Press Releases

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) announced that the Honolulu Community Action Program (HCAP) will receive $15,933,000 in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to support the organization’s Head Start and Early Head Start Programs. “Early childhood programs like Head Start provide safe and...

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) joined 11 of her Senate colleagues in sending a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary (DHS) Alejandro Mayorkas and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director Patrick Lechleitner calling for ICE to limit and phase out solitary confinement while finding...

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) joined 26 of her Senate colleagues in introducing a resolution to celebrate International Transgender Day of Visibility, uplift the contributions and bravery of the transgender community worldwide, and highlight the continuing discrimination the community faces. “Today, we celebrate the...

HONOLULU, HI – Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) held events on Kauai focused on renewable energy, small businesses, and community members from the Compacts of Freely Associated (COFA) States. Senator Hirono toured Pacific Biodiesel’s new facility in Hanapepe, where they are modernizing their production facility using federal funding she helped to...

HONOLULU, HI – Today, U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) announced the official release of the new Patsy T. Mink quarter, which is part of the U.S. Mint’s American Women Quarters Program for 2024. Senator Hirono was joined by University of Hawaii (UH) President David Lassner, Hawaii Department of Education (HIDOE) Superintendent Keith Hayashi, and...

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) joined 11 of her Senate colleagues in sending a letter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) applauding its recent enforcement action against Rite Aid for its use of discriminatory and invasive facial recognition technology. The letter, led by Senator Ed Markey (D-MA), also urged the FTC...

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) voted to pass the second and final bipartisan package of six fiscal year 2024 appropriations bills, helping to secure several major wins for Hawaii. The funding package includes the appropriations bills for Defense; Financial Services and General Government; Homeland Security; Labor,...

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) and Ted Cruz (D-TX), both members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, introduced the bipartisan and bicameral Federal Judiciary Stabilization Act, legislation to transition 10 temporary federal judgeships—including one in Hawaii—to permanent status in order to maintain the current level of access...

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) joined Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) in reintroducing the Justice for Incarcerated Moms Act, legislation that seeks to improve care for pregnant and postpartum people who are incarcerated. The legislation would provide funding to supply exceptional care, commission a...

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) joined Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) in reintroducing the Justice for Incarcerated Moms Act, legislation that seeks to improve care for pregnant and postpartum people who are incarcerated. The legislation would provide funding to supply exceptional care, commission a...

WASHINGTON, DC –U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) joined 16 colleagues in releasing the following statement calling on the Administration to find that the Netanyahu Government’s assurances regarding the delivery of humanitarian aid in Gaza do not meet the “credible and reliable” test required by National Security Memorandum (NSM)-20. NSM-20...

~ Legislation would authorize funding for programs to increase the recruitment and retention of women and underrepresented minorities in STEM fields ~ WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), and U.S. Representatives Marilyn Strickland (D-WA) and Shontel Brown (D-OH) led 20 of their colleagues in reintroducing the bicameral...

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) and U.S. Representative Grace Meng (D-NY) announced today that they stopped Republicans from adding a citizenship question to the next United States Census, blocking their attempt to exclude undocumented immigrants from apportionment decisions in the census. “A complete, accurate census is...

~ Following disastrous Dobbs decision, ACCESS Act would support providers in states where abortion remains legal ~ WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) led 7 of their colleagues in introducing the Abortion Care Capacity Enhancement and Support Services (ACCESS) Act, legislation which would...

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) joined Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), and six of her colleagues in introducing the Protecting American Consumers from Robocalls Act, a bill that would help end the plague of illegal robocalls in America.  The legislation would give the Telephone Consumer...

WASHINGTON, DC – In response to a letter from U.S. Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) and Brian Schatz (D-HI) and U.S. Representatives Jill Tokuda (D-HI) and Ed Case (D-HI), the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced that they are reopening enrollment for the Individuals and Households Program (IHP) to include Compacts of Free...

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) joined Senators Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Tina Smith (D-MN), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) in sending a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland on the high rates of Tribal prosecutorial declinations. In the letter, the...

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) led Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI), Representative Jill Tokuda (D-HI), and Representative Ed Case (D-HI) in urging the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator, Deanne Criswell, to reopen the enrollment for the Individuals and Households Program (IHP) to include Compacts of Free...

Lawmakers: “For flight crews, safety is always the top priority, and we now have decades of evidence demonstrating that flight crews can attend to [breastmilk pumping] in a way that does not disrupt safety, service, or other duties.” WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) joined Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and 18 colleagues in...