In the News

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) awarded Hawaiʻi $47.9 million to bring additional health care workers to local hospitals burdened by COVID-19., Hawaiʻi congressional members announced on Wednesday. According to a press release from Senator Brian Schatz’s Office (D-Hawaiʻi), the funding will be used to temporarily hire nearly 1,000 nurses and other medical staff, with additional funds expected in the future. A press release from Representative Ed Case’s...

Hawaii will receive $339 million in new federal funding over five years to repair and improve the state’s bridges, U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz announced in a Friday statement. The money is part of a $26.5 billion program administered by the Federal Highway Administration, with funding provided the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed by Congress and signed into law in November. “This historic investment will help rebuild bridges across Hawaii, making them safer and more resilient for...

Hawaii’s schools will receive more than $2.3 million in increased funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help cover the cost of meal programs. U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, announced the boost in funding today. Schools will reap an estimated $2,340,000 in funds from the USDA in a mid-year increase to school meal reimbursements, Schatz said in a release. “Hawaii’s school meal programs are essential to making sure that children have the nutritious meals they need...

Hawaii’s delegation has thrown its support behind a state emergency order instructing the Navy to drain its Red Hill fuel tanks and conduct a safety assessment of the aging facility before seeking permission to resume operations. U.S. Sens. Mazie Hirono and Brian Schatz and Reps. Kai Kahele and Ed Case issued a joint statement today emphasizing the importance of safeguarding Oahu’s aquifer that supplies the island with drinking water. “The Navy must fully comply with the order...

Hawaii airports will soon see $49.3 million in new federal funding for structural improvements, congressional officials announced Wednesday. The funds, which come from the recently passed Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, will support airport infrastructure projects that improve safety and operations efficiency, cut congestion, and reduce the airport’s impact on the environment and neighboring communities, according to officials. The $49.3 million includes $5.9 million for airports on Kauai,...

Mixed messaging between the Navy, Hawaii Department of Health (DOH) and Board of Water Supply (BWS) have made the contaminated water crisis challenging for some agencies to get clear answers. The BWS said it is a long chain of command with the Navy sending test results to the DOH who then sends it to the BWS. “The Navy operates a regulated community water system subject to state and federal drinking water regulations and the regulator is the DOH, so we don’t want to get in the way of...

U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz received assurances from the White House on Saturday that Hawaii will have the federal resources needed to emerge from the current water contamination crisis at Red Hill. Schatz said he had calls with two of President Joe Biden’s top officials to talk about water quality issues at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. “Today, I spoke with White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain and Homeland Security Advisor Dr. Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall to brief them on the water...

A small but significant bridge in Hilo will receive $1.5 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency funds to kick-start a modernization and disaster mitigation project. The funds, through FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Program, will be used for the Waianuenue Avenue Bridge, Sen. Brian Schatz, Hawaii’s senior U.S. senator, announced Monday. The bridge is located on Waianuenue Avenue, shortly after mauka traffic turns right at the intersection of Kaumana Drive. Schatz said the funds...

LIHU‘E — Eighteen Kaua‘i health-care providers will receive more than $3.6 million in federal funding under the American Rescue Plan. Local grant recipients include a wide variety of practices and operations, from hospitals and clinics to physical therapists, dentists and more. All serve rural Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program and Medicare beneficiaries. “This new federal funding will provide a lifeline for rural-health-care providers and help families...

U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced Tuesday that rural health care providers in Hawaii will receive more than $43 million in federal funding from the American Rescue Plan to provide health care for families across the state. The grants will support 240 Hawai‘i health care providers who serve rural Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program, and Medicare beneficiaries. “This new federal funding will provide a lifeline...

HONOLULU (KHON2) — U.S. Senator Brian Schatz of Hawai’i wrote a provision in President’s Joe Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure deal, which was signed into law last week. According to Schatz, that provision extended the deadline for $493 million in grant funding for the Honolulu Rail Transit project. The federal funds, a portion of the $1.55 billion federal grant for the project, were set to expire at the end of the year if left unspent. “My objective was to prevent...

Sen. Brian Schatz has arrived in Scotland for the United Nations climate conference, representing the United States and Hawaii, which he says has become a climate change leader. The conference, known as COP26, is considered the most important climate meeting since Paris in 2015 and will end on Nov. 12. Schatz, who arrived on Friday, said that in the past Hawaii spoke of being a climate change leader as an aspiration. But with the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative’s commitment to shift to...

Our phones play a major role in our lives. They keep us in touch with friends and family, connect us to the happenings of the world while on the go, and are oftentimes necessary for our jobs. For survivors of domestic abuse, however, phones also represent something else — a terrifying way to be monitored, stalked or controlled. One in three women and one in four men in the United States will experience domestic abuse in their lifetime, and the frequency of these terrible acts has increased...

Hawaii will receive $3.1 million in federal funding from the American Rescue Plan to help detect and prevent potential COVID-19 outbreaks among people experiencing homelessness and prison populations, U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz said Friday. “As Hawaii experiences a surge in COVID-19 cases due to the Delta variant, we can’t leave vulnerable communities behind in our efforts to stop the spread of this virus,” Schatz, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said in a news...

On Friday’s 100th anniversary of the signing into law of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act by President Warren G. Harding, the “groundbreaking legacy” of Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalaniana‘ole — champion of the law intended to provide homes for Native Hawaiians — was celebrated. “Whether it’s improving Native Hawaiian housing, health care or education, Prince Kuhio’s work, his legacy of justice for Native Hawaiians, lives on. It’s alive in...

When Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz took the reins of the Indian Affairs Committee in February, he found out that its staffers were making less money than any other Senate committee. The realization underscored how little clout the Indian Affairs Committee had in the Senate and the challenge of getting Congress to prioritize Indigenous issues. Schatz raised the salaries and hired more staff. But his ambitions are a lot bigger. “The way I look at the work we’re doing is to try to understand...

Congress appears poised to let millions of Medicare recipients continue to video chat with their doctors after the pandemic is over. A set of telemedicine policies the Trump administration adopted during lockdowns is emerging as an unexpected bipartisan rallying point as lawmakers begin to weigh life after Covid-19. The coverage policies are due to lapse once the health emergency ends, which could limit telehealth payments to rural providers and doctors with existing relationships with...

Hawaii U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz on Thursday reintroduced legislation that would accelerate the federal Bureau of Prisons’ approval process for compassionate release during a public health emergency. Schatz’s Emergency GRACE Act also would provide $50 million for state prison systems to increase their facilities’ testing for the novel coronavirus, plus the use of compassionate release and elderly or medical parole. “People who are eligible for compassionate release are the...

With student loans spiraling upward, U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz is sponsoring the Debt-Free College Act, which aims to ensure low-income students can attend public colleges without going into debt. “There’s something wrong with a society that says it values higher education but then punishes you for pursuing it,” Schatz said in an interview. Student debt in the United States soared to $1.7 trillion last year, more than three times what it was in 2006, according to the Federal...

WASHINGTON — Native communities across the country are facing the brunt of climate change, whether it’s drought in the West or coral bleaching off the coast of Hawaii. That’s why Hawaii U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz, Democratic chairman of the Indian Affairs Committee, wanted to hear from Indigenous leaders themselves about the challenges they face as the planet warms and what the federal government can do to help them adapt. During a hearing Wednesday Schatz said that he intends to...