Press Releases

HONOLULU – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D- Hawai‘i) today announced that schools in Hawai‘i will receive an estimated $2,340,000 in increased funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to help cover the costs of school meal programs. The boost in funding will assist schools in continuing to serve nutritious meals to children, which is especially critical in light of increasing food costs and operational challenges during the pandemic. “Hawai‘i’s...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) spoke on the Senate floor today to commemorate the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and the continued threats to American democracy. “A year ago, there was an attempted overthrow of American democracy right here in this building. We came perilously close to losing everything that night. Police officers were maimed and killed. Custodial workers and Senate staffers were hiding, with zero protection,” said Senator...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) and Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawai‘i) and U.S. Representatives Ed Case (D-Hawai‘i) and Kaiali‘i Kahele (D-Hawai‘i) released the following statement on the Hawai‘i Department of Health’s emergency order requiring the Navy to defuel its Red Hill fuel tanks. “The Navy must fully comply with the order and begin the process of planning and executing the safe removal of fuel that continues to pose a...

HONOLULU – U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and nine other senators called on Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, and Moderna to increase COVID-19 vaccines to low- and middle-income countries to help tackle the global disparities in accessing the vaccine. This follows a bipartisan letter that Schatz and Brown led in October calling on President Biden to provide more U.S. leadership and step up efforts to increase global vaccine access to fight the COVID-19...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) released the following statement congratulating newly named commissioners to President Biden’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (AANHPI). Commissioners with Hawai‘i ties include Amy Agbayani, Kimberly Chang, Kerry Doi, Michelle Kauhane, and Daniel Dae Kim.   “Amy, Kimberly, Michelle, Daniel, and Kerry are all well respected community leaders and will make...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) today announced that Hawai‘i will receive $4,933,437 in funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to fund school food programs. This new federal funding will provide meals for children, assisting families facing food insecurity and helping to address food shortages due to supply chain issues. “Kids throughout Hawai‘i get a nutritious meal at school every day,” said Senator Schatz, a member of the...

HONOLULU – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) called on the Hawai‘i Department of Education and the Hawai‘i Association of Independent Schools (HAIS) to adopt, as feasible, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s “test-to-stay” (TTS) guidance which allows students to stay in school if they are exposed to COVID-19, reducing time away from school and stopping learning loss. “With this new protocol, we can recoup thousands of days of...

HONOLULU – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) released the following statement on the Build Back Better Act. “The planet doesn’t have the flexibility for anyone to give up. The planet is heating up, and reacting in real time to increases in greenhouse gases by giving us more frequent and severe storms, drought, hurricanes in December, and 100 degree weather in the Arctic. The planet is not going to pause its warming process while we sort our politics out. We owe it to...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) today called on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to hold off on a new proposed rule for "time-area closures" that would close several bays on Hawai‘i Island and Maui from 6:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. every day, and restrict local ocean access to residents during those hours. “The proposed rule will foreseeably deny Hawai‘i residents and visitors access to the ocean, to protect dolphins that are...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) today announced that Hawai‘i will receive $224,069,212 in federal funding to improve the state’s roads, bridges, and highways and implement strategies to reduce traffic deaths and serious injuries. The federal funding from the Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) will also fund programs to cut traffic congestion, in turn reducing emissions and improving air quality. “These...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) and Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawai‘i) and U.S. Representatives Ed Case (D-Hawai‘i) and Kaiali‘i Kahele (D-Hawai‘i) today called on congressional leaders for their immediate assistance in securing federal funding to respond to the water contamination crisis at the Red Hill bulk fuel storage facility (RHBFSF). “We must bring the full power of Congress to bear on the Department of Defense (DoD) to ensure that it...

WASHINGTON —  U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawai‘i), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), and Rick Scott (R-Fla.) applauded the Senate Committee on Commerce’s unanimous passage of their Restoring Resilient Reefs Act of 2021 (S. 46). First introduced in August 2019, the bill would reauthorize and modernize the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000, strengthen NOAA’s Coral Reef program, and give new and innovative tools and resources to the...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) today announced that Hawai‘i airports will receive $49.3 million in new federal funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The new funding will help support airport infrastructure projects that improve safety and operations efficiency, cut congestion, and reduce the airport’s impact on the environment and neighboring communities. “Hawai‘i’s airports will soon be getting millions to help make it...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D- Hawai‘i) today released the following statement after the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced it was considering initiating a rulemaking under Section 18 of the FTC Act to ensure algorithmic decision-making does not result in unlawful discrimination. The announcement follows calls from Schatz to take action on this decision-making. “Algorithms are used everywhere, and their malicious use causes real harm to Americans every day....

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) today announced that 391 health care providers in Hawai‘i will receive $36,994,939 in federal funding to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and continue providing health care for families across the state. The payments will support health care providers who have experienced revenue losses and expenses related to the pandemic. This funding, from the Department of Health and Human Services, focuses in particular on smaller...

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Senate last week passed the Better Cybercrime Metrics Act, legislation authored by U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) that would help fight cybercrime and help keep people safe from online scams. The bipartisan bill will improve data collection on cybercrimes, giving law enforcement and policy makers more tools to understand the size and scope of cybercrime in the United States. “To protect people and fight online crimes, including scams and hacks like...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) today announced that the Hawai‘i Island Coalition was named a finalist for the Biden Administration’s Build Back Better Regional Challenge and will receive $500,000 to further develop a proposal for between $25 and $100 million in potential future grant funding. If successful, the coalition would use the funds to create jobs, train workers, and expand the market reach of Hawai‘i Island’s farmers. “This...

U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) today announced that the Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center will receive $472,834 in federal funding from the American Rescue Plan to establish a teaching health center primary care medical residency program on Oahu. “This new residency program will train more local doctors and help Hawai‘i families get the health care they need,” said Senator Schatz, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. “Where someone lives...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) released the following statement after the Navy disputed the Hawai‘i Department of Health’s analysis of water contamination at the Aiea Halawa well. “The EPA must be the lead agency in the collection, testing, analysis, and public communication for water quality of the Navy’s water system. EPA must take a more active role in addressing this crisis. We can’t afford another day of the Navy and state and...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Brian Schatz and Mazie K. Hirono, member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today voted to confirm Hawai‘i Attorney General Clare Connors to serve as U.S. Attorney for the District of Hawai‘i. The Senate voted unanimously to confirm her nomination. “Clare Connors is an excellent choice to serve as U.S. Attorney for the District of Hawai‘i, and her unanimous confirmation by the Senate is proof of that. With her strong background in public...