Press Releases

WASHINGTON – As Congress considers a short-term spending bill to keep the government open past the September 30 funding deadline, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) today spoke on the Senate floor on the importance of including disaster aid to support survivors on Maui and across the country. In particular, Schatz stressed the need to provide disaster survivors with flexible, long-term assistance in the form of Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funding which will...

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) reintroduced the Safeguarding American Families and Expanding Social Security (SAFE Social Security) Act, legislation to expand Social Security for seniors and families in Hawai‘i and across the country. The bill will increase benefits on average by more than $125 per month, ensure the cost of living adjustments adequately reflect the living expenses of retirees, extend the life of the trust fund, remove the wage cap to make sure all...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz, a senior member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, released the following statement after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced it has implemented a key provision of the Schatz-authored Safe Connections Act which enables domestic violence survivors who’ve separated from their abuser’s phone plan to qualify for discounted phone service through the FCC’s Lifeline program. “Survivors of domestic violence should...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) announced Hawai‘i will receive $18.1 million in federal funding to adopt a building performance standard for energy efficiency in commercial buildings. Improving energy efficiency in commercial buildings – which currently account for approximately one-third of the state’s total electricity use – will both lower energy costs and help Hawai‘i move closer to achieving its climate goals. A significant portion of the funding, which comes from the...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawai‘i), and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) introduced legislation to promote Native arts and culture and unlock federal funding for Native Hawaiian Organizations (NHOs). The Native Arts & Culture Promotion Act provides a technical fix to the Native Hawaiian and Alaska Native Culture and Arts grant program to ensure NHOs can access funding from the program. “Our bill provides a common-sense fix so that Native Hawaiian...

HONOLULU – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) today announced Hawai‘i will receive $4 million in federal funding from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to help recover native plants. The funding, which comes from the Inflation Reduction Act, will be used to identify translocation sites for 425 Hawaiian plants and improve their resiliency to climate change. “Recovering our native plants and preserving our ecosystems are essential to improving Hawai‘i’s resilience to the climate crisis,” said...

LAHAINA – On the one-year anniversary of the devastating fires on Maui, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) joined state and local leaders and community members to pay tribute to the victims and honor survivors. Earlier today, Schatz addressed community members in Upcountry and joined state and local leaders and the Lahaina community for a memorial paddle out at Hanaka‘o‘o Beach followed by a tribute and remembrance event at the Lahaina Civic Center. “Nothing could’ve prepared people for the...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today released the following statement after three Americans – including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, and journalist Alsu Kurmasheva – as well as columnist Vladimir Kara-Murza, were freed from Russian captivity as part of a broader multi-country prisoner swap. “Evan Gershkovich has been wrongfully imprisoned for over a year simply for doing his...

WASHINGTON – The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee today approved seven measures authored by U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i). The provisions, included as amendments to several bills, would improve fire weather forecasts and warnings in remote or rural areas in Hawai‘i and across the country and promote the use of artificial intelligence to better predict and respond to extreme weather, among other things.  “By improving fire weather forecasts and warnings, we can save...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, today announced that Department of the Interior (DOI) has awarded $20 million to bolster climate resilience in Hawai‘i. The new money from DOI’s Kapapahuliau Climate Resilience Program was funded through a Schatz-authored provision in the Inflation Reduction Act. Funding will be awarded to 17 Native Hawaiian Organizations (NHOs) to restore native ecosystems and plants and enhance food security...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz today announced that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has awarded $68.4 million in federal funding to the University of Hawai?i Sea Grant College Program, which will work in partnership with a dozen groups spanning government, nonprofits, academia, and local stewards. The new award is through the Climate Resilience Regional Challenge funded by the Inflation Reduction Act and will be used to help improve climate and disaster...

WASHINGTON – The Senate Appropriations Committee today passed the Fiscal Year 2025 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. The legislation, led by U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), chair of the subcommittee, will provide $98.737 billion in total discretionary funding. “This bill makes important investments to strengthen our nation’s transportation infrastructure and address the housing crisis affecting so many people across the country,” said...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), a senior member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, today met with White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Arati Prabhakar to discuss the potential benefits and emerging safety concerns from artificial intelligence (AI). Later in the day, Schatz participated in a discussion at the Center for AI Safety DC launch reception to discuss his work on AI legislation. Today’s discussions followed a new...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) today released the following statement on President Joe Biden. “For over 50 years, Joe Biden has been a selfless patriot and dedicated public servant who’s given everything to the country he so dearly loves. As a senator, vice president, and now president, he has spent most of his life working to make people’s lives better and the world safer. Today, yet again, he has put the country before himself, making the best choice for the American people...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) today released the following statement on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s scheduled address to a joint session of Congress next week. “Nine months after the atrocities of October 7 and the ensuing conflict, negotiations for a ceasefire and the release of all hostages are ongoing – and that should be the focus. Instead, Prime Minister Netanyahu is set to deliver what is clearly a partisan address to Congress just months ahead of our...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) today led a bipartisan group of 12 senators in urging Secretary of State Antony Blinken to take steps to rectify Hawai‘i’s exclusion from the North Atlantic Treaty as military threats in the Indo-Pacific grow. In a letter to Secretary Blinken, the senators raised concerns about the omission of Hawai‘i under Article 6 of the Treaty, meaning an armed attack on Hawai‘i...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) today released the following statement after Senate Republicans voted to block the Reproductive Freedom for Women Act which expresses support for women’s reproductive rights in the wake of the Dobbs v. Jackson decision. “It’s absurd that Republicans couldn’t bring themselves to even express support for protecting access to reproductive care for women across America. Time and again, at every turn, Republicans have chosen to decimate reproductive...

HONOLULU – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) today announced that the Hawai‘i Department of Transportation, on behalf of the County of Maui, will receive $5 million in federal funding to purchase hybrid electric buses and replace older diesel models. By adopting zero-emissions buses, Maui will help the state advance its goal of achieving a fully electric bus fleet. The new funding comes from the infrastructure law Congress passed in 2021. “This new funding will help bring cleaner, more...

HONOLULU – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) today released the following statement on the Supreme Court’s decision in Trump v. United States, ruling that former President Donald Trump is partially immune from prosecution. In sending the case back down to the lower court, the decision is poised to delay the pivotal criminal trial on charges against Trump of attempting to overthrow the 2020 election. “Despite today’s ruling from the MAGA Court, no one is above the law, including former...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) and Mazie Hirono (D-Hawai‘i) and U.S. Representatives Ed Case (D-Hawai‘i) and Jill Tokuda (D-Hawai‘i) today released the following statement on President Joe Biden’s new supplemental appropriations request, which includes funding for disaster recovery on Maui and across the country. “Almost a year since the devastating fires on Maui, the people of Lahaina still need help. Their lives are nowhere near back to normal, and it will take sustained...