In the News

With climate change threatening the health of coral reefs around the world, Hawaii’s congressional delegation on Wednesday scored apparent victories on behalf of America’s coral reefs in two separate measures that were included in the National Defense Authorization Act, the annual defense bill expected to pass before the end of the session. The final defense bill included the Restoring Resilient Reefs Act, which was authored by U.S. Sens. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, and Marco Rubio,...

Congress has included key provisions in its annual defense policy bill for 2023 that will ensure that the U.S. Navy continues efforts to drain and decommission its bulk fuel storage tanks at Red Hill. The National Defense Authorization Act sets the policy priorities for the U.S. military each year and is one of the rare pieces of legislation that almost always gets approved despite partisan divisions. Congress has yet to vote on the legislation, but it is expected to pass before the end of the...

Nearly $5.6 million in federal funding is designed to provide the first phase of high-speed internet access to “unserved and underserved” communities such as Native Hawaiian homesteads, Lanai and Molokai to create an “internet for all,” Gov. David Ige announced Wednesday. “Every family deserves access to high-speed internet,” Ige said. The funding comes from the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Program that was created by the Infrastructure Investment...

Both of Hawaii’s U.S. senators celebrated the passage Tuesday of the Respect for Marriage Act, which protects marriage equality in federal law. The bill passed the Senate 61-36 with Brian Schatz and Mazie Hirono, both Democrats, voting in favor of the legislation. Twelve Republicans joined their Democratic colleagues in approving the legislation, which now heads to the House for final approval before heading to President Joe Biden’s desk for his signature. “BREAKING: We just...

A bipartisan bill that will make it easier for researchers to study the health benefits of marijuana is set to become law after winning approval in the U.S. Senate this week. The Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act, which was sponsored by Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, California Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz, received overwhelming support in both chambers of Congress. According to lawmakers, it will help streamline the process and reduce barriers that...

This summer, a political miracle occurred. Against powerful opposition and long odds, despite being written off by pundits, and by the narrowest of margins, we passed the biggest American climate action ever. The Inflation Reduction Act is predicted to push us from 25 percent to 40 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by the end of the decade, and put the United States within striking distance of our emissions reduction targets. While this is the most we’ve ever done,...

U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, praised the election of Luiz Inacio “Lula” da Silva as president of Brazil on Sunday, hailing the victory over authoritarian rival Jair Bolsonaro as a win for the environment. “Lula’s win is a victory for global climate action,” said Schatz, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and an outspoken advocate for action on climate change. “The importance of the Amazon as a carbon sink cannot be overstated and its...

Hawaiʻi will receive nearly $5 million from the Environmental Protection Agency as part of a nearly $95 million EPA Clean School Bus program rebate competition from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The grants were sent to 29 school districts in Hawaiʻi, American Samoa, Arizona, California and Nevada. Hawaiʻi will use its share to buy 25 buses for the state Department of Education — 20 of which will be zero emission electric buses. The funding will also...

Sen. Brian Schatz was championing telehealth before the Covid-19 pandemic made it commonplace. As this Congress winds down, the Hawaii Democrat is pressing colleagues to take up legislation to extend the Health and Human Services Department’s pandemic rules that allow Medicare beneficiaries to more easily have virtual appointments with their doctors. His CONNECT for Health Act to bolster telehealth access has the backing of more than 60 senators, but it’s up...

The Department of the Interior announced Tuesday it will require a process of formal consultation with the Native Hawaiian community on any actions it proposes that have a substantial direct effect on the community. The effort, described in a set of proposed policies and procedures, is a first for the federal agency and puts Native Hawaiians on par with Indian tribes without requiring the community to be a formal tribe. “New policies and procedures, subject to formal consultation, will...

United States Sen. Brian Schatz announced Wednesday that seven Hawaii organizations will receive a total of $1 million in funding from the U.S. Department of the Interior to further their work in preserving and sharing Native Hawaiian culture with visitors. “Everyone who visits Hawaii should understand and appreciate Native Hawaiian culture, and this funding will help give local organizations the resources they need to preserve and share these important traditions,” Schatz, chairman...

U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) announced on Friday, Oct. 7, that Hawai‘i will receive $1,417,688 in new federal funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to support school meal programs. The money will help schools provide students with nutritious meals, supporting families that face food insecurity and addressing food shortages amid supply chain challenges. “Kids throughout Hawai‘i rely on school meals so that they can stay healthy and succeed in school,”...

The Federal Transit Administration has approved the Honolulu rail project’s recovery plan and will release $125 million of the $744 million it has withheld for years, city officials announced on Friday.  A second release of $250 million is contingent on the successful award of a contract for the city center guideway and stations, the FTA told HART CEO Lori Kahikina in a letter. That contract is expected to be awarded in 2024.  The decision came more than three months after the...

With the school year in full swing, Kaua‘i public schools are getting some additional support from the federal government. U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) announced Thursday that Kaua‘i schools would receive $2.4 million to support programs aimed at educating students in low-income communities. These funds will go toward new technology, teacher professional development, additional educators, and other academic programs. In total, Hawai‘i schools will receive $58.2...

Hawaii’s public schools will soon be getting more than $58 million in federal funding, U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz said Thursday. The money is aimed at helping improve education for students in low-income communities, going toward new technology, teacher professional development, additional educators and more. “These new funds will be used to hire more teachers, expand academic programs, and help more students get a quality education,” Schatz said, in a statement. The money will be...

U.S. Sens. Mazie Hirono and Brian Schatz, both D-Hawaii, joined four Senate colleagues Friday in urging the Department of Defense to allow people with human immunodeficiency virus and hepatitis B virus to enlist and serve in the military as long as their conditions are well managed. “We are pleased to learn that (the U.S. Department of Justice) will no longer defend the constitutionality of regulations barring the deployment and commissioning of service members with HIV who are currently...

The U.S. Department of Defense has sped up its timeline for draining the Navy’s underground Red Hill fuel tanks by about five months and now expects that the work can be completed by July 2024. The projection is part of the military’s supplemental defueling plan submitted to the Hawaii Department of Health on Wednesday, which also discloses for the first time that there are 1 million gallons of fuel sitting in its Red Hill pipelines that it plans to remove next month. The...

The Hawaii Department of Health is set to receive more than $1 million for measures related to preventative care and community health, congressional officials announced Wednesday. The new federal funding comes from the United States Department of Health and Human Services, or HHS, Preventive Health and Health Services Block Grant. The funding will be used for emerging health issues, addressing preventable risk factors, and eliminating health disparities, according to officials. Programs funded...

When the largest climate bill in U.S. history passed the Senate this month, Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) choked back tears. “This is a planetary emergency, and this is the first time the federal government has taken action that is worthy of the moment,” he told reporters at the time. “Now I can look my kids in the eye and say we’re really doing something about climate.” For Schatz, one of Congress’s most vocal climate hawks, the moment marked the...

State and county transportation agencies will receive more than $55 million in federal money to buy clean energy buses and improve bus facilities. It’s part of $1.66 billion invested nationwide in bus fleets and facilities. The funds come from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which was signed last year. “This new federal funding will make it easier for people to get to where they need to go while making our roads cleaner and quieter,” Sen. Brian Schatz,...