Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) and Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Representatives Jill Tokuda (D-HI) and Ed Case (D-HI) sent a letter to Lieutenant General Scott Spellmon, the Chief of Engineers and commanding general of the United States Army Corps of Engineers, urging the Army Corps to provide the Hawaii Department of...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and Chair of the Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support, voted to confirm General Charles Q. Brown, Jr. as the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and advanced the nomination of General Randy George to be Army Chief of...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) joined U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), U.S. Representative Marc Veasey (D-TX), and more than 60 of their colleagues on National Voter Registration Day in introducing a bicameral resolution recognizing September as “National Voting Rights Month.” The resolution will encourage voter registration...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), a member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, led the Hawaii Congressional delegation in a letter to Isabel Guzman, Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), urging the agency to pause loan payments and interest accruals for SBA disaster...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and Chair of the Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support, questioned Acting Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Lisa Franchetti, President Biden’s nominee to serve as the U.S. Navy’s next top officer. During her question line,...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, questioned Colette Peters, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), about the status of reopening a residential reentry facility in Hawaii. Hawaii’s only residential reentry center—Mahoney Hale—closed in 2019. “Having grown...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) joined more than 70 of her colleagues in the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives in sending a letter to President Biden, urging him to take further executive action to combat gun violence and limit the sale of assault weapons. “We commend the important steps your Administration...

~ Video of Senator Hirono’s full question line is available here ~ Sen. Hirono: “It is a powerful tool that can be used for good, but it can also be used to spread a lot of disinformation and misinformation, and that happened during the disaster on Maui.” WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), a member of the Senate Judiciary...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, questioned a panel of experts about the rise in book banning in schools and libraries across the country. The hearing comes after the American Library Association recently reported that requests to ban books at U.S. public schools and...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) introduced the AuGmenting Research and Educational Sites to Ensure Agriculture Remains Cutting-edge and Helpful (AG RESEARCH) Act, legislation to provide billions in funding to address deferred maintenance at U.S. schools of agriculture, including the University of Hawaii College of Tropical...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and Chair of the Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support, met with the Acting Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Lisa Franchetti, President Biden’s nominee to serve as the U.S. Navy’s next top officer. If confirmed, Adm. Franchetti...

~ Video of Senator Hirono’s remarks is available here ~ WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) delivered remarks on the Senate floor marking one month since wildfires tore through Lahaina and Upcountry Maui. In her remarks, Senator Hirono spoke in remembrance of those who lost their lives, highlighted the Federal government’s...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) and Brian Schatz (D-HI) announced the nomination of Shanlyn A.S. Park to be a judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii. Park was among those recommended to President Biden by Senators Hirono and Schatz, and a merit-based Federal Judicial Selection Commission. “With decades...

HONOLULU, HI – Following calls from U.S. Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) and Brian Schatz (D-HI) and U.S. Representatives Ed Case (D-HI) and Jill Tokuda (D-HI), President Biden sent an updated request to Congress to increase the supplemental Disaster Relief Fund by $4 billion, bringing the new request total to $16 billion. “The President said he...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) and Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Representatives Ed Case (D-HI) and Jill Tokuda (D-HI) urged U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Ur M. Jaddou to continue and expand efforts to assist members of the immigrant community who have been impacted by the wildfires on Maui. “As you...

HONOLULU, HI – U.S. Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) and Brian Schatz (D-HI) announced the nomination of Micah Smith to be a judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii. Smith was among those recommended to President Biden by Senators Hirono and Schatz, and a merit-based Federal Judicial Selection Commission. “Micah Smith is an...

HONOLULU, HI – U.S. Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) and Brian Schatz (D-HI), U.S. Representatives Ed Case (D-HI) and Jill Tokuda (D-HI), Governor Josh Green, M.D., and Lieutenant Governor Sylvia Luke announced that the Federal Communications Commission has temporarily waived certain eligibility rules to ensure that people receiving federal disaster...

HONOLULU, HI – Ahead of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra’s visit to Maui tomorrow, U.S. Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) and Brian Schatz (D-HI) and U.S. Representatives Ed Case (D-HI) and Jill Tokuda (D-HI) called on the Secretary to take additional federal actions to support mental health, child care, and...

HONOLULU, HI – Today, U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and Chair of the Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support, spoke with Vice Admiral John Wade, commander of the Joint Task Force-Red Hill (JTF-RH), ahead of the repacking of the Red Hill pipelines. Repacking the pipelines is the next...

HONOLULU, HI – Today, U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will award $1.3 million to the State of Hawaii to support people who were already experiencing homelessness—those living in an emergency shelter, transitional housing, or a place not meant for human habitation—or at...