Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono, a member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, announced she secured a provision from her Veteran Home Loan Disaster Recovery Act in the recently-passed Johnny Isakson and David P. Roe, M.D. Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act. The legislation now heads to President...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) announced that Congress is poised to restore Medicaid eligibility for citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau – collectively known as the Freely Associated States – living in...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) met today with Denis McDonough, President-elect Joe Biden’s nominee for Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Senator Hirono and Mr. McDonough discussed a wide range of concerns regarding the ongoing challenges facing the VA. Mr. McDonough said that he is committed to...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono, Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Seapower Subcommittee, announced today that she would support a waiver to the National Security Act of 1947 to allow General Lloyd Austin to serve as the next Secretary of Defense after meeting with the nominee. “After speaking with General Austin...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), and Representatives Veronica Escobar (D-Texas) and Van Taylor (R-Texas), announced that their bipartisan, bicameral legislation to permanently establish the Servicemembers and Veterans Initiative (SVI) inside the Justice Department (DOJ)’s Civil Rights...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) met today with Katherine Tai, President-elect Joe Biden’s nominee for U.S. Trade Representative. Senator Hirono and Ms. Tai discussed the need to make sure U.S. trade policies work for everyone—specifically workers and consumers. They discussed the need to make sure trade deals...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) issued the following statement after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Emergency Use Authorization to the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine: “Today’s announcement is a long-awaited milestone in our nation’s fight against COVID-19, and I commend the many people...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) introduced S. 4986, the Social Security COVID Correction and Equity Act, which provides temporary emergency relief for Social Security beneficiaries, and makes a technical correction to the formula used for determining benefits to prevent substantial cuts...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), a Senate Armed Services Committee member, announced that a provision she authored to help military spouses achieve their professional goals through licensing, certification, or associate degree programs passed the Senate and is expected to become law. The provision was included in the...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In a letter to President-Elect Joe Biden, Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) expressed her “strong support” for California Labor and Workforce Development Agency Secretary Julie Su to serve as the next Secretary of the Department of Labor. “I am strongly supporting Julie Su for the position of Secretary of...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono, Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Seapower Subcommittee, welcomed the U.S. Navy’s announcement today that it was establishing a new Tech Bridge in Hawaii. A collaboration between the Navy, the University of Hawaii’s Office of Innovation and Commercialization, and the Hawaii...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), a Senate Armed Services Committee member and National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) conferee, successfully included $65 million to construct a child development center at Aliamanu Military Reservation and $39 million for a Schofield Barracks child development center in the Fiscal Year...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), a member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, announced that the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee approved a resolution that would allow the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to award a lease for the Advanced Leeward Outpatient Health Care Access (ALOHA)...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) today issued the following statement on the first anniversary of the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard shooting: “One year ago, Roldan Agustin and Vincent Kapoi, Jr. reported to work at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard to continue their vital role supporting our military and national...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) announced that West Hawaii Community Health Center (CHC) is set to receive $1,311,644 in funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to continue offering critical health services, including medical, dental, and behavioral health care, to rural and underserved...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) issuing the following statement after President-elect Joe Biden announced the nomination of Neera Tanden to serve as the Director of the Office of Management and Budget:  “President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris have committed to building an administration of...

HONOLULU – Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) issued the following statement after President-elect Joe Biden announced he selected Alejandro Mayorkas to serve as the next Secretary of Homeland Security: “Today, President-elect Biden made a historic decision in selecting Alejandro Mayorkas to serve as the next Secretary of Homeland...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) introduced S. 4915, the Servicemembers and Veterans Initiative Act of 2020, to permanently establish the Servicemembers and Veterans Initiative (SVI) within the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ). In 2015, DOJ announced the creation of the Servicemembers and Veterans...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) announced that Hawaii will receive more than $2 million in federal grant funds from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s 2020 National Coastal Resilience Fund. The Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources’...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) and 11 of her Senate Democratic colleagues wrote to Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Robert Redfield, urging the agencies to work with state, Tribal, territorial, and local stakeholders to...