Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) released the following statement after voting to protect Dreamers:   “I have consistently supported a clean DREAM Act, and voted in favor of the Coons-McCain amendment today that came very close to it. And while it earned the support of a bipartisan group of 52 senators, the...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) urged Senate Committee on Appropriations Chairman Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) and Vice Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) to include provisions that require the federal government respect states’ laws regarding the regulation of marijuana when finalizing fiscal year 2018...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono joined Karen Korematsu at an event in the Capitol to pay tribute to the life and work of her father Fred T. Korematsu. Hirono urged attendees to continue the fight against President Trump’s Muslim Ban. Her remarks accompanied a screening of a new film, “And Then They Came for...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senators Mazie K. Hirono and Jon Tester (D-Mont.), members of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, are calling on the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to ensure that it is reimbursing veterans who were billed for emergency treatment at private hospitals.    In January, the VA announced that it would...

Senators Mazie K. Hirono and Brian Schatz announced the nomination of former Hawaii Attorney General Mark Bennett to serve in the open Hawaii seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. “Attorney General Bennett has extensive experience practicing law in the public and private sectors in Hawaii and at the federal...

Senator Mazie K. Hirono released the following statement on President Trump’s Budget Request for Fiscal Year 2019:   “Instead of investing in programs that help middle and working-class families across our state, the President proposes trillions of dollars in cuts that would harm nearly everyone in Hawaii,” Senator...

Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) released the following statement after voting against the budget deal and continuing resolution: “Throughout the debate on government spending, I have consistently supported efforts to fund critical domestic priorities without pitting groups against one another. “A lot of hard work and compromise went...

Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) led the Senate’s annual resolution recognizing February as American Heart Month. “Each February, the women of the Senate come together to recognize American Heart Month and raise awareness of heart disease,” Senator Hirono said. “Heart disease impacts millions of families each year,...

Ahead of the Trump administration’s Fiscal Year 2019 budget proposal, Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) urged the President to fund the National Sea Grant College Program at no less than current levels. In a letter to President Trump, the Senators highlighted the important role Sea Grant Programs play in boosting...

Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) led a resolution recognizing Fred Korematsu for his opposition to the illegal incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II and work to advance civil rights. The resolution recognizes January 30 as “Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution” and...

Senator Mazie K. Hirono, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement after Victor Cha confirmed that he is no longer being considered to serve as the ambassador to South Korea: “One year into his presidency, Donald Trump has yet to nominate an ambassador to South Korea -- one of our closest allies in a...

 Senator Mazie K. Hirono released the following statement on the President’s State of the Union address:  “President Trump spent the last year pursuing policies that pit one group against another and attacking people who don’t agree with him. In his performance tonight, the President tried to show something...

Senators Mazie K. Hirono and Tom Udall (D-N.M.) today introduced legislation to enhance protections for national monuments against the Trump administration’s unprecedented attacks on public lands. The America’s Natural Treasures of Immeasurable Quality Unite, Inspire, and Together Improve the Economies of States (ANTIQUITIES) Act of...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono announced today that the Legal Aid Society of Hawaii will receive $300,000 from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)’s Fair Housing Initiatives Program to assist victims of housing discrimination.   “In a state with such a high cost of living, Hawaii families...

Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) released the following statement on the continuing resolution: “There are battles worth fighting. “Protecting DREAMers, reauthorizing the Children’s Health Insurance Program, funding Community Health Centers, and providing parity between funding for defense and domestic priorities – without...

Senator Mazie K. Hirono announced that she will donate pay she receives during the government shutdown to Hawaii’s 14 Federally Qualified Community Health Centers. “Community Health Centers serve hundreds of thousands of Hawaii residents, including keiki who rely on the Children’s Health Insurance Program,” said Senator...

Senator Mazie K. Hirono released the following statement on the government shutdown: “Tonight, Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan, and Donald Trump turned things upside down. They’ve spent the past year working behind closed doors to take away health care from millions of people and pass huge tax cuts for the richest people and corporations in our country...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Hirono today voted against S. 139, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Amendments Reauthorization. The bill passed the Senate on a 65-34 vote, sending the legislation to the President.   “Congress authorizes covert intelligence programs under FISA for a limited duration so that these programs...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In a call with Secretary of Defense James Mattis, Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) emphasized the importance of strong diplomatic efforts to resolve tensions with North Korea.    “Earlier today, I called Secretary of Defense Mattis to emphasize the urgency of resolving the situation with North Korea...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) took to the Senate floor today to provide an update on Saturday’s false emergency threat alert, and outlined steps she will take to get to the bottom of what occurred to make sure the mistake never happens again.   From Senator Hirono’s remarks:   “This incident...