Press Releases

WASHINGTON – During his tenure as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs from 2021-2025, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) led the passage of 26 Tribal-specific bills and helped secure over $45 billion – making historic investments in health care, housing, education, languages, infrastructure, and public safety – that will benefit Native communities for generations to come. “Together, Senate Democrats made historic progress over the past four years, helping pass dozens of bills...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) today announced the names of 65 students he nominated to attend the nation’s military service academies. “These students represent the very best of Hawai‘i, and it’s an honor to nominate them to our nation’s military service academies,” said Senator Schatz. “I commend them for their commitment to serving our country, and wish them the very best.” The United States Air Force Academy, United States Merchant Marine Academy, the United States...

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 4.3 percent pay increase in calendar year 2026. Schatz and Connolly previously introduced similar legislation in the 115th, 116th, 117th, and 118th congresses. For more than a decade, federal employees have endured government shutdowns, pay freezes, hiring freezes, and lost pay...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) today joined Senate Democratic colleagues to highlight Republicans’ disastrous plan to cut taxes for billionaires by making enormous cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and other critical assistance that everyday Americans rely on. Schatz underscored the wide range of cuts being proposed to pay for the tax bill, including nearly $500 billion from Medicare and $150 billion from Affordable Care Act funding. “After months of swearing up and down...

WASHINGTON – During a nomination hearing for Sean Duffy, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be U.S. Secretary of Transportation, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) secured commitments to continue the longstanding tradition of bipartisanship at the U.S. Department of Transportation, as well as to keep funding from the bipartisan infrastructure law flowing to states. Schatz, a senior member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, asked Duffy, “I’d like for you to...

WASHINGTON — At today’s Senate Foreign Relations Committee nomination hearing for Secretary of State nominee, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) questioned Rubio on his approach to strengthening relations with key Pacific Islands partners, elevating the U.S. alliance with the Philippines, and rethinking the United States’ North Korea policy. Schatz requested Rubio’s views on continuing to strengthen the United States’ relations with Pacific Island nations,...

HONOLULU – In 2024, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) helped secure more than $6 billion in federal funding for Hawai‘i as he led efforts to deliver resources to support Maui’s recovery from last year’s fires and advance a range of other priorities for the state. Earlier this month, Schatz announced an estimated $1.6 billion in new funding for Maui’s continued recovery, aimed at building permanent housing for survivors, in addition to almost $500 million to support economic development,...

HONOLULU – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) issued the following statement after the death of former President Jimmy Carter: “I join Americans across the country in mourning the loss of former President Jimmy Carter. As president, he worked to protect the environment, expand clean energy, champion human rights, and advance Middle East peace. After leaving office, he spent decades helping the less fortunate, in America and around the world. His legacy of service, kindness, and generosity...

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, voted to pass more than $110 billion in new long-term recovery funding for disaster-impacted communities nationwide. Schatz, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, worked to include an estimated $1.6 billion in new Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funding for housing on Maui and an estimated $480 million more for economic development, small business...

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Senate passed the Thomas R. Carper Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2024, which includes several provisions secured by U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) to benefit Hawaii’s communities and strengthen the state’s disaster resilience. The bill authorizes the Secretary of the Army, through the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, to conduct studies, construct projects, and research activities to improve U.S. waterways. The...

WASHINGTON – Provisions from the bipartisan Student Veterans Transparency and Protection Act to provide veterans with up-to-date student outcomes and financial information for eligible educational institutions are set to be signed into law by President Biden after passing Congress this week. The provisions, originally authored by U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), will require the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to make the information available through its G.I....

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) today announced that the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has released an additional $250 million to the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART) as part of its Amended Full Funding Grant Agreement signed in February. The funding follows February’s initial release of $125 million and was delivered after HART completed the contract award for the City Center Guideway and Stations. “HART and the City continue to make good progress...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) introduced a constitutional amendment to abolish the Electoral College system and restore democracy by allowing the direct election of presidents through popular vote alone. “In an election, the person who gets the most votes should win. It’s that simple,” said Senator Schatz. “No one’s vote should count for more based on where they live. The Electoral College is outdated and it’s undemocratic....

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs and U.S. Representative Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.), ranking member of the House Natural Resources Committee renewed efforts to urge President Joe Biden to pardon Leonard Peltier, a Native American activist convicted of murder in 1977 following a controversial investigation and trial, which many civil rights leaders and legal experts have called unjust, including the U.S. Attorney who prosecuted...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) today led a group of 17 colleagues in reintroducing the End the Threat of Default Act, legislation that would permanently remove the threat of a default by repealing the national debt ceiling, an arbitrary limit restricting the amount that the United States Treasury can borrow to pay its debts. In June 2023, the president signed legislation that suspended the statutory debt ceiling until January 2, 2025. “Defaulting on our national debt would be...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) today reiterated calls for Congress to pass long-term disaster aid for survivors on Maui and nationwide before Congress is scheduled to go on recess at the end of next week. Schatz has repeatedly led calls for flexible, long-term aid for survivors of last year’s Lahaina fires so that they can rebuild as quickly as possible, particularly housing. “I want to be perfectly clear: we cannot and we will not leave town next week without passing...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) led a bipartisan and bicameral group of 100 lawmakers in calling for the extension of expanded Medicare coverage of telehealth services to be included in a year-end appropriations package. Provisions from the Schatz-Wicker legislation, the CONNECT for Health Act, were included in previous COVID-19 relief legislation to allow Medicare beneficiaries in all areas of the country, and in their homes, to utilize telehealth...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) led a group of 12 senators today in renewing calls to the Biden Administration to urge the governments of Israel and Egypt to protect press freedom and allow journalists into Gaza to cover the ongoing war. In addition to Schatz, the letter was signed by U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), George Helmy...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), Chair of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, today again called on President Biden to pardon Native American activist Leonard Peltier who was convicted of murder in 1977 following a controversial investigation and trial, which many civil rights leaders and legal experts have called unjust, including the U.S. Attorney who prosecuted the case. Since 2022, Schatz has repeatedly led colleagues in calling on the president to grant Peltier, who...

WASHINGTON – Following calls for increased benefits for Hawai‘i families, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has proposed updates to its Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits in Hawai‘i to ensure they accurately reflect the cost of food across the state. The USDA has proposed a 2.3 percent increase in SNAP benefits for Hawai‘i, which would result in an estimated $40 monthly increase for a family of four. “For...