Press Releases

DUBAI – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and a Senate delegation will attend the annual UN climate conference, COP28, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Schatz plans to highlight the progress made possible so far by the Inflation Reduction Act, which was signed into law a year ago. The law – the biggest climate action in history – invests in clean energy, helps lower energy costs for Hawai‘i families, and aims to cut U.S. carbon pollution by...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) secured the inclusion of several provisions to the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), including measures to protect Hawai‘i’s shipyard workforce as a part of the crucial Australia – United Kingdom – United States (AUKUS) submarine partnership, authorize $1.6 billion in infrastructure projects, and create a new presidentially-appointed and Senate-confirmed diplomatic post to the Pacific Islands Forum. “These provisions will help...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) and U.S. Representative Ed Case (D-Hawai‘i) today secured the inclusion of several provisions to the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), including bipartisan legislation to collect data, study, and help better understand the health impacts of those exposed to water contamination from the Red Hill fuel leak. The Schatz-Case provision is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawai‘i) and Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) in the Senate...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) and Mike Braun (R-Ind.) and U.S. Representatives Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) introduced the Fostering Overseas Rule of Law and Environmentally Sound Trade (FOREST) Act, bipartisan legislation that creates a framework for the federal government to deter commodity-driven illegal deforestation around the world. The FOREST Act restricts access to U.S. markets for commodities originating from illegally deforested land,...

WASHINGTON – The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation announced that Hawai‘i will receive $7.6 million in new grant funding to support natural infrastructure projects across the state. The six grants to Hawai‘i, provided by the Infrastructure Law, will support design and implementation of projects to enhance the resilience of coastal communities and improve habitat for fish and wildlife. “These projects across Hawai‘i will help restore or...

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) and Mazie Hirono (D-Hawai‘i) released the following statement after voting to confirm Shanlyn A.S. Park to serve as a federal judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii. Park was among those recommended to President Biden by Senators Hirono and Schatz, and a merit-based Federal Judicial Selection Commission, and was confirmed by a bipartisan vote of 53-45. “With decades of experience practicing law in Hawai‘i, Judge...

WASHINGTON – By a vote of 57-41, the U.S. Senate today voted to confirm Micah Smith to serve on the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawai‘i. Smith was recommended to President Biden by Senators Schatz and Hirono, and a merit-based Federal Judicial Selection Commission. “Throughout his career, Micah Smith has proven to be a fair and impartial jurist, and it’s the reason he was confirmed with broad bipartisan support. He has the legal acumen as well as the character and temperament to...

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), Chris Van Hollen (D-Maryland), and Jack Reed (D-Rhode Island) released the following statement on their meeting yesterday with White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and over a dozen of their colleagues to discuss the letter the Senators led with 23 of their colleagues to President Biden condemning the brutal terror attacks by Hamas, expressing support for immediate funding to replenish Israel’s defensive systems, and...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) and Mazie Hirono (D-Hawai‘i) and Representatives Ed Case (D-Hawai‘i) and Jill Tokuda (D-Hawai‘i) issued the following statement on the report released today by the Red Hill Water Alliance Initiative (WAI). “As we’ve worked to secure the federal resources needed for defueling and closing Red Hill, we have consistently pushed to ensure DOD, EPA, and other federal agencies are responsive to community input. This report underscores the importance...

WASHINGTON – Following a lengthy process facilitated by U.S Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) approved the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transit’s (HART) updated full funding grant agreement (FFGA), which is now set for a final review from the HART Board of Directors and the Honolulu City Council. “After a long and difficult process, we are close to finalizing an updated full funding grant...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz today chaired a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing to consider six nominees to the U.S. Department of State. The nominees include Jeffrey Prescott to be U.S. Representative to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture, Charlie Crist to be U.S. Representative on the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization, Sean Patrick Maloney to be U.S. Representative to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Cardell...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) and Bill Cassidy, MD (R-La.) today reintroduced the Disaster Learning and Life Saving Act, bipartisan legislation that would create an independent board to investigate major natural disasters nationwide. The National Disaster Safety Board (NDSB) would specifically study the underlying causes of disaster-related fatalities and property damage, and make recommendations to all levels of government on how to make communities more resilient to the...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) today released the following statement on the second anniversary of the passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). As chair of the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Subcommittee, Schatz worked with congressional leaders and Hawai‘i officials to ensure the state received its fair share of federal funding. “Thanks to the historic investments we made in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, nearly...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) today issued the following statement after the release of the fifth National Climate Assessment (NCA5), a comprehensive federal review of the impacts of climate change mandated by Congress. “This report makes clear what we’ve long known to be true: the impact of the climate crisis is only getting worse, and we need to take big, bold action to address it,” said Senator Schatz. “The historic investments Congress made through the Inflation...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, today announced $20 million in new funding for the Kapapahuliau Climate Resilience Program. The new U.S. Department of the Interior program, funded through a Schatz-authored provision of the Inflation Reduction Act, will support the Native Hawaiian Community’s climate resilience efforts. “Through the Kapapahuliau Climate Resilience Program, the federal government is directly funding Native...

WASHINGTON – Today at a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) called on Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to commit to helping Maui residents impacted by the August fires remain in their communities. Schatz asked Secretary Mayorkas, “Should the federal government help disaster survivors stay in their communities?” In response, Mayorkas said, “Senator, I...

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), and Jack Reed (D-R.I.) led the majority of the Senate Democratic Caucus in a letter to President Biden condemning the brutal terror attacks by Hamas, expressing support for immediate funding to replenish Israel’s defensive systems, and seeking information on two clear U.S. priorities: supporting an Israeli strategy that will effectively degrade and defeat the threat from Hamas and taking...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) today announced that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has allocated $53 million in federal funding to build a temporary school in West Maui. The temporary facility will replace King Kamehameha III Elementary School, which was destroyed by the Maui fires in August. The money from FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund comes after Schatz led efforts to include $16 billion in supplemental funding for the program in a short-term government...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today released the following statement: “The suffering in Gaza is worsening by the day, and a mutually agreed-upon humanitarian pause is the only way to deliver adequate aid to those in need, create space for negotiations for the release of hostages, and chart a path forward that protects civilians. Continued violence will no doubt compound this already dire situation. Israel has the right to...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) and Mike Braun (R-Ind.) today reintroduced the Build More Housing Near Transit Act. The bipartisan legislation seeks to address America’s housing shortage by incentivizing local governments to build more housing near federally funded transit projects. Companion legislation has been introduced in the House of Representatives by U.S. Representatives Scott Peters (D-Calif.) and Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Ore.). “The clearest way out of our national...