Press Releases

HONOLULU — U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) today announced that Yukio Okutsu State Veterans Home in Hilo will receive at least $600,000 in estimated federal funding under the American Rescue Plan Act and December's COVID relief law. This new funding will go towards upgrading its facilities and supporting its continued operations. “Last fall, Yukio Okutsu was understaffed and ill equipped to stop a deadly COVID outbreak. This new federal funding will help the home upgrade...

HONOLULU – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) today released the following statement on President Joe Biden’s $2 trillion infrastructure plan. “We plan to make historic investments that will help us rebuild our essential infrastructure and create millions of new jobs. It is also a huge down payment on tackling the climate crisis and environmental justice. This plan takes housing seriously, as both an essential aspect of an economic strategy and as a human right. The...

HONOLULU — U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) today released a resource guide to help Hawai‘i families navigate the new tax benefits available under the American Rescue Plan Act — including the expanded Child Tax Credit. “The newly expanded Child Tax Credit will put more money in the pockets of hundreds of thousands of Hawai‘i families who need a little more help to make it through this tough time,” said Senator Schatz, a member of the...

HONOLULU — Today, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) announced that the state will receive an additional $1,234,910.55 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Public Assistance program to cover the costs of emergency activities during the COVID-19 pandemic. This federal funding will reimburse state and local governments for purchasing testing supplies and personal protective equipment, administering emergency feeding and non-congregate sheltering, emergency operation...

WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) announced that the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) will receive $5,000,000 in new federal funding to help provide affordable housing options for Native Hawaiians living on and off the Home Lands during the COVID-19 pandemic. Funding is primarily targeted to help Native Hawaiians hardest hit by the pandemic and facing eviction or mortgage foreclosure with preserving safe and sanitary housing...

WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) introduced new legislation that would promote public education about Japanese American internment during World War II. This bill would permanently reauthorize the Japanese American Confinement Sites (JACS) program with $38 million in annual funding to preserve internment camps across the country. The bill would also create a new $2 million federal grant program to promote education of Japanese American internment. “The...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) today voted to pass an extension of the Paycheck Protection Program. The bill, which passed the Senate and is expected to be signed into law in the coming days, extends the deadline to apply for a PPP loan to May 31. The original deadline to apply was previously set at March 31. “Hawai‘i small businesses will now have two more months to apply for PPP loans,” said Senator Schatz. “This will give our local...

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) led a group of 17 senators in reintroducing legislation to protect people’s personal data online. The Data Care Act would require websites, apps, and other online providers to take responsible steps to safeguard personal information and stop the misuse of users’ data. “Websites and apps that collect personal information have a responsibility to protect that data and not use it in a way that harms its own...

HONOLULU – Today, the Small Business Administration (SBA) announced that the $16 billion program aimed at helping live event businesses impacted by the pandemic will begin accepting applications for grant funding beginning on Thursday, April 8. The new SBA program, known as the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant Fund (SVOG), was created through COVID-19 relief legislation passed by Congress and signed into law in December. “For museums, music venues, performing arts centers, independent...

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) reintroduced legislation to create a new progressive tax on financial transactions that would curb high risk trading practices, reduce economic inequality, and generate $752 billion in new federal revenue over the next decade. “During the pandemic, Wall Street has cashed in on high-risk trades that add no real value to our economy and leave working families behind. We need to curb this dangerous trading to...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) and John Thune (R-S.D.) reintroduced the Platform Accountability and Consumer Transparency (PACT) Act, bipartisan legislation to update Section 230 of the Communications Act. The PACT Act will make platforms’ content moderation practices more transparent and hold those companies accountable for content that violates their own policies or is illegal. “Section 230 gave internet companies the flexibility to grow the...

WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) urged United States Attorney General Merrick Garland to open an investigation into McKinsey & Company’s role in promoting the sale of OxyContin and contributing to the opioid epidemic. “It is critical that McKinsey, which has demonstrated a disconcerting indifference toward the well-being of America’s families, is also held fully accountable for its role in this...

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) today released a resource guide to help Hawai‘i restaurants and other food and beverage establishments access a new federal grant program. Established under the America Rescue Plan Act, this program offers grants to help cover revenue losses as a result of the pandemic and can be used for a wide variety of expenses.   “This new grant program will help Hawai‘i restaurants keep the lights...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Brian Schatz and Mazie K. Hirono and U.S. Representatives Ed Case and Kaiali?i Kahele today called on President Joe Biden to provide immediate federal assistance to help Hawai‘i recover from recent severe flooding and landslides on Kaua‘i, Maui, and O‘ahu. “We request your help to expedite all federal assistance possible to help the state of Hawai‘i recover from flooding and landslides in Kaua‘i County, Maui County, and the...

    WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) released a new comprehensive guide to help Hawai‘i families, workers, and small businesses navigate federal COVID-19 relief resources and programs authorized by the American Rescue Plan Act. The resource guide also provides important information on how to access new programs, such as the expanded Child Tax Credit and a grant program...

WASHINGTON – Today, the Health Resources and Services Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that 12 health centers across Hawai‘i have been selected to participate in a COVID-19 vaccine program aimed at providing more vaccines to those disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. “This means more vaccines for people in Hawai‘i who are being hit the hardest,” said U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i). “The vaccine is a...

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package that includes at least $6.1 billion in estimated funding for Hawai‘i. The American Rescue Plan Act – the second largest emergency relief package in American history and a trillion dollars more than the last package passed in December – includes funding for unemployment assistance, and aid for small businesses, vaccine distribution, schools, and health care...

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) voted to pass a new $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package that includes at least $6.1 billion in estimated funding for Hawai‘i. The American Rescue Plan Act – the second largest emergency relief package in American history and a trillion dollars more than the last package passed in December – includes funding for unemployment assistance, and aid for small businesses, vaccine distribution, schools, and health...

WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) and U.S. Representative Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) reintroduced the Federal Adjustment of Income Rates (FAIR) Act, a bill that would provide federal employees with a 3.2 percent pay increase in 2022.   “Federal workers play a critical role in our everyday lives – caring for our veterans, fighting the pandemic through medical research, and cutting...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, secured $80 million for Native Hawaiian programs in the latest COVID-19 relief package currently being considered by Congress. The new funding will provide millions to Native Hawaiian health care centers, Native Hawaiian-serving higher education institutions, and housing assistance programs at the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL). “$80 million in new COVID-19 relief...