Press Releases

HONOLULU – Senator Mazie K. Hirono issued a call to action to attendees of the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement’s Native Hawaiian Convention to continue their work fighting to protect federal Native Hawaiian housing, education, and health care programs. Senator Hirono also highlighted the importance of building strong federal and...

HONOLULU – The U.S. Senate passed legislation supported by Senator Mazie K. Hirono that would extend the federal Historically Underutilized Business Zone Contracting (HUBZone) program for Maui County small businesses, and other communities that are set to lose their HUBZone designation. “Maui County businesses who have benefitted from...

HILO- Senator Mazie K. Hirono today dedicated a new phase of the Daniel K. Inouye Highway, formerly known as Saddle Road. Today’s ceremony marked the completion of the Saddle Road Improvement Project. Construction on the Daniel K. Inouye Highway began in 2004, and the project’s completion creates the shortest route between East and West...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono today announced that two Hawaii businesses will receive $1.5 million in U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) funding to develop offshore seaweed as a potential clean energy source. The funding was awarded through DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA-E) program. “These...

WASHINGTON, D.C. –Senator Mazie K. Hirono joined Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.), and 14 colleagues to introduce the Keep Americans Safe Act – a commonsense proposal to ban the importation, sale, manufacture, transfer, or possession of gun magazines that hold more...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono questioned former Equifax CEO Richard Smith on actions that Equifax could have taken to prevent the release of 145 million Americans’ personal information, including information on 462,195 Hawaii residents, and Equifax’s completely inadequate response to the massive data...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono visited the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) headquarters to receive an update on the Trump administration’s response to helping Puerto Ricans recovering from Hurricane Maria. Senator Hirono heard from FEMA Acting Deputy Administrator Daniel Kaniewski and other top Administration...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senators Mazie K. Hirono and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) slammed Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos’ decision to revoke guidance that directs schools on how to handle sexual assault investigations. In a letter to Secretary DeVos, 32 Senate Democrats urged her to reverse her decision, which undermined the rights of...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), and Tom Udall (D-N.M.), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, introduced a bill to reauthorize the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act (NAHASDA) through 2022. NAHASDA provides federal housing assistance and housing...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono today announced that Hawaii conservation programs will receive nearly $200,000 in National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) funding for the recovery and treatment of stranded marine animals. “We were all captivated by the birth of Kaimana the monk seal on the shores of Waikiki this...

WASHINGTON D.C. – The U.S. Senate unanimously approved measures authored by Senator Mazie K. Hirono to continue critical programs that address veterans homelessness, provide nursing home care for disabled Hawaii veterans, and keep open the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) office in Manila. Without Congressional action, these programs would...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono, the Ranking Member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks, convened a hearing today on how to encourage young people to visit our national parks. Witnesses included John Leong, Chief Executive Officer of KUPU, an AmeriCorps program that provides young people with...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Senate today unanimously passed S. 504, a bill introduced by Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Steve Daines (R-Mont.) to make permanent the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Business Travel Card Program, which grants Americans and citizens from APEC nations access to fast-track processing lanes at Daniel K....

WASHINGTON, D.C.- Senator Mazie K. Hirono today testified against the latest iteration of Trumpcare at a Senate Finance Committee hearing. In the first and only hearing Republicans would allow on the proposal, Senator Hirono called on her colleagues to show compassion to the millions of Americans who would be hurt by the Graham-Cassidy...

HONOLULU – Senator Mazie K. Hirono called on Filipino World War II veterans and their families to register to be recognized as collective awardees of the Congressional Gold Medal, one of Congress’ highest civilian honors. Senator Hirono, Representative Colleen Hanabusa, and representatives of the Filipino Veterans Recognition and...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono today announced that the State of Hawaii will receive over $2.7 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs National Cemetery Administration to improve veterans’ cemeteries on Maui, Hawaii Island, and Lanai. “Our veterans’ cemeteries honor the commitment...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono is currently accepting applications from Hawaii students who seek a military service academy nomination. Each year, Senator Hirono nominates Hawaii students to the Air Force Academy, U.S. Military Academy, Naval Academy, and the Merchant Marine Academy. Qualified students seeking a Congressional...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono questioned top Navy officials about the factors that contributed to recent collisions and serious incidents involving ships in the Seventh Fleet. In 2017, four Navy ships were involved in incidents, including two major collisions, resulting in the tragic loss of life of 17 service...

WASHNGTON, D.C. –Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) led 10 Senate Democrats in calling on President Trump to fill the vacancies for U.S. Ambassador to South Korea, officially known as the Republic of Korea (ROK), Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs and Assistant Secretary of...

WASHINGTON, D.C.- Senator Mazie K. Hirono, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, added provisions to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that direct the Department of Defense to evaluate additional steps that can be taken to protect Hawaii and the Indo-Asia-Pacific region from growing threats, including recent actions taken by...