Press Releases

After fighting poison-pill amendments on the Senate floor, Senator Mazie K. Hirono, Ranking Member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water and Power, today voted to support the Fiscal Year 2017 Energy and Water Appropriations Act, which funds the activities of the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Army Corps of...

Senator Mazie K. Hirono released the following statement after President Obama announced that he will visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial later this month, becoming the first sitting United States President to visit: "I commend President Obama's decision to visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial, which serves as a poignant reminder of the devastating...

The U.S. Senate late last night unanimously passed Senator Mazie K. Hirono and Representative Grace Meng’s (D-NY) bill to remove offensive terms such as “Oriental” from federal law. H.R.4238 was approved by the House 376-0, and will now go to President Obama to be signed into law. “Updating derogatory references in federal...

HONOLULU – Senator Mazie K. Hirono today announced that certain family members of Filipino World War II veterans can finally apply to come to the United States to be reunited with their aging Filipino veteran family members who are U.S. citizens or Legal Permanent Residents under a program announced by the Obama Administration last year....

HONOLULU- Senator Mazie K. Hirono, a member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, today toured Hawaii Candy, Inc., Island Princess, and Menehune Mac, Hawaii businesses set to participate in the upcoming Hawaii on the Hill, Hawaii’s state showcase in our nation’s capital. This week is National Small Business...

Senator Mazie K. Hirono, Governor David Ige, Hawaii Director of Health Dr. Virginia Pressler, State Administrator of Emergency Management Vern Miyagi, Healthcare Association of Hawaii emergency responders, and Dr. Elliot Parks, CEO of Hawaii Biotech today called for increased public awareness and additional federal resources to prepare for and...

Senators Mazie K. Hirono took to the Senate floor today to raise awareness of the Zika virus and call for expediently funding President Obama’s funding request to fight Zika. To date in Hawaii, there are seven confirmed cases of Zika and one case of an infant born with microcephaly, a serious birth defect directly linked to Zika. Senator...

WASHINGTON, D.C.– Senator Mazie K. Hirono today took to the Senate floor to call for unanimous consent to confirm Hawaii’s Clare Connors and other judicial nominees from courts across the country who have been waiting months, and in some cases over a year, for a floor vote. In yet another showing of Senate Republicans’ refusal to...

Senators Mazie K. Hirono and Bill Nelson (D-FL) introduced legislation to fully fund President Obama’s $1.9 billion funding request to fight the Zika virus. The measure is also co-sponsored by Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL), Al Franken (D-MN), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Jack Reed (D-RI), Harry Reid (D-NV), Charles E....

Senator Mazie K. Hirono voted today in support of S. 2012, the Energy Policy Modernization Act, wide-ranging legislation that prioritizes innovation, energy efficiency, and renewable energy investments. If enacted, the Energy Policy Modernization Act would be the most comprehensive update to federal energy law since 2007, and includes several...

Senator Mazie K. Hirono voted today in support of H.R. 636, a bill to renew and reform the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and U.S. aviation law through September 30, 2017. The FAA Reauthorization Act, which passed the Senate 95-3, includes a bipartisan measure authored by Senator Hirono and Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE), which puts veterans...

Senator Mazie K. Hirono today marked Equal Pay Day by introducing the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Opportunities Act, legislation that would improve inclusion of women, minorities, and people with disabilities in STEM careers. Equal Pay Day marks the day in 2016 when, on average, women’s wages catch up to what men earned...

Senator Mazie K. Hirono hailed an agreement reached this week between the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) on behalf of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Taiwan to facilitate its membership in U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Global Entry Program, which...

With the federal tax filing deadline less than three weeks away, advocates joined Senator Mazie K. Hirono today to urge Hawaii seniors to be aware of tax-related scams, such as con artists pretending to be Internal Revenue Service (IRS) agents by phone. Senator Hirono, along with representatives from the IRS, AARP Foundation Tax Aide program, and...

Senator Mazie K. Hirono hailed U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Tom Perez’s decision to approve the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 142’s request for Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) and Alternative TAA for Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Company workers displaced by the cessation of sugar...

Senators Mazie K. Hirono, Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), and John Thune (R-SD) introduced the Patient Access to Durable Medical Equipment Act, legislation that would provide durable medical equipment (DME) providers and patients in certain parts of the country with relief from harmful payment policies. DME providers help connect patients with medically...

Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) and Representative Mark Takai (D-HI) introduced the Coral Reef Sustainability Through Innovation Act, legislation that would jumpstart research related to coral reef conservation. “In the past two years, Hawaii’s coral reefs have experienced two serious coral bleaching events, and with rising ocean...

Senator Mazie K. Hirono urged U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Secretary Tom Perez to expedite review and approval of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 142’s request for Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) and Alternative TAA for Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Company workers displaced by the cessation of sugar...

Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) and Representative Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) today introduced the Women and Minorities in STEM Booster Act, legislation that would provide support to increase the number of women and minorities entering science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields. “Approximately half of the U.S. population and...

Senator Mazie K. Hirono today voted against legislation that would override state laws that require labeling of genetically modified food products. The legislation would establish a voluntary national labeling standard and would only create a mandatory disclosure program if, three years after enactment of the law, the U.S. Department of Agriculture...