2022 Year in Review

Aloha,

Over the past year, Democrats in Congress have passed landmark legislation to lower energy costs, support veterans and seniors, uplift underrepresented communities, and provide funding to upgrade aging infrastructure. As the year comes to a close, I’d like to reflect on the work we’ve done to support families and communities in Hawaii and across our country.

Lowering Prescription Drug Costs

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 passed in August will lower prescription drug costs for hundreds of thousands of our kupuna in Hawaii. Thanks to the IRA, Medicare recipients who rely on insulin will have their insulin costs capped at $35 a month starting next year. Starting in 2025, the more than 200,000 Medicare recipients with Part D in Hawaii will have their annual drug costs capped at $2,000. Medicare finally has the power to negotiate prescription drug prices, with the first of those negotiated prices going into effect in 2026. The IRA also includes my bill to make vaccines for things like shingles and hepatitis-A free under Medicare. I recently participated in a Town Hall with AARP Hawaii about the IRA’s drug cost savings, which you can listen to here.

Red Hill

I have been in direct and regular contact with the Department of Defense and Navy leadership about the Red Hill fuel spill and drinking water system contamination, and more recently the AFFF spill and cleanup efforts. The repeated leaks at Red Hill are completely unacceptable and have been devastating for families and businesses in the impacted area. My focus has been on securing the funding necessary to safely defuel and permanently close the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility on Oahu, which has endangered the health and safety of thousands of families in Hawaii.

Last week, I successfully secured $1 billion in the annual defense authorization bill for Red Hill’s closure, and that funding was also included in the year-end appropriations bill. Both of these pieces of legislation have now been signed into law, getting us closer to safely closing Red Hill for good. I’ll continue to insist the Department of Defense coordinates closely with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Hawaii Department of Health, the Board of Water Supply, and other local stakeholders to ensure Red Hill is closed safely and as quickly as possible.

Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act

Throughout 2022, Hawaii has received hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding to repair, rebuild, and expand infrastructure across the state, thanks to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which is expected to create millions of good-paying jobs over the next decade. This funding is already being used to modernize infrastructure projects like roads, bridges, ports, public transit systems, and the purchase of electric school buses to help keep the air clean. The IIJA also provided investment to expand broadband access for families, and support Hawaii’s transition to clean energy.

 
Helping Veterans 

As a member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, I’m working to support veterans in Hawaii and across the country. This year, we passed the Honoring Our PACT Act to expand VA care to more than 3.5 million Post-9/11 veterans who have been exposed to toxins during their service. Here in Hawaii, construction of the new Daniel K. Akaka Outpatient VA clinic on Oahu continues, bringing us one step closer to opening a new world-class healthcare center for veterans across Hawaii and the entire Pacific region.

Supporting Native Hawaiian Survivors of Gender-Based Violence

Native women experience disproportionately high levels of sexual violence. However, Native Hawaiian women have been excluded from accessing much-needed federal resources. Just this month, the President signed my legislation to enable Native Hawaiian Organizations to use federal funding to support Native Hawaiian survivors of gender-based violence, something they’ve been unable to do for far too long. I will continue to advocate on behalf of survivors of sexual violence, especially within particularly vulnerable communities such as the Native Hawaiian community.

Uplifting AANHPI Communities

Earlier this year, President Biden signed into law legislation I introduced in the Senate to establish a commission to study the creation of a National Museum of Asian Pacific American History and Culture. This museum would help promote understanding about Asian Pacific Islander American communities and their many contributions to American history and culture. 

STEM Education

This year, Congress also passed and enacted legislation to invest in American innovation and strengthen domestic supply chains. The Chips and Science Act (CHIPS) included historic investment in scientific research and development, funding to support Hawaii’s transition to renewable energy, and tens of billions in federal funding for the domestic manufacturing of semiconductors, which are used in everything from cars to cell phones. The bill also included my Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Opportunities Act, which provides funding for guidance, research, data collection, and other activities to promote opportunities for women and minorities in STEM at colleges and universities and federal science agencies. As we work to spur innovation, it’s critical that we support students and innovators from diverse backgrounds.

I’m proud of everything we accomplished this year to help families and communities in Hawaii and across our country. I look forward to continuing to build on this progress in 2023 and beyond.

Happy holidays, from my ohana to yours.

Mahalo,

Mazie K. Hirono
United States Senator

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