Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono issued the following statement after a vote on the continuing resolution: “By now, we should have an agreement to pass the DREAM Act, reauthorize the Children’s Health Insurance Program, fund Community Health Centers, stabilize the Affordable Care Act, and prevent across the board cuts to...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono introduced the Admiral Lloyd R. “Joe” Vasey Pacific War Commemorative Display Establishment Act, which would establish a memorial at Pearl Harbor honoring the service of World War II veterans who served in the Pacific Theater. The bill is the Senate companion to legislation introduced in...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), and 26 other Senators urged Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai to delay the vote to roll back the nation’s net neutrality rules. In a letter, the Senators expressed concerns over reports that bots filed hundreds of thousands of...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) released the following statement: “Today, I am calling on my colleague Al Franken to step aside. I’ve struggled with this decision because he’s been a good Senator and I consider him a friend. But that cannot excuse his behavior and his mistreatment of women. “TIME...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono announced that the Makana North Shore Urgent Care will receive a nearly $1.1 million U.S. Department of Agriculture loan to complete construction and help with operating costs of a new urgent care clinic to serve Kauai’s north shore community. “Rural communities across Hawaii continue to...

WASHINGTON, D.C.- U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono voted against H.R. 1, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, a bill to provide major tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy. The legislation, released just hours before the vote, was passed in the dead of night on a 51-49 vote. After the vote, Senator Hirono released the following...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), and Ed Markey (D-Mass.) today introduced an amendment to the Republican tax plan that would hold Senate Republicans accountable for their pledge that their tax plan will not result in any cuts to Medicare. Under the Senate’s...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Ahead of expected late night votes on the Senate Republican tax plan, Senator Mazie K. Hirono spoke out against the bill’s devastating impact on Hawaii families and critical state infrastructure. Senator Hirono highlighted the Senate bill’s focus on providing substantial tax relief to...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono, a member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, voted in support of bipartisan legislation to continue funding for veterans’ health care programs, and improve the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Veterans Choice Program. The bill included several of Senator Hirono’s...

HILO, HAWAII – Senator Mazie K. Hirono joined Superintendent of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park Cindy Orlando to dedicate a new exhibit recounting the internment of Japanese Americans at the Kilauea Military Camp (KMC) during World War II. More than 100 Japanese Americans were imprisoned at KMC – the largest incarceration site in Hawaii...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), and their Democratic women colleagues urged Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to pass the Dream Act before the Senate recesses in December. In the letter, the Senators emphasized the impact of President Trump’s decision to rescind the...

WASHINGTON, D.C.- Senators Mazie K. Hirono and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), along with a bipartisan group of Senators and advocates, today called on the Senate to pass the bipartisan Military Justice Improvement Act, which would establish an impartial, fair, and accountable military justice system to address the crisis of sexual assault. Since...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono, Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Seapower Subcommittee, successfully secured provisions that will strengthen Hawaii’s security and economy in the Fiscal Year 2018 National Defense Authorization Act that passed the Senate today. Senator Hirono also served as a member of the NDAA...

WASHINGTON, D.C.- Senator Mazie K. Hirono today introduced the Military Domestic Violence Reporting Enhancement Act, legislation to close a dangerous loophole in the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) that enables convicted abusers to purchase firearms. Federal civilian law mandates that those convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic...

WASHINGTON, D.C.- The U.S. Senate unanimously passed Senators Mazie K. Hirono and Orrin G. Hatch’s (R-Utah) State Veterans Home Adult Day Health Care Improvement Act, a bill to ensure that severely disabled veterans are able to receive adult day health care services at no cost to them by defining the program as a reimbursable treatment option...

WASHINGTON, D.C.- Senator Mazie K. Hirono released the following statement in recognition of Veterans Day: “Each Veterans Day, we are reminded of the bravery and commitment of the men and women who have served and are still serving our country. We honor our servicemembers, our veterans, and their families for their dedication and sacrifices...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senators Mazie K. Hirono and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.) and Representatives Gene Green (D-Texas) and Larry Bucshon (R-Ind.) introduced the Protecting Seniors through Immunization Act (or “Shingles Prevention Act”)—bipartisan, bicameral legislation that would eliminate Medicare Part D...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senators Mazie K. Hirono and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) introduced the Assault Weapons Ban of 2017, a bill to ban the sale, transfer, manufacture, and importation of military-style assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines. “Thoughts, prayers, and moments of silence will not curb the epidemic of mass...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono announced that the University of Hawaii will receive more than $1.7 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to support agriculture and sustainability education programs. “As we work toward growing more of our food at home, this funding will support programs across the University of...

WASHINGTON, D.C.- Senator Mazie K. Hirono and the Hawaii Congressional Delegation introduced the Sustainable Fishing Workforce Protection Act, legislation that would address concerns about the status of foreign workers in Hawaii’s longline fishing fleet. “This bill provides necessary protections for foreign fishermen and ensures the...