Press Releases

WASHINGTON – As more Americans tragically lose their fight to the COVID-19 pandemic and the death toll reaches 100,000, U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) renewed their calls to pay tribute to the victims of COVID-19 with a moment of silence at 12 noon on Monday, June 1, 2020. Last week, the senators introduced legislation calling for a moment of silence. “The nation must mark this dark moment...

HONOLULU – U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) and Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawai‘i) and U.S. Representatives Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawai‘i) and Ed Case (D-Hawai‘i) called on the U.S. Department of Agriculture to expand its Coronavirus Food Assistance Program to include Hawai‘i’s unique specialty crops and help Hawai‘i farmers. “The severe economic impacts from the pandemic have left Hawai‘i’s farmers in dire need of financial assistance...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) today announced that 39 nursing homes across Hawai‘i will receive nearly $40 million in new federal funding to stay operational during the COVID-19 pandemic. The new federal funds will cover lost revenue at nursing homes and additional expenses attributable to the coronavirus, including staffing, testing, treating patients, and purchasing personal protective equipment (PPE). “Residents of nursing homes and long-term care...

WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Angus King (I-Maine), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), and Ed Markey (D-Mass.) introduced the Health Care Broadband Expansion During COVID-19 Act. The new bipartisan bill directs $2 billion to help health care providers increase their broadband capacity and expand telehealth services during the current public health...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) today introduced new legislation that will create a massive new jobs program to help states across the country recruit, train, and hire more than a million workers to stop the spread of the coronavirus. As states and cities slowly begin to reopen and strengthen their COVID-19 mitigation and containment efforts, Schatz’s Jobs to Fight COVID-19 Act aims to provide newly unemployed Americans with jobs in the growing public health...

WASHINGTON – As more Americans tragically lose their fight to the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) introduced legislation to pay tribute to the victims of COVID-19 with a moment of silence at 12 noon on Monday, June 1, 2020. “The nation must mark this dark moment with unity and clarity,” said Senator Schatz. “At this time of almost unimaginable pain, it is...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) released the following statement on the passing of former Honolulu City Council member Marilyn Bornhorst. “Marilyn was a trailblazer, an independent advocate for communities and the environment, and she was a mentor to me. She is the reason that I joined the Democratic Party, and ran for the legislature in Makiki, Tantalus, and Manoa. She made history as the first female chair of the Honolulu City Council and by passing laws,...

WASHINGTON – Following new reports on the suppression of science-based guidance at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) called for immediate Senate action on legislation he authored to protect public scientific research and reports from the influence of political and special interests. Companion legislation, introduced by U.S. Representative Paul Tonko (D-N.Y), was included in the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz released the following statement on the passing of Hawaiian music legend Willie K. “Rest in aloha, Willie K. I extend my deepest sympathy and aloha to his ohana. With his voice, he bridged blues and Hawaiian, local and mainstream, music and culture. Willie K blazed a trail that redefined music in Hawai‘i and helped other local artists succeed. We will long remember his energetic spirit, his passion, and the music he shared with...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced that the Hawai‘i Department of Education received $43,385,229 in new federal funding to help local schools retain their workforce, transition to online learning, and provide services for students during this public health crisis, especially those in low-income and underserved communities. “This new federal funding will provide computers, internet access, and...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) called on Hawai‘i Governor David Ige to take additional steps to protect Hawai‘i residents living in long-term care facilities. “To date, Hawai‘i has avoided any COVID-19 outbreaks at nursing homes and long-term care facilities, and I understand that health officials are coordinating with long-term care facilities to prepare for infections and prevent outbreaks. However, additional steps, including...

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) led a group of four senators in calling for President Trump to stop leveling blame on others for his mismanagement of the public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and urging him invoke the Defense Production Act (DPA) to dramatically increase domestic production of personal protective equipment (PPE) and testing supplies. The president's decision to fire the Pentagon’s point person for the DPA yesterday appears...

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) introduced new bipartisan legislation to establish a national hotline offering free confidential support services to incarcerated survivors of sexual abuse and harassment. Many correctional facilities are reluctant to fund support programs or collaborate with outside partners willing to offer these services. A confidential national hotline would offer survivors in prisons across the country access to...

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) led a group of five senators to call on Whole Foods to stop any efforts to surveil their employees and undermine their federally protected right to join a union. Recent reporting indicates that Whole Foods is trying to interfere with workers’ rights by tracking and monitoring employees who might begin collective bargaining. The senators urged Whole Foods CEO John Mackey to end these unethical anti-worker practices, and...

WASHINGTON – Following calls led by U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) partnered together to launch a new website to help renters and homeowners learn more about all the resources and assistance available to them during the coronavirus pandemic. The website details new housing-related policies, benefits, and...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) today announced that the State of Hawai‘i will receive $50 million in new federal funding to expand COVID-19 contact tracing and testing. “I encourage state leaders to move at the speed of the virus and establish a contact tracing program that is fully operational as soon as possible. There’s simply not any time left, but there is plenty of money to get this done,” said Senator Schatz, a member of the Senate...

WASHINGTON – As the rapid spread of the coronavirus overwhelms prisons across the country, U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) today introduced new legislation that would accelerate the Bureau of Prisons’ (BOP) approval process for compassionate release during a public health emergency. Authorized under the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984, which also eliminated parole for federal prisoners, compassionate release gives people incarcerated in federal...

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) led a bipartisan group of senators to urge the leadership of both the Senate and House of Representatives to include $2 billion in the next coronavirus relief package to help health care providers expand telehealth services by improving their access to broadband. “The coronavirus pandemic has dramatically increased the need to expand telehealth,” the senators wrote in a letter to Senate Majority...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) called for the Federal Reserve (“Fed”) to reconsider its recent changes to the Main Street Lending Program, which will give oil and gas producers access to loans meant for small businesses suffering from the economic effects of the coronavirus. The senators urged Fed Chair Jerome H....

HONOLULU — U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) today announced new legislation, the Emergency Rental Assistance and Rental Market Stabilization Act of 2020. The bill would establish an Emergency Rental Assistance program to provide $100 billion in emergency rental assistance to help families and individuals pay their rent and remain housed during and after the Coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis. Stabilizing renters and the rental market through this...