Press Releases

Honolulu, HI - Senator Mazie K. Hirono announced that she is partnering with the Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im Bank) of the United States to offer a free workshop for Hawaii’s business community. The Export-Import Bank is a government agency that helps American businesses increase the number of goods and services they export to other countries....

Senator Mazie K. Hirono praised the confirmation of President Obama’s nominees to run the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the entity that arbitrates federal disputes between workers and management. “Over the past month, we’ve seen a lot of progress in the Senate for working families,” Hirono said. “We have...

Washington, D.C. - Senator Mazie K. Hirono expressed her continued commitment to affordable housing for Native Hawaiian families during a meeting today with Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) Chair Jobie Masagatani. “I appreciate the opportunity to meet with Chair Masagatani and express my continued commitment to both affordable housing...

Washington, D.C. - Senator Mazie K. Hirono released the following statement after the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) removed the state’s Race to the Top grant from “high risk” status. This means the state is no longer at “high risk” of losing $75 million in federal education funding through the U.S. Department of...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono, a member of the Armed Services and Veterans’ Affairs committees, remembered those who served in the Korean War. Tomorrow marks the 60th anniversary of the armistice that ended one of the bloodiest wars in American history.“This weekend, I ask all Hawaii residents to remember those brave...

Senator Mazie Hirono and the Export-Import Bank of the United StatesInvite You to Attend the Exporter Forum EXPORTER FORUMTuesday, August 6, 20139:30 AM to 12 Noon Neal S. Blaisdell Center777 Ward AvenueHonolulu, HI To view the full invitation, please click here.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono today voted against a Senate plan that would lock-in major interest rate hikes on federal student loans for the long term. While the plan - known as the the Student Loan Certainty Act - would keep rates low in 2013, it would allow student loan interest rates to balloon over the next two to four years...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono and her Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee colleagues voted to approve eight bills today that aim to help jobless vets find employment opportunities, improve assistance for homeless vets, improve care for female vets and keep benefits pegged to increases in the cost of living. The committee...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The day before the Veterans’ Affairs Committee considers eight bills that would have major impacts on vets across America, Senator Mazie K. Hirono filed three amendments designed to specifically help vets in Hawaii access federal veterans’ programs. Two of Hirono’s amendments would help unemployed Native...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono today announced $6.7 million in federal funds for Honolulu International Airport. The U.S. Department of Transportation grant will fund the replacement of 12 existing passenger loading bridges in the Main Overseas Terminal that are outdated and have reached the end of their useful lives....

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono met today with President Barack Obama at the White House during a meeting with the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC). Hirono specifically spoke up in support of initiatives that help Native Hawaiians. Other issues addressed by CAPAC included issues like education and immigration...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono met today with Cornelia “Nina” Pillard, Georgetown University Law Center professor and President Obama’s nominee to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. As a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Hirono will participate in Pillard’s...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono warned that climate change is already having a significant impact on Hawaii and without coordinated government action will greatly harm the state’s well-being in the future during a hearing held by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. At the hearing, titled “Climate Change:...

After Senator Mazie K. Hirono and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) unveiled the first major federal initiative targeting the coffee berry borer yesterday, coffee growers and agriculture leaders across Hawaii praised the new program and Hirono’s leadership in fighting in the pest. As Hawaii News Now and many other outlets...

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Senator Mazie K. Hirono and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) unveiled the first major federal initiative today to fight the coffee berry borer that has been ravaging Hawaii Island coffee farms for almost three years. The project, a new arm of the USDA’s integrated pest management program, will be a...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono today voted to keep federal student loan interest rates low after they doubled due to congressional inaction on July 1. The Keep Student Loans Affordable Act, which failed to break a filibuster by Senate Republicans, would have restored lower rates for a year without adding to the deficit by closing...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono today applauded President Obama's nomination of Hawaii-raised Margaret Cummisky to be Assistant Secretary for Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs at the U.S. Department of Commerce: “President Obama has made an excellent choice in nominating Margaret Cummisky, a well-experienced and...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono voted today for the Senate immigration reform bill that delivers big results for Hawaii and includes a number of measures that protect immigrant women and families. The U.S. Senate’s only immigrant, Hirono worked closely with colleagues to shape the bill in the Judiciary Committee and on the...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono released the following statement after the Senate Appropriations Committee approved $250 million in funding for Honolulu Authority For Rapid Transportation, matching in full President Obama’s 2014 budget request and the 2012 Full Funding Grant Agreement. The funding was included in both House...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono announced today she will accept a temporary seat on the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. Hirono was selected by her colleagues to fill the seat that became open after New Jersey Senator Frank Lautenberg’s death. She will sit on the Committee until October. “Hawaii’s...