Press Releases

HONOLULU – Senator Mazie K. Hirono today announced the award of a $4 million Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grant to continue the ongoing rehabilitation of Hangar 110, the only large capacity hangar available for general aviation use, at Kalaeloa Airport (John Rodgers Field) on Oahu. This FAA Airport Improvement Program (AIP) grant...

WASHINGTON, DC – Senator Mazie K. Hirono today announced the award of $12,339,016 in U.S. Department of Health and Human Services grant funding to support Native Hawaiian health care centers across Hawaii. These grants are essential to the continued operation of Native Hawaiian health care centers, enabling them to pay for rent, salaries,...

WASHINGTON, DC – Senator Mazie K. Hirono today voted to pass two major bills to help improve access to health care for our nation’s veterans and also continue key funding that improves and strengthens Hawaii roads while supporting 6,896 jobs in the islands. The Senate’s passage of H.R. 3230, the Veterans’ Access to Care...

Senator Mazie K. Hirono applauded the confirmation of Erika Moritsugu for the position of Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).  Moritsugu was confirmed by voice vote. “I’ve known Erika and her family for many years and it’s no...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono, a member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Conference Committee, today announced a bipartisan compromise agreement between the Senate and House on legislation to reform the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs delivery of health care to ensure quality, timely health care for veterans. In the...

Washington, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono will welcome more than 30 Hawaii businesses and vendors to the United States Capitol on Wednesday, July 23 for the first-ever Hawaii on the Hill, which consists of the Hawaii on the Hill Policy Summit and Taste of Hawaii On Capitol Hill reception. Senator Hirono will serve as an honorary guest,...

Washington, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, voted today to approve a constitutional amendment to help curb unlimited corporate spending in elections. Hirono forcefully rebutted Republican arguments by presenting the historical precedence for amending the U.S. Constitution in order to improve our...

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) called on President Barack Obama to humanely address the surge of unaccompanied children at the Southern U.S. Border. The Senators’ letter notes that the Administration’s response to this...

HONOLULU – Senator Mazie K. Hirono released the following statement denouncing today’s U.S. Supreme Court Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., decision that allows corporations to exclude contraceptive coverage from their employees’ health care insurance plans: “In yet another sharply divided 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono released the following statement on the one-year anniversary of the passage of S.744, the Senate’s immigration reform bill: “Today marks one year since the Senate came together on a bipartisan basis to pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill. As our country waits for the House to...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono voted today to confirm Hawaii’s Esther Kiaaina as Assistant Secretary for Insular Areas at the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI). Kiaaina was confirmed unanimously by voice vote. Hirono had previously introduced Kiaaina’s nomination during a Senate Committee on Energy and Natural...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono voted today to pass the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), bipartisan legislation to update the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998. The bill improves the nation’s workforce development system by streamlining programs, increasing efficiency and helping local businesses find...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono, a member of the House and Senate Veterans' Affairs Conference Committee, gave an opening statement on Hawaii wait times at the committee’s first meeting. The committee is working on a compromise version of the Veterans’ Access to Care through Choice, Accountability, and Transparency Act,...

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Senator Mazie K. Hirono released the following statement commemorating the 42nd anniversary of the Patsy Takemoto Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act, commonly known as Title IX. This landmark federal law requires gender equity in federally-supported education programs and athletics: “When Title IX...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Department of the Interior released an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) regarding “Procedures for Reestablishing a Government-to-Government Relationship with the Native Hawaiian Community.” The purpose of this ANPRM is to solicit public comments on whether and how the Department of the...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Mazie K. Hirono announced a grant of more than $2 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) for upgrades at Hilo International Airport. This grant will fund the installation of approximately 12,500 linear feet of perimeter fencing to deter unauthorized persons, vehicles and wildlife from...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Mazie K. Hirono announced a $3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to the University of Hawaii for energy research. This grant comes as part of the DOE’s nationwide initiative to advance hydrogen production and delivery technologies to produce, deliver and dispense hydrogen at a cost...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) and Jerry Moran (R-KS), members of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, introduced the Veterans Emergency Health Safety Net Expansion Act of 2014. This legislation expands access to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) emergency safety net to all VA-enrolled veterans...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono, a member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs and Armed Services Committees, voted to pass the Veterans’ Access to Care through Choice, Accountability, and Transparency Act. This bipartisan legislation, cosponsored by Hirono, was introduced in response to widely-reported problems with the...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono released the following statement today reaffirming her support for comprehensive immigration reform and expressing her outrage with the recent situation where unaccompanied children have been detained near the southern U.S. Border. Hirono urged her colleagues and Homeland Security Secretary Jeh...