Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and Chair of the Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support, sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin urging the Department of Defense (DOD) to clarify the Department’s parental leave policy and establish a consistent...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) joined eleven of her Senate colleagues in a letter to the Vice Chair for Supervision of the Federal Reserve (Fed) Michael Barr, calling on him to exercise the Fed’s authority to apply stronger regulation and supervision to banks with assets totaling $100 to $250 billion. The letter was...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), Chair of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support, convened a Subcommittee hearing to examine the relationship between the Department of Defense (DOD) and small businesses, and what more DOD can do to increase the number of small businesses they...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) and Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Representatives Jill Tokuda (D-HI) and Ed Case (D-HI) introduced legislation to combat Rapid Ohia Death (ROD), which has killed more than a million Ohia trees in Hawaii since its discovery in 2014. The Continued Rapid Ohia Death Response Act...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Hawaii Congressional delegation—U.S. Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) and Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Representatives Ed Case (D-HI) and Jill Tokuda (D-HI)—sent a letter to Charles “Chuck” Sams, Director of the National Park Service (NPS), urging the agency to prioritize its efforts to protect...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), questioned a panel of Department of Defense (DoD) officials about a proposed fifty percent cut to the cost of living allowance for military families in Hawaii during a SASC Personnel Subcommittee Hearing. During her line of...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, questioned a panel of experts about the impacts of a 2022 Supreme Court decision overturning a gun safety law and how this decision could increase the risk of gun violence in public and private spaces. During her line of questioning, Senator...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) and John Boozman (R-AR), and Representatives Ed Case (D-HI) and Steve Womack (R-AR) introduced bipartisan, bicameral legislation to restore access to a range of federal benefits for citizens of the Freely Associated States of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), Gary Peters (D-MI), and Representative Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), along with Congresswomen Barbara Lee (D-CA), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Diana DeGette (D-CO), Cori Bush (D-MO), led 40 of their colleagues in reintroducing a bicameral congressional resolution honoring abortion providers and...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, led her colleagues in demanding answers from the Department of Defense (DoD) regarding its treatment of sensitive information known as Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI). In a letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, the...

Aloha, After a busy start to the 118th Congress, it was great to be home in Hawaii. During the February State Work Period, I held several events focused on supporting small businesses, workforce development, and maritime construction. Lieutenant Governor Sylvia Luke and I also hosted a roundtable discussion on the importance of expanding access to...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) released the following statement after President Biden announced his budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2024: “President Biden’s budget is an investment in people and families in Hawaii and across the country. It will lower costs for working families, strengthen crucial safety...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) joined seven of her Senate colleagues in introducing legislation to begin to address the major teacher pay crisis in America and ensure that all public school teachers earn a livable and competitive wage that is at least $60,000 a year and increases over the course of their career. The...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) joined 47 of her Senate Democratic colleagues in introducing the Women’s Health Protection Act of 2023, federal legislation to guarantee access to abortion, everywhere across the country and restore the right to comprehensive reproductive health care for millions of...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) sent a letter to Walgreens CEO Rosalind Brewer, expressing concern regarding recent reports that the company would not dispense medication abortion in 21 states where Republican Attorneys General have threatened the company. In addition to Senator Hirono, the letter was also sent by...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) introduced legislation to expand protections for Americans’ personal health data privacy. The Upholding Protections for Health and Online Location Data (UPHOLD) Privacy Act would prevent companies from profiting off of personally identifiable health data for advertising purposes. It...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) sent a letter to Douglas O’Donnell, Acting Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), urging the IRS to take action to ensure individuals and families impacted by the fuel leaks at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility are not required to pay taxes on emergency...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) joined 24 of her Senate colleagues in introducing bipartisan legislation that would ensure public sector workers and their families can receive full Social Security benefits after two previous statutes reduced them. The bill, the Social Security Fairness Act, would repeal the Windfall...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) led 30 of her colleagues in pushing to prevent local and state law enforcement from using federal assistance to surveil or investigate individuals receiving or providing abortion care. In a letter to President Biden and Vice President Harris, the lawmakers urged the Administration to...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, questioned U.S. Attorney General (AG) Merrick Garland about how the Department of Justice (DOJ) is protecting women seeking reproductive services and combating domestic terrorism during a full committee hearing. During her line of questioning,...