Press Releases

WASHINGTON — In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) warned that the Republican tax bill would raise costs for working families and cut critical programs like Medicaid and food assistance in order to pay for tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans. “No one asked for this. No one asked for the biggest wealth transfer in American history — from the poorest people in the country to the richest people to ever exist. No one asked for the biggest ever cuts to Medicaid —...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations, released the following statement on President Donald Trump’s request to Congress to rescind nearly $10 billion in previously-enacted funding. “The Trump administration is seeking to codify its evisceration of American foreign assistance. Make no mistake: doing so will make Americans less safe, less secure, and less prosperous. “Gutting global health...

HONOLULU — U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) joined a group of his colleagues in urging the Trump Administration to immediately reverse course on its plan to illegally and unilaterally terminate the ENERGY STAR program. In their letter, the Senators highlight the cost-saving benefits of the program, which is projected to save the average American household $450 on utility bills each year simply by choosing ENERGY STAR certified products.  “The Trump administration’s plan to get rid of ENERGY...

KAHULUI – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) joined state and local leaders at a groundbreaking ceremony for the Kahului Airport South Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Checkpoint Project. Schatz, a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, helped secure more than $30 million in federal funding for the project which will expand security lanes and add air conditioning at checkpoints. “This new checkpoint will reduce wait times and improve people’s experience at Kahului...

HONOLULU – U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) and Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawai‘i) and U.S. Representatives Jill Tokuda (D-Hawai‘i) and Ed Case (D-Hawai‘i) pressed the U.S. Navy to publicly justify its ongoing training on Ka‘ula and the proposal to more than double the number of inert bombing and gunfire training exercises conducted on Ka‘ula in Kaua‘i County. The lawmakers called on the Navy to conduct a full environmental impact statement (EIS) and provide a clear national security rationale...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) reintroduced the Deliver for Veterans Act. The bipartisan legislation expands an existing Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) grant program to cover shipping costs for disabled veterans who require modified vehicles for transportation. “Disabled veterans deserve access to every benefit they have earned – regardless of where they live,” said Senator Schatz. “Our bill is about basic fairness and will help disabled...

WASHINGTON — In a speech on the Senate floor yesterday, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) called out House Republicans for holding a committee meeting at 1 a.m. to quietly advance then pass a bill that would cut health care and reduce food assistance for millions, as well as promote a dying and dirty fossil fuel energy agenda — all to pay for tax breaks for billionaires. “This is a sort of general rule in politics, which is that if you start your meeting at 1 a.m., you're probably not proud...

WASHINGTON – At two separate Senate hearings today, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), questioned Secretary of State Marco Rubio, pressing him on his role in foreign assistance decisions and securing a commitment that Rubio and other foreign assistance officials come back before Congress and work together to write and pass a bipartisan funding bill that protects foreign aid and maintains U.S influence and leadership around the world. At the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State and...

WASHINGTON – Speaking at the Council on Foreign Relations, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations, condemned the Trump administration’s wholesale dismantling of American foreign assistance and its abrupt departure from generations of bipartisan American foreign policy consensus. He underscored the various ways the administration’s cuts are costing lives and disrupting work critical to American interests...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) released the following statement after voting for a resolution led by U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-Va.) to demand answers on the Trump administration’s compliance with court orders regarding illegal deportations of American citizens and residents as well as more information about El Salvador’s human rights record. The resolution was blocked by Senate Republicans. “President Trump’s disappearing of American residents to Salvadoran prisons without...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, yesterday called for unanimous consent on the Senate floor to adopt a resolution authored by Schatz and U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) that would condemn a luxury airplane gift, valued at $400 million, President Donald Trump announced he will receive from the government of Qatar. Senate Republicans blocked it. “It really should go without saying, but no president should be accepting a $400...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) today released the following statement after Republicans in the House Ways and Means Committee passed legislation as part of President Donald Trump’s economic agenda that would roll back clean energy investments and raise energy costs for people across the country. “Republicans just passed a bill that would gut investments in clean energy and give tax cuts to billionaires at the expense of everyone else. Trump promised the American people that...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) and Chris Coons (D-Del.), members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today introduced a resolution in the Senate condemning a luxury airplane gift, valued at $400 million, President Donald Trump announced he will receive from the government of Qatar. According to reports, Trump intends to designate the plane as Air Force One while in office and then transfer it to a foundation for personal use following the end of his term. In addition...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today took to the Senate floor to condemn a luxury airplane gift, valued at $400 million, that President Donald Trump announced he will receive from the government of Qatar. According to reports, Trump intends to designate the plane as Air Force One while in office and then transfer it to a foundation for personal use following the end of his term. Schatz also announced he will be...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), all members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today released the following joint statement on reports that President Trump will accept a luxury jet valued at $400 million from the royal family of Qatar. According to reports, Trump intends to designate the plane as Air Force One while in office and then transfer it to a foundation for personal use following the end...

WASHINGTON – More than 26,000 Hawai‘i residents today joined U.S. Senator Brian Schatz’s (D-Hawai‘i) statewide telephone town hall. Senator Schatz heard from constituents, listened to their priorities and concerns, provided updates on his work in the Senate, and took questions on federal funding for Hawai‘i, Medicare, Social Security, Medicaid, FEMA, and recent actions from the Trump administration, among many others. “To represent Hawai‘i as effectively as I can in the Senate, it’s essential...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) released the following statement on reports that Filipino teachers on Maui were interrogated and held in their home by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “The reported interrogation and efforts to detain Filipino teachers in their home on Maui by ICE agents is outrageous. This is racial profiling and a shameful abuse of power. We are a nation of laws, but the broad ICE raids this week are clearly designed just to instill fear,” said...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) and Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawai‘i) and U.S. Representatives Jill Tokuda (D-Hawai‘i) and Ed Case (D-Hawai‘i) today reintroduced bicameral legislation that would help strengthen and protect health care for seniors in Hawai‘i. The Protecting Access To Care in Hawai‘i (PATCH) Act would provide fair Medicare reimbursements to Hawai‘i providers, helping retain and recruit more doctors and protect access to health care for seniors across the state. “As...

WASHINGTON – Following World Press Freedom Day on May 3, U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) this week introduced a bipartisan resolution recognizing growing threats to freedom of the press around the world and reaffirming the vital role of independent journalism in promoting democracy, human rights, and good governance. “A free press is a cornerstone of any healthy democracy – and it’s vital that we protect and defend it, at home and abroad,” said Senator Schatz, a...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, released the following statement on President Donald Trump’s budget proposal. “The president’s budget proposal is simply that – a proposal.  It’s not going to happen. If enacted, President Trump’s proposed budget cuts would weaken our national security, end critical medical research, and have a terrible impact on Hawai‘i, but Congress holds the purse strings, not the president.  We will not cede...