Press Releases

Today, President Obama announced the nomination of Clare Connors to the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii.  Ms. Connors was among those recommended by U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), and the Federal Judicial Selection Commission. The Federal Judicial Selection Commission, which...

U.S. Senators Mazie K. Hirono and Martin Heinrich (D-NM) introduced S.1998, the Middle Class Creating Higher Education Affordability Necessary to Compete Economically (CHANCE) Act, a bill to increase access to affordable post-secondary education for low- to moderate-income students. The bill would address the significant loss in value of Pell...

Senator Mazie K. Hirono, a member of the Senate Armed Services and Intelligence Committees, released the following statement in support of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action as agreed to by the P5+1 and Iran: Since receiving President Obama’s proposed deal to end Iran’s nuclear program, I have attended and participated in classified...

Today, on the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act (VRA), Senator Mazie K. Hirono called for the restoration of the landmark legislation that prohibits discrimination in voting: “Fifty years ago, the Voting Rights Act gave millions of Americans a voice in our democracy. For the first time, federal protections guarded minority voters...

Washington, D.C. – Today, Senator Mazie K. Hirono voted to pass the highway bill, which if enacted, will increase highway and bus funding for Hawaii. “The six-year highway bill will give transportation agencies more certainty to plan for the long-term building and repair of our roads, bridges, public transit systems, and other...

Today, many of Senator Mazie K. Hirono’s priorities were included in the Energy Policy Modernization Act, which passed the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on a 18-4 vote, with Senator Hirono’s support. The broad, bipartisan legislation includes Senator Hirono’s proposals to provide grants to modernize electrical...

Today, Senator Mazie K. Hirono took to the Senate floor to oppose the Republican bill to defund Planned Parenthood, a service that 2.7 million including 7,000 in Hawaii, rely on for primary health care. One in five women will visit a Planned Parenthood clinic in her lifetime for health care such as cancer screenings, disease testing, birth control,...

Washington, D.C. – Following the White House announcement of a new policy that will reunite Filipino World War II veterans with their children, Hawaii and national advocates highlighted the importance of expediting the visa process for the families of the brave Filipino people who served our country: “This is a day to celebrate,”...

Senators Mazie K. Hirono and Joni Ernst (R-IA) are fighting to increase access to telemedicine for Medicare patients in new legislation introduced this week. The bipartisan Telemedicine for Medicare (TELE-MED) Act, is a bill that would allow Medicare patients to seek care from Medicare doctors across state lines through telemedicine services. "As...

WASHINGTON, D.C.- Today, Senator Mazie K. Hirono voted to pass the Every Child Achieves Act, which included several key priorities for Hawaii students. The Every Child Achieves Act, which passed the Senate 81-17, is the first comprehensive bill aimed at improving elementary and secondary education to pass the Senate since the 2001 No Child Left...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the White House announced a new policy to reunite Filipino World War II veterans with their children— an initiative that Senator Mazie K. Hirono has long been fighting for. The Huffington Post broke the news of the announcement, highlighting Senator Hirono’s long push for expediting the visa process for...

WASHINGTON, D.C.- This morning, Senator Mazie K. Hirono spoke about the importance of finding renewable energy solutions for island states and communities like Hawaii at a Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources hearing on Islanded Energy Systems in Alaska, Hawaii, and the U.S. Territories. Senator Hirono heard from stakeholders from...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Senator Mazie K. Hirono released the following statement today after President Obama announced a final agreement to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon: “I will carefully review the historic, comprehensive nuclear agreement reached today with Iran. I have long supported sanctions against Iran to prevent it...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R-AZ) and Ranking Member Jack Reed (D-RI) named Senator Mazie K. Hirono to the FY16 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) Conference Committee. The NDAA is an annual bill that lays out the Department of Defense’s budget and strategic plan for the...

Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Army today announced plans to reduce its end-strength by 40,000 soldiers over the next two years.  According to the plans released by the Army, Schofield Barracks will shrink by 1,214 soldiers—from 15,687 soldiers to 14,473 soldiers—and Fort Shafter will shrink by 229 soldiers—from 2,233...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senators Mazie K. Hirono and Dean Heller (R-NV) introduced the bipartisan All Students Count Amendment to the Every Child Achieves Act (ECAA). The Hirono-Heller amendment would better highlight the needs of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) students by requiring school districts with more than 1,000...

HONOLULU – This afternoon, Senator Mazie K. Hirono was joined by Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert McDonald and Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez at a Disabled Veterans Employment Roundtable at the Oahu Veterans Center in Honolulu to discuss issues key to Hawaii veterans. The two Obama administration cabinet members...

WASHINGTON, D.C.— Today, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Jeh Johnson announced substantial changes to immigrant detention practices regarding families, a positive response to calls by Senator Mazie K. Hirono, a fierce advocate for ensuring that family unity remains the guiding principle of our immigration system, to change our...

WASHINGTON, D.C.- Today, Senator Mazie K. Hirono celebrated the 43rd Anniversary of the passage of the Patsy Takemoto Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act, commonly known as Title IX. “Forty-three years later, the Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity Education Act, or Title IX, continues to open the door of opportunity and level the...

WASHINGTON, D.C. –  Senator Mazie K. Hirono today voted to oppose the Fiscal Year 2016 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). She joined Senate Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Senator Jack Reed and colleagues in pushing for a responsible, bipartisan way to end the sequester. President Obama has issued a veto threat on this...