the...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono denounced the Department of Homeland Security’s decision to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Nepalese nationals living in the United States following the devastating earthquake in April 2015 that killed more than 9,000 people and rendered thousands more displaced and...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono, the Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, issued the following statement after the Senate Judiciary Committee approved bipartisan legislation to protect the Special Counsel on a 14-7 vote.  “These are not normal times. “My Republican colleagues...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono, a member of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, issued the following statement after Rear Admiral Ronny Jackson withdrew his nomination to serve as Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA): “Ronny Jackson made the right decision to withdraw. “Our veterans deserve a fully-vetted VA...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono rallied with Karen Korematsu, civil rights groups, and activists at the Supreme Court after the Court heard oral arguments in Trump v. Hawaii ­– a case that will determine the constitutionality of President Donald Trump’s Muslim ban. “If the Supreme Court allows this...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Senate unanimously passed the Admiral Lloyd R. “Joe” Vasey Pacific War Commemorative Display Establishment Act – a bill sponsored by Senator Mazie K. Hirono and Representative Colleen Hanabusa to establish a memorial at Pearl Harbor honoring the service of World War II veterans...