Press Releases

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) joined a letter led by Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) urging the Biden Administration to require federally and state-regulated health insurance plans to fully cover over-the-counter contraceptives, including Opill—the...

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, joined Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) in introducing new legislation to provide a comprehensive framework to reform the federal government’s care and...

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) joined Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ed Markey (D-MA), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Tina Smith (D-MN), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), and Peter Welch (D-VT) in releasing the following statement on the Israel-Hamas War: “Israel has a right...

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), joined seven of her colleagues in introducing the Supreme Court Biennial Appointments and Term Limits Act, legislation to establish 18-year term limits and regularized appointments for Supreme Court justices. Under the senators’ legislation, a new justice would take the bench every two years and...

WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, announced that Hawaii was awarded over $7.4 million in funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). This funding will help individuals and families with low incomes in Hawaii lower their home energy costs, such...

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, voted to advance the nominations of two nominees to serve as federal judges on the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii during a full committee hearing. The nominations of Shanlyn A.S. Park’s and Micah Smith’s were advanced out of the...

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) reintroduced the All Students Count Act of 2023, legislation that would require more comprehensive and equitable disaggregation of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) student data in K-12 schools, helping to ensure that AANHPI student groups are better accounted...

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), a member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, joined Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Joni Ernst (R-IA), and more than 50 of her colleagues in introducing a resolution that recognizes October 2023 as National Women’s Small Business Month. The resolution passed the...

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) and Brian Schatz (D-HI), along with Representatives Ed Case (D-HI) and Jill Tokuda (D-HI), unveiled a portrait of the late U.S. Senator Daniel K. Inouye. The unveiling ceremony was held at the U.S. Capitol and the Hawaii Congressional delegation was joined by members of Senator Inouye’s...

~ Hawaii projects announced as part of nationwide investments through EPA’s Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem Solving Cooperative Agreement program ~ WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources (ENR) Committee, announced $2 million in federal support for three projects working...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) announced the Senate passage of the Korean American VALOR Act, a bipartisan bill she co-led with Senator Mike Braun (R-IN). The bill allows veterans who served in the armed forces of the Republic of Korea during the Vietnam War, and have since become naturalized U.S. citizens, to become...

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) and U.S. Representative Jill Tokuda (D-HI) introduced the Natural Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2023. The bill would lessen the tax burden on people impacted by major natural disasters in 2023. It would allow more individuals impacted by the wildfires to claim a personal casualty loss by eliminating...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) joined 31 of her colleagues in urging Congressional leaders to extend funding for the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), which provides financial assistance to access high-speed internet for more than 21 million working families across the nation. The program is so popular that its...

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) joined 35 other Senators in issuing a statement warning that a humanitarian collapse in Gaza would threaten regional stability. “We urge the swift implementation of sustained access for humanitarian aid, including water and medical supplies, to save civilian lives in Gaza,” Senator Hirono and the...

WASHINGTON, DC – 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) applauded the news that the Department of Energy is awarding a combined $17.9 million in grants to the Hawaii Department of Business Economic Development and Tourism. $1.7 million will go toward enabling high...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, reintroduced legislation to provide unaccompanied children with access to legal representation when they appear in proceedings before an immigration judge. Senator Hirono announced the reintroduction of the bill, The Fair Day in Court for Kids Act,...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) joined Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) in reintroducing the Youth Voting Rights Act of 2023, comprehensive legislation to enforce the Twenty-Sixth Amendment and expand youth access to voting. The bill would ease many of the barriers young people face in voting, including high rates of...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – 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) introduced a bicameral resolution honoring the first responders and those who lost their lives in the devastating wildfires on Maui and expressing support for the communities of West and Upcountry Maui. The...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Following advocacy by the Hawaii Congressional delegation, today the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced that it is extending the application deadline for physical damage loans for those impacted by the Hawaii wildfires. The loan application deadline has been extended from October 10, 2023, to November 9, 2023. “As...

~ Video of Senator Hirono’s full opening remarks is available here ~ WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, introduced two nominees to serve as federal judges on the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii during a full committee hearing considering their nominations....