Press Releases

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), a senior member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, pressed Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr on his comments that led to the temporary suspension of comedian Jimmy Kimmel earlier this year and whether he believes the commission has the authority to revoke broadcast licenses over political satire it disagrees with. Senator Schatz asked, “So you think you have jurisdiction over political...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) introduced the Safeguarding American Families and Expanding Social Security (SAFE Social Security) Act, legislation to expand Social Security for seniors and families in Hawai‘i and across the country. The bill will increase benefits on average by more than $150 per month, ensure the cost of living adjustments adequately reflect the living expenses of retirees, extend the life of the trust fund, and remove the wage cap to make sure all Americans...

Washington, D.C. – Today, Jewish members of the Senate Democratic Caucus released the following statement in reaction to the murder of 15 people in Sydney at a menorah lighting on the first night of Hanukkah. The statement is signed by Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawai’i), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.). “The Festival of Lights...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), a senior member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and Katie Britt (R-Ala.) called on leading artificial intelligence (AI) companies to improve transparency around the capabilities of their models and the risks they pose to users. In letters to OpenAI, Microsoft, Google, Anthropic, Meta, Luka, Character.AI, and xAI, the senators highlighted reports of AI chatbots encouraging dangerous behavior among children,...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), a member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, today released the following statement on President Donald Trump’s executive order limiting the ability of states to regulate artificial intelligence (AI) and preventing the enforcement of existing state laws. “Embracing the amazing possibilities of AI can’t come at the cost of leaving Americans vulnerable to its profound risks, which is exactly what this executive order...

WASHINGTON – More than 16,000 Hawai‘i residents joined U.S. Senator Brian Schatz’s (D-Hawai‘i) statewide telephone town hall today. Senator Schatz heard from constituents about their priorities, provided updates on his work in the Senate, and took questions on rising costs, federal funding, health care, education, immigration enforcement, among many others. “I always appreciate the chance to hear directly from people across Hawai‘i about their priorities and concerns,” said Senator Schatz....

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) voted today to protect people’s health care and prevent monthly premiums from more than doubling for tens of millions of Americans starting next month. Senate Republicans rejected the measure which sought to extend Affordable Care Act premium tax credits through 2028. “Republicans are choosing to rip away health care from millions of Americans on purpose,” said Senator Schatz. “At a time when the cost of everything is going up because of Donald...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) spoke on the Senate floor today about the various ways President Donald Trump is raising prices for Americans, including on food, health care, electricity, home insurance, and Christmas gifts. Schatz highlighted how Trump’s policies, including tariffs and regulatory rollbacks, have sharply driven up prices across Americans’ daily lives. Schatz’s comments come ahead of a Senate vote this week to extend Affordable Care Act premium tax credits and...

WASHINGTON – Following the implementation of Australia’s social media ban for children, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) today called on Congress to pass the Kids Off Social Media Act. The bipartisan bill, led by Schatz and U.S. Senators Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), and Katie Britt (R-Ala.), would keep young children under the age of 13 off social media and protect teenagers from the harmful impacts of algorithmic targeting. In addition to Australia’s move this week, a number...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations (SFOPS), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Ranking Member on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking Committee, Andy Kim (D-N.J.),...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawai‘i), and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) today introduced legislation to promote Native arts and culture and unlock federal funding for Native Hawaiian Organizations (NHOs). The bipartisan Native Arts & Culture Promotion Act provides a technical fix to the Native Hawaiian and Alaska Native Culture and Arts grant program to ensure NHOs can access funding from the program. “Our bill provides a common-sense fix so that...

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations, delivered the following remarks at the subcommittee’s hearing on the abduction of Ukrainian children by the Russian Federation. “The systematic abduction of Ukrainian children by the Russian government is a horrific tragedy for the thousands of families victimized by Putin. But it’s also an issue of global concern. Here in the Senate, colleagues on...

WASHINTON – Following reports that a former Tripler Army Medical Center obstetrician-gynecologist secretly recorded patients during examinations, 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 Jill Tokuda (D-Hawai‘i) called on the Department of Defense to thoroughly investigate every allegation against Major Blaine D. McGraw and the Army’s own failures in allowing his misconduct to persist. “The damage done by Major...

WASHINGTON – The National Telecommunications and Information Administration this week approved a proposal that will unlock $30.6 million in new federal funding to expand high-speed internet access across Hawai‘i. Hawai‘i is among the first states in the country to receive approval for new funding from the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program which will be used to build out and improve broadband infrastructure statewide. “Everyone in Hawai‘i should have access to high-speed...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) issued the following statement after the U.S. Senate unanimously passed a measure to release the Jeffrey Epstein files. “Now that Congress has weighed in on a bipartisan basis, it is the job of the Department of Justice to actually release these files and not cook up a new set of excuses.” ###

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) today released the following statement after voting against a government funding bill that did not address rising health care costs for millions of Americans. “I voted no because this bill does not extend the Affordable Care Act subsidies, but we are not done with this fight. We are going to keep fighting to try to salvage this situation for the tens of millions of Americans who are going to see their health care costs double.” ###

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) today released the following statement after the Trump administration directed states to undo any actions to provide full Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to low-income families. “This is inhumane and illogical. The money is there, and we should use it to feed hungry Hawai‘i citizens. Tens of thousands of families rely upon this benefit to put food on the table, and multiple federal courts have determined that using the...

WASHINGTON – Speaking at this afternoon’s Senate Democratic leadership press conference, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) called on President Trump to comply with court orders and fully fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that nearly 42 million Americans rely on, including more than 160,000 people in Hawai‘i. “There's enough money for a golden toilet. There's enough money for $40 billion for right-wing government in Argentina. There is enough money for a new aircraft...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Brian Schatz and Chris Coons (D-Del.), Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee Jack Reed (D-R.I.), and 18 of their Democratic colleagues today introduced the Armed Forces Pay Act, legislation to ensure that military personnel continue to receive pay during the ongoing government shutdown. Shortly afterward, Senator Coons went to the floor of...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) released the following statement on the passing of Maui County Councilmember Natalie “Tasha” Kama. “Councilmember Tasha Kama was a dedicated public servant who spent years working to make life better for the people of Maui. She was kind and generous, but not afraid to take on some of the county’s most pressing challenges, including housing and Native Hawaiian health care. Maui, and especially central Maui, are better off today because of her...