Press Releases

Senator Mazie K. Hirono, a member of the Senate Armed Services and Veterans’ Affairs Committees, today voted in support of both the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs (VA) Appropriations Act. The Military Construction and VA Appropriations Act includes important provisions for Hawaii...

Senator Mazie K. Hirono joined Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and a coalition of 15 other U.S. Senators to introduce the SAVE Benefits Act, legislation that would provide Social Security beneficiaries with a modest Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) starting in 2016. For only the third time in more than 40 years, seniors will not receive a COLA...

Senator Mazie K. Hirono released the following statement on the Obama Administration’s announcement of additional military commitments in the Middle East: “Congress and the American people need to hear more details from the Administration about how the deployment of a team of approximately 50 Special Operations Forces to Syria and other...

Senator Mazie K. Hirono voted early this morning to support a two-year budget agreement that removes caps put in place by the Budget Control Act for two years and keeps the country from defaulting on its debt. The measure overwhelmingly passed the Senate 64-35. “This bipartisan measure is a reasonable compromise that protects our seniors,...

Today, the Hawai?i Congressional Delegation praised the announcement that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will provide a green bean pricing valuation for Hawaii-grown coffee starting in January 2016.  Currently, Hawaii coffee “farm gate value” is based on parchment rather...

Senator Mazie K. Hirono, a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, voted to support the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act. The legislation overwhelmingly passed the Senate 74-21. After the vote, Senator Hirono released the following statement: “Embracing the promise and vulnerabilities of the Internet age requires a...

Senator Mazie K. Hirono took to the Senate floor to oppose a Republican attempt to unfairly penalize hundreds of cities and local jurisdictions across the country by stripping them of key federal funding and preventing local law enforcement officials from using commonsense approaches to protect their communities. The measure failed 54-45. From...

Today, Senator Mazie K. Hirono and Congressman Mike Honda (D-Silicon Valley) introduced a bicameral and bipartisan resolution to recognize October 2015 as ‘‘Filipino American History Month.”  Senator Hirono represents the only Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) majority state in the country, and Congressman Honda...

Senator Mazie K. Hirono, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and a Senate conferee to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), voted against the 2016 National Defense Authorization Act Conference Report today. While it passed the Senate 70-22, President Obama has vowed to veto the bill because of its use of the Overseas...

Today, the Department of the Interior released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding “Procedures for Reestablishing a Government-to-Government Relationship with the Native Hawaiian Community.” This Proposed Rule is a culmination of years of work by the Hawaii Congressional Delegation, the Native Hawaiian community, the State of...

The United States Senate unanimously passed S. 2082, which extends a number of crucial health and benefit programs for veterans that are scheduled to expire on September 30. The legislation includes provisions authored by Senator Mazie K. Hirono to renew and extend seven programs that provide outreach and services to homeless veterans, and keep the...

After voting to reject a Republican ploy to tie the budget to defunding Planned Parenthood, Senator Mazie K. Hirono released the following statement: “Keeping the federal government open for business is one of Congress’ core responsibilities. So is ensuring that the least fortunate among us have access to basic necessities. Yet for the...

Senator Mazie K. Hirono released the following statement on Pope Francis’ address to Congress: “Pope Francis’ address to a joint meeting of Congress was a reminder to us, the American people, that our country was founded as a place where families can fulfill their dreams if we fight for the common good. “His call for...

Today, U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) and Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawai‘i) and U.S. Representative Tulsi Gabbard (HI-02) issued statements calling for continued funding for the Preschool Development Grants Program.   “Too many children in Hawaii will enter kindergarten without having the benefit of a preschool...

Senators Mazie K. Hirono and John Boozman (R-AR), members of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, introduced legislation Thursday to authorize federal homeless veteran programs for the next fiscal year. The Keeping Our Commitment to Ending Veteran Homelessness Act would reauthorize seven Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Department...

Today, the Hawai‘i Congressional Delegation announced that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has awarded $2,118,174 in two grants under the Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) program to help curb veterans’ homelessness in Hawaii. “As we address the serious issue of homelessness, it is imperative that we...

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), the American Legion, and many veteran service organizations expressed their support for three of Senator Mazie K. Hirono’s bills to improve VA healthcare and benefits at Wednesday’s Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee hearing. Senator Hirono also called for...

Today, the Hawaii Congressional Delegation announced that the U.S. Department of Education has awarded $8,610,632 in federal grants to support Native Hawaiian education. The grants, which include funding for every county in Hawaii, will support eleven education projects to improve academic achievement, strengthen early childhood literacy and...

Senator Mazie K. Hirono released the following statement in remembrance of the events of September 11, 2001: “Communities across the country gather today to reflect and remember the more than 3,000 individuals, including five from Hawaii, who perished in the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and to cherish the heroism...

WASHINGTON, D.C.- Today, Senator Mazie K. Hirono took to the Senate floor to support President Obama’s landmark international agreement to halt Iran’s nuclear weapons program. Legislation to disapprove of the Iran deal failed to advance on a 58-42 vote. Senator Hirono voted against advancing the legislation. Read Senator Hirono’s...