Press Releases

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) and U.S. Representative Derek Kilmer (D-Wash.) introduced legislation that would exempt employees of Navy public shipyards and other employees that directly support the shipyards from President Trump’s federal hiring freeze. Original cosponsors of the Senate bill include U.S. Senators Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawai‘i), and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) The Trump administration’s...

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) announced his support of legislation introduced by U.S. Senator Chris Murphy’s (D-Conn.) that would block President Trump’s recent anti-refugee and anti-immigrant executive order. The bill would withhold any funding to enforce the executive order and declares it illegal based on the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act. “I am pleased to support Senator Murphy’s legislation to reverse the travel ban on...

HONOLULU – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) today released the following statement in opposition to confirming Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State. “The secretary of state is our nation’s top diplomat. He or she is responsible for advancing our national interests and keeping true to our core values. That means this person must have the knowledge base and skill set to represent American principles and pursue peace through diplomacy. After reviewing his record and his...

WASHINGTON  – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) today released the following statement announcing he will vote against President Trump’s nomination of U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) for United States Attorney General. “Our next attorney general will face critical challenges that will test our justice system and our values. We will need a leader committed to protecting the rights of every American, regardless of race, religion, gender, national origin,...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), Ranking Member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, U.S. Senator Jon Tester (D-Mont.), U.S. Representative Tim Walz (D-Minn.), and a group of 52 members of Congress called on President Trump to exempt the entire VA and all veterans seeking federal jobs from his executive order that freezes federal hiring. The members say Trump’s hiring freeze will have devastating impacts on...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) released the following statement on reports that President Donald Trump will take action today to advance the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines. “The Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines are simply not in our national interest. While countries like China and Germany continue to make progress in their transition away from the dirty energy of the past, this action will roll back the progress we have made. Encouraging the...

WASHINGTON – Today, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced the official designation of the He‘eia National Estuarine Research Reserve. U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) has been a strong supporter of the site, and as a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, has worked to increase NOAA’s budget for research reserves like the one proposed in He'eia, Kãne'ohe Bay. “The He‘eia Reserve recognizes Native Hawaiian and...

WASHINGTON – Today on the Senate floor, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) led a group of senators in calling on Senate Republicans to reject President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt.  In his remarks, Senator Schatz outlined Scott Pruitt’s record of undermining the EPA and denying man-made climate change. “Scott Pruitt is a professional climate denier. That...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) released the following statement on the nomination of General James Mattis, USMC (ret.) to be secretary of defense: “Civilian control of the military is a principle that has existed since our nation was founded, and we must be guarded against efforts that undermine it.  I strongly support the law that prohibits a person from becoming secretary of defense within seven years of leaving the military. The question of whether...

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) was appointed to serve as Ranking Member on the Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs. “Hawai‘i has a deep, storied relationship with active duty service members, military retirees, and veterans, and as the lead Democrat on this subcommittee, I look forward to continuing the bipartisan tradition the Appropriations Committee has created to honor those that have served,” said...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), a member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, called for improvements to the safety of roads in Hawai‘i and across the country following a new report out today by the National Complete Streets Coalition that found more than 250 people were killed while walking in Hawai‘i from 2005 to 2014, with seniors making up 42 percent of the fatalities.  The report also...

WASHINGTON – Senate Democratic leadership elevated U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) and U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-N.J.) to new roles in the caucus’s leadership team. Senators Schatz and Booker will serve as Chief Deputy Whips, leadership positions that will give them a greater role in shaping policy and communications for Senate Democrats.  Schatz and Booker join U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), who announced his post in December, on the Chief Deputy Whip...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) joined by Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), and Mazie Hirono (D-Hawai‘i), today announced the introduction of legislation that would seek to block the establishment of a registry of people based on their religion, race, age, gender, ethnicity, national origin, or nationality. “This...

HONOLULU – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) issued the following statement in response to the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) approving the International Longshore and Warehouse Union’s (ILWU) petition requesting adjustment assistance for bulk sugar workers as a result of the closing of HC&S: “Truckers that hauled bulk sugar were directly and severely impacted by the closing of HC&S, and I’m very glad the Department of Labor approved the ILWU’s...

HONOLULU – Today, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced that the U.S. Departments of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Veterans Affairs (VA) awarded $189,098 to the Hawai‘i Public Housing Authority to provide affordable housing for an additional 20 homeless veterans and their families in Hawai‘i. “We have a fundamental moral obligation to help house those who have served our country in uniform,”...

HONOLULU – Today, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced that Hawai‘i will receive 45 Continuum of Care (CoC) grants for 10 state, local and non-profit agencies totaling $11,519,682 from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for fiscal year 2016. “Homelessness is an urgent problem, and these funds will help homeless individuals and families get back on their feet and find a place to...

HONOLULU – Today, the Senate Democratic Steering Committee ratified committee assignments for the 115th Congress and announced that U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) will join the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Schatz will also continue to serve on the Senate committees on Appropriations; Commerce, Science, and Transportation; Indian Affairs; and Ethics. “This post is an important one because the Committee oversees federal housing and transit...

HONOLULU - President Barack Obama signed into law the Expanding Capacity for Health Outcomes (ECHO) Act, a bipartisan bill introduced by U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah). This law will increase access to high-quality health care in hard-to-reach regions. “Technology has the potential to transform the way we train doctors and deliver health care,” said Senator Schatz. “This law will help connect primary care providers in underserved areas...

WASHINGTON – On Saturday morning, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed the Ensuring Access to Fisheries Act. The bipartisan legislation, introduced by U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), and Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), will implement treaties ratified by the Senate last year to better manage certain fisheries in the North and South Pacific, and to improve international fisheries management the North Atlantic. “Nations around the world look to the...

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Senate unanimously passed the Open, Public, Electronic and Necessary (OPEN) Government Data Act, legislation introduced by U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) and Ben Sasse (R-Neb.). The bipartisan bill will require public data to be accessible at Data.gov so individuals, organizations, and other government offices can utilize it. “Public information belongs to the public, and it’s the government’s job to make sure that data is...