Press Releases

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) issued the following statement after an agreement was made to include a $1.1 billion funding package for Zika research and protection in the latest funding resolution. “We appear to have a deal on Zika that will help us to address this dangerous disease. This is especially important for Hawai‘i because we have two of the mosquitoes that carry the virus,” said Senator Schatz. “This disease is now well...

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), and Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) introduced the Accreditation Reform and Enhanced Accountability Act of 2016 (AREAA). The legislation would take steps to reduce student debt and to protect students and taxpayers by reforming higher education accreditation and strengthening the Education Department's (ED) ability to hold accreditors accountable. AREAA would rebuild our college quality assurance system with...

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), Ranking Member of the Senate Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet, released the following statement on the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) transition. “The Senate continues to reject any efforts to block the IANA transition.  These efforts represent a fringe view that defies all logic.  Technology and foreign policy experts from across the political spectrum agree...

WASHINGTON— On the fifth anniversary of the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) renewed his call to restore honor to service members discharged due to sexual orientation. “Today, we mark five years since that watershed moment when the United States finally ended institutionalized discrimination against gays, lesbians, and bisexuals serving in our armed forces,” said Senator Schatz.  “While our work...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today welcomed more than $3.8 million from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect threatened and endangered species in Hawai‘i through better land use management. These funds are a part of a $44.8 million investment under the Endangered Species Act grant program that will be distributed among 20 states. “This new funding will help ensure that threatened and...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) released the following statement in response to a report from the Associated Press on labor abuses in the American fishing industry. “I’m alarmed and disturbed by the conditions reported by the Associated Press. In addition to working on expeditiously and independently confirming the veracity of the reports, I have directed my staff to do a comprehensive review of what available tools the Coast Guard as well as the...

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), Ranking Member of the Senate Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet, released the following statement in response to recent efforts to block the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) transition. “It’s shocking that there is anyone in the Congress who wants to restrict the freedom of the internet by opposing the IANA transition.  Their opposition flies in the face of the...

WASHINGTON – The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Native American Tourism and Improving Visitor Experience (NATIVE) Act, bipartisan legislation introduced by U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) and John Thune (R-S.D.) that will enhance and integrate native tourism, empower native communities, and expand unique cultural tourism opportunities in the United States.  The bill, which passed in the Senate in April, now heads to the president for his...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) and Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) today sent a letter signed by 27 Senate colleagues to House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) urging him to bring the $1.1 billion Zika funding legislation passed by the Senate to the House floor for a vote. As of today, there are more than 18,000 cases of Zika reported in the United States and its territories. “Zika is now well established in the United States with cases of local transmission by mosquitoes...

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced that the State of Hawai‘i will receive $625,477 in grant funding to support the Hawai‘i Emergency Management Agency (HI-EMA) in its mission to inform and prepare residents for tsunamis.  “In Hawai‘i, being well-prepared for natural disasters like tsunamis can mean the difference between life and death,” said Senator Schatz. ...

HONOLULU – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) issued the following statement in recognition of Labor Day: “On Labor Day, we honor the work and sacrifice of the labor movement in our country. We thank labor unions as champions for the minimum wage, Social Security, workplace health and safety standards, child labor protections, and the 40-hour work week, but our thanks must be more than just words.  “As Congress returns to session this week, we must focus on the...

HONOLULU – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced today that all displaced Hawaiian Commercial and Sugar Company (HC&S) employees are now eligible to receive federal assistance from the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL). This funding will provide compensation to help replace lost wages, cover expenses for job training as well as allow workers to begin training while still employed. “This funding will help ensure that...

WASHINGTON - In response to a request from Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI), the U.S. Department of the Interior announced today $497,000 in additional federal funding to combat a tree-killing fungus that causes Rapid ‘Ohia Death (ROD), a disease that threatens the State’s tropical forests and delicate ecosystems which could jeopardize local water supplies and Hawai‘i’s economic vitality. The funding comes on the eve of the World Conservation Congress that is convening for the...

HONOLULU – Today, President Barack Obama announced the expansion of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument (PMNM) by more than 442,000 square miles.  U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), who formally proposed the PMNM expansion in a letter to the president in June, applauded the decision. This action will create the world’s largest marine protected area by putting some of the world’s most important ocean ecosystems under conservation.  “This is...

HONOLULU – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) issued the following statement after attending the memorial service for former U.S. Representative Mark Takai. “Today we say a painful goodbye to my friend, and son of Hawaii, Mark Takai.  In life Mark devoted himself to realizing his vision for a healthier, safer, and better world, and in death will be remembered for having so much more to give. “Whether it was in the Hawaii Army National Guard, the Hawaii State Legislature,...

HONOLULU – The office of U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) is currently accepting applications for this year’s Schatz Seniors High School Internship Program.  The Schatz Seniors program provides a hands-on learning opportunity about the U.S. Senate and encourages students to be advocates in their schools and communities.   Schatz Seniors will work with outreach staff, identify issues of interest to their communities, and attend and staff special...

HONOLULU – In response to Donald Trump’s suggestion that the United States ban immigrants from a number of countries including the Philippines, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) issued the following statement: “Donald Trump’s latest rant suggesting we ban immigration from countries like the Philippines that are helping us fight terrorism is another example of his reckless rhetoric that’s based on fear and division and further proves he is unfit to lead our...

HONOLULU – Today, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) and Senate Democrats released a new letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan urging the Republican leaders to immediately call Congress back into session to pass emergency funding legislation to address the growing Zika crisis. Since Republican leaders shuttered both chambers of Congress for a seven-week recess – the longest in 60 years – without passing legislation to help stem...

HONOLULU – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) today welcomed $3.7 million in funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to support the Hawai‘i State Department of Health’s epidemiological and laboratory capacity to respond to public health threats. This funding will specifically help the department’s work on infectious disease surveillance and investigation, including flu and foodborne diseases, as well as...

HONOLULU –  President Barack Obama has signed the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) into law, which includes a provision co-authored by U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah). The Schatz-Hatch legislation, titled the Safe Treatments and Opportunities to Prevent (STOP) Pain Act, will strengthen research for treatment of chronic pain and find alternatives to opioids, which can be dangerous when abused. “Millions of Americans suffer from...