Press Releases

Washington, D.C. – Washington, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono announced today that Sabrina Siddiqui will serve as Communications Director out of her Washington, D.C. office. Sabrina will oversee the communications staff in both Hawaii and Washington, DC. “As I fight for the families of Hawaii, it is crucial that I have a strong...

Washington, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono today joined a diverse coalition of lawmakers, advocates and military leaders to introduce the Strong Start for America’s Children Act, legislation to expand access to high-quality early learning programs for children from birth to age five. Building on the framework put forward by President...

Washington, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono met today with Esther Kiaaina, the Obama Administration’s nominee for Assistant Secretary for Insular Affairs at the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI). Hirono will introduce Kiaaina’ s nomination during a Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources hearing this Thursday. "It was...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Senate yesterday unanimously passed a measure authored by Senator Mazie K. Hirono to improve the ability of Native Hawaiian-serving organizations to assist homeless veterans. Hirono attached this amendment to the Helping Homeless Veterans Act during a hearing of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee in July....

Washington, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono voted today for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), historic civil rights legislation that establishes federal workplace protections on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. “All Americans deserve the basic civil right to earn a living and be judged by the quality of...

Washington, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, joined today with sexual assault survivor advocates and a bipartisan group of Senate colleagues to build support for legislation that would reform the military justice system to make it fairer to survivors of sexual assault. The Military Justice...

Washington, D.C. - Senator Mazie K. Hirono took to the Senate floor to call for the end of harmful sequestration cuts. “Just as a hollowed out force will struggle to meet mission requirements, a hollowed out workforce will struggle to compete in the global economy. These two things are tightly linked. That is why I urge my colleagues to...

Washington, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, joined a bipartisan group of colleagues to introduce legislation today to amend Article 32 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) to help prevent abusive treatment of sexual assault victims in a pre-trial setting. “Given that too many...

Senator Hirono Leads Effort to Take the Threat of Default off the Table After last month’s near-catastrophic default on our debt, Senator Hirono announced the introduction of the Pay Our Bills Act, which would permanently allow Congress to disapprove debt ceiling increases instead of approving them. “This bill prevents the debt limit...

Washington, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono released the following statement in support of Patricia Millett’s nomination to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. The nomination was filibustered today by Senate Republicans. “As my colleagues have noted, Patricia Millett will bring a wealth of experience...

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mazie K. Hirono, Jerry Moran (R-KS), Johnny Isakson (R-GA) and Mark Begich (D-AK), members of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, announced new legislation this week to help extend emergency care coverage for veterans. Currently, a veteran enrolled in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) system...

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mazie K. Hirono, Bill Nelson (D-FL), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) called on U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to prevent American taxpayers from having to foot the bill as a result of settlement negotiations between the U.S. Department of Justice and...

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mazie K. Hirono, Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) introduced new legislation – the Pay Our Bills Act – that would permanently allow Congress to disapprove debt ceiling increases, instead of approving them. The plan, based on the ‘McConnell rule’ first proposed...

Honolulu, HI – After voting to end the government shutdown and pay our nation’s bills, Senator Mazie K. Hirono returned to Hawaii to hear firsthand how local residents and organizations were impacted by the 16-day debacle. Hirono also focused on comprehensive immigration reform – a major upcoming priority outlined by President...

Honolulu, HI – Senator Mazie K. Hirono today released the following statement on the passing of Shizuko “Mary” Teshima. “Hawaii has lost a true ambassador of aloha with the passing of my friend, “Grandma” Mary Teshima. In all the years I had known her, Grandma Teshima was always warm, caring and...

Washington, D.C. - Senator Mazie K. Hirono voted today to end the government shutdown and pay the nation’s bills. “It should be clear that dysfunction is not the proper way to govern. We cannot continue to lurch from crisis to crisis every few weeks or months. An extreme faction in Washington thought that Congress’ basic...

Washington, D.C. - Senator Mazie K. Hirono voted today to stop a government shutdown by passing a clean continuing resolution that also protects health care reform funding. The U.S. House of Representatives now must follow suit before midnight October 1 to avoid a government shutdown that would furlough thousands of federal workers in Hawaii alone....

Washington, D.C. - Senator Mazie K. Hirono joined her Democratic female colleagues, pregnant women, new mothers and medical professionals today to blast Republican attempts to defund health care reform by forcing a government shutdown. Repealing or defunding the Affordable Care Act would take away basic coverage like maternity care, prenatal care,...

Honolulu, HI – Senator Mazie K. Hirono today released the following statement on the passing of former President of the East-West Center, Dr. Victor Hao Li. “I am saddened to hear of the passing of Victor Hao Li.  Dr. Li’s leadership helped guide and nurture the East-West Center into an institution that strengthens diplomatic...

Washington, D.C. - Senator Mazie K. Hirono, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, met this week with top military and defense leaders and discussed critical military issues including the rebalance to the Pacific, the harmful effects of sequestration, investments in sustainable energy technology and efforts to prevent and prosecute sexual...