Late last night, President Obama signed into law Senator Mazie K. Hirono’s Philippines Charitable Giving Assistance Act, which is intended to spur donations to charitable organizations by providing expedited tax relief for Americans contributing to Typhoon Haiyan recovery efforts in the Philippines. Taxpayers can claim donations made between...
This evening, the House of Representatives passed legislation sponsored by Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), Dean Heller (R-NV), Harry Reid (D-NV), and Robert Menendez (D-NJ) that provides expedited tax relief for Americans making charitable donations in support of Typhoon Haiyan recovery efforts in the Philippines. The bill was sponsored in the...
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the United States Senate passed the bipartisan Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 2014, legislation that includes Senator Mazie K. Hirono’s measures for Native Hawaiian children. The bill updates and improves the Child Care Development Block Grant (CCDBG) program created in 1990, which provides states with...
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Mazie K. Hirono applauded the nominations of Nani A. Coloretti and Erika Moritsugu to positions within the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Ms. Coloretti was nominated for the position of Deputy Secretary, and Ms. Moritsugu was nominated for the position of Assistant Secretary for Congressional and...
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday evening, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed legislation sponsored by Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), Dean Heller (R-NV), Harry Reid (D-NV), and Robert Menendez (D-NJ) that provides expedited tax relief for Americans making charitable donations in support of Typhoon Haiyan recovery efforts in the Philippines. The...
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) and Barbara Boxer (D-CA) joined religious leaders, women’s advocates and minimum wage workers at a press conference today to urge Republicans to support raising the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour, which would lift the wages of 15 million American women. Nearly two-thirds of those...
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono commended the budget released today by President Obama. The budget addresses key Hirono priorities including early learning and immigration reform. “The President’s Budget takes significant steps to close the opportunity gap by supporting middle class families and those working to get...
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) and Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced the bipartisan Encouraging Trade and Investment from New Zealand Act, legislation to extend eligibility for trade (E-1) and investor (E-2) temporary entry visas to New Zealand, to promote trade and investment in the United States. The bill is also...
HONOLULU, HI – Senator Mazie K. Hirono spent the beginning of her week hosting Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) for meetings with military leaders and defense industry partners in Hawaii. Both Senators met with Admiral Samuel Locklear, the commander of U.S. Pacific Command and the service component commanders for the Pacific. They discussed diverse...
HONOLULU – U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) today applauded the decision by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to resume issuing loan guarantees on homes in the state of Hawaii that utilize rainwater catchment systems. The move comes three years after the VA halted the practice of guaranteeing this type of home loan when it...
WASHINGTON, D.C. –Senator Mazie K. Hirono voted today to restore the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for military retirees. The measure, which is similar to legislation Hirono cosponsored, heads to President Obama for his signature. “This bipartisan bill restores military retiree COLA – and keeps the promise we made to our...
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono released the following statement on the passing of former Hawaii state senator Kenneth Francis Kamuokalani Brown:
“The passing of Kenneth Brown is a tremendous loss to our island community. Through a lifetime of service, entrepreneurship and stewardship, Kenny left an indelible mark on our...
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), Jerry Moran (R-KS) and Mark Begich (D-AK) introduced the Native Adult Education and Literacy Act, legislation that would increase educational access to Native communities by awarding competitive grants for Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) and Native Hawaiian Education...
Washington, D.C. – As the U.S. Senate prepares for an expected vote on the bipartisan Military Justice Improvement Act next week, a strong bipartisan coalition continued the push earlier today for an independent, objective and unbiased military justice system. U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Barbara Boxer...
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono released the following statement in reaction on the selection of James Horton by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to serve as the director of the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl, effective March 9, 2014: “Congratulations to Mr. Horton on being selected to...
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono released the following statement in reaction to the immigration reform principles unveiled by House Republicans on Thursday: “Clearly, House Republicans recognize that we have a broken immigration system and that they should be part of the solution, rather than continuing to sit on the...
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono announced that the 2014 Farm Bill includes a measure to fight the coffee berry borer that has been ravaging Hawaii Island coffee farms for almost three years. The bill was passed by the House today and is expected to receive a vote in the Senate this week. Hirono had worked with Senate and House...
Washington, D.C. – The Hawaii and Alaska congressional delegations today introduced legislation that would exempt Hawaii, Alaska, and communities that rely on essential air service as subsidized by the U.S. Department of Transportation, from the increase in air travel fees included in December’s budget deal. This exemption would protect...
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono commended the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announcement today that it plans to more broadly communicate the availability of open grave sites at Punchbowl’s National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. “Secretary Shinseki’s leadership has been critical in helping to resolve this...
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono joined today with Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and U.S. Representatives Jared Polis (D-CO) and Joaquin Castro (D-TX) to introduce the Investing IN States To Achieve Tuition Equity (IN-STATE) for DREAMers Act of 2014. Under this bill, the University of Hawaii system would be eligible for federal...