Press Releases

  WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) introduced the Senate companion to the House-passed Violence Against Women Act.   “For 25 years, VAWA has provided support, shelter, and a new chance at life for women and children in Hawai‘i and across the country,” said Senator Schatz. “This bill will strengthen vital services, improve prevention programs, and increase housing and financial assistance for...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) released the following statement on the first public hearing of the House of Representatives’ impeachment inquiry.   “It is a solemn time for our country, and it is unfortunate that it has come to this. But we take solace in the fact that our founders wrote into the Constitution a remedy for the behavior that was exposed. Although impeachment and removal are severe consequences, so are the high crimes being alleged. “The safeguards built into...

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), lead Democrat on the Senate Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet, called on telecom companies to provide answers on the islandwide phone, internet, and cable TV outage that occurred last week on Kauai. According to reports, the outage lasted for at least a day for many residents. Many in the community voiced complaints about Spectrum’s response and their failure to provide quick,...

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that non-profit The Food Basket on Hawai‘i Island will receive a $985,652 grant to help more low-income families across the state access locally grown produce and healthy food. “This new federal funding means more people in Hawai‘i will be able to put healthy, locally grown food on their tables, helping both local farmers and families in need,” said U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), a...

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has announced it will award the State of Hawai‘i $20 million to help build a new pedestrian bridge over Ala Moana Boulevard. The new bridge will connect Ala Moana Beach Park and Kewalo Harbor to Ward Village, the Ala Moana Center, and the future Ward rail station. U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), a member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, worked with DOT to...

HONOLULU – The United States Air Force announced it has approved Barking Sands Pacific Missile Range Facility as the preferred alternative for the Air National Guard’s Space Control Squadron. By selecting a site on Kauai, the Air Force will create a new, highly technical squadron to monitor U.S. satellites in support of the national security space mission, ensuring that the military and other national security agencies have access to satellite communication, intelligence, and key...

  WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) called on Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue and Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt to step in and provide immediate support to efforts to control and eradicate the invasive longhorn beetle before it devastates Hawai‘i Island. “The threat to U.S. agriculture and Hawai‘i’s environment justifies immediate, strong intervention from the federal government in order to prevent harm to the...

  WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), lead Democrat on the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation and the Internet, released the following statement on Twitter’s decision to ban all political advertisements.   “Twitter’s new policy to stop all political ads is strong, but it’s not the only solution. Online platforms, including Facebook, can simply refuse to run ads with blatant lies. This is not a new...

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) introduced the Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies (CONNECT) for Health Act of 2019, bipartisan legislation that would expand telehealth services through Medicare, improve health outcomes, make it easier for patients to connect with their doctors, and help cut costs for...

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio) applauded the Senate passage of the Deepfake Report Act, bipartisan legislation that would direct the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to conduct an annual study of deepfakes and other types of similar content. Deepfakes are hyper-realistic, digital manipulations of real content that depict events that did not actually occur. “Fake content can damage our national security and undermine...

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawai‘i) and Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) called on Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai to end his efforts that would threaten funding for programs that help millions of Americans in rural communities access telephone and internet services. “Especially in rural areas, USF programs have been key to redefining access to services and ensuring that the...

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) and John Thune (R-S.D.) reintroduced the Reliable Emergency Alert Distribution Improvement (READI) Act. The bipartisan legislation would ensure more people receive relevant emergency alerts on their mobile phones, televisions, and radios, explore new ways of alerting the public through online video and audio streaming services, track and study false alerts when they occur, and improve the way states plan for emergency...

WASHINGTON  – Today, U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) announced the Stopping Executive Overreach on Military Appropriations Act (SEOMA) in response to President Trump’s raid of military construction funds in order to build his wasteful wall on the southern U.S. border. The bill would rescind President Trump’s egregious abuse of executive power and prevent future...

WASHINGTON – Today, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) approved the State of Hawai‘i’s request for federal aid to contain the Kahana Ridge fire on Maui. FEMA's Fire Management Assistance Grant Program (FMAGP) offers federal funding for the mitigation, management, and control of fires deemed likely to constitute a major disaster. “This new emergency federal funding will strengthen efforts to contain the Kahana Ridge fire and keep families safe. We’re...

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), a member of the Senate Banking Committee, and U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking Committee, sent letters to the CEOs of Visa, MasterCard, and Stripe to express deep concerns over Facebook’s Libra Association and to urge potential member companies to proceed with caution until Facebook is able to provide real answers. PayPal left the Libra Association on Friday.  “We are...

HONOLULU – Hawai‘i is set to receive nearly $10 million in federal funding to support Native Hawaiian programs. The U.S. Department of Education will award Hawai‘i nearly $7 million to fund Native Hawaiian education programs, while the Department of Health and Human Services will provide nearly $3 million for Native Hawaiian community development and child care programs. “This new federal funding means local schools and programs have more resources to support their work...

WASHINGTON – The Senate Appropriations Committee last week approved $4.1 million in federal funding to support management and research projects for the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument. U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), a member of the Appropriations Committee, worked with committee leadership to secure new federal funding for the monument, one of the world’s largest marine protected areas. “We were successful at securing new federal funding to help us...

WASHINGTON – The Senate Appropriations Committee last week approved $16.7 million in federal funding for the East-West Center. U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), a member of the Appropriations Committee, worked with committee leadership in a bipartisan manner to maintain federal funding levels for the East-West Center, which directly supports the U.S. rebalance to the Asia Pacific through cooperative study, research, and dialogue with countries in the region.“The East-West...

HONOLULU – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) released the following statement on the Army Corps’ decision to acknowledge community concerns and consider improvements to the project.“We are pleased that the Army Corps is showing some flexibility, and that they are listening to community concerns. We still have a long way to go. This will require that we rebuild trust and listen to each other, but this is nevertheless good news for all involved. This will help us to...

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) and Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) introduced a bipartisan resolution calling for action to quell the fires and stop illegal deforestation in the Amazon rainforest. The resolution, co-sponsored by U.S. Senators John Kennedy (R-La.) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), recognizes the critical role the Amazon plays in the Earth’s climate system and calls on the Brazilian government to strengthen environmental enforcement and end illegal...