Press Releases

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...

WASHINGTON – With a vote of 82-15, the U.S. Senate today passed the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies fiscal year 2024 appropriations bill. The government funding bill provides nearly $100 billion in discretionary funding. “Our bill directly addresses America’s housing crisis by protecting affordable housing and homeless assistance programs that will help more than 10 million people. It also includes record level of investment in Native housing, and maintains...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today announced that Hawai‘i will receive $23.5 million to improve Kawaihae Harbor on Hawai‘i Island. The funding, from the Port Infrastructure Development Program, follows Schatz-authored legislation signed into law last year that made it easier for Hawai‘i to compete for grant funding through this program. Schatz’s office also worked closely with the Hawai‘i Department of Transportation...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) released the following statement on a new executive action announced by President Joe Biden on managing the risks of artificial intelligence (AI), including labeling. The announcement follows bipartisan legislation authored by Schatz to ensure people know when they are viewing AI-made content or interacting with an AI chatbot by requiring clear labels and disclosures. “People deserve to know whether or not the videos, photos, and content they...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) led 20 of their Senate colleagues in releasing the following statement on the need for fuel deliveries to hospitals and water treatment centers in Gaza. “We condemn Hamas’ horrific terrorist attacks against Israel, for which Israel must hold Hamas accountable. In the course of that endeavor, every effort must be made to protect innocent civilians....

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) spoke on the Senate floor about the need for content generated by artificial intelligence (AI) to be labeled in an effort to prevent rampant misinformation and fraud as use of the technology increases. Schatz introduced a bipartisan bill with Senator John Kennedy (R-La.) that would require clear labels and disclosures on AI-made content and AI chatbots. “Content made by AI should be clearly labeled as such so people know what they’re...