HONOLULU, Hawaii, June 5 -- Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, issued the following news release: This afternoon, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (HI-02) hosted a tele-town hall meeting to update Hawai'i residents about COVID-19. She was joined by guests Darin Leong, a labor and employment attorney who has worked with Hawai'i community leaders to raise awareness about relief programs available to businesses and employees, as well as Sondra Leiggi-Brandon, APRN, and Anthony P. Guerrero, M.D., from The Queen's Med  more

HONOLULU, Hawaii, June 1 -- Rep. Ed Case, D-Hawaii, issued the following news release: U.S. Representatives Ed Case (HI-01), and Tulsi Gabbard (HI-02) jointly introduced in the U.S. House H.R. 7045, a measure to pursue creation of Hawaii's first-ever National Forest. "Hawai'i is the most isolated island chain and one of the most ecologically diverse places in the world," said Case. "Within our constrained borders, we have ten of the thirteen world climate zones, and ecosystems ranging from the  more

WASHINGTON, June 2 -- Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, issued the following news release on June 1: Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (HI-02) introduced H.R.7072, the SFC Heath Robinson Burn Pit Transparency Act, with Rep. Brian Mast (FL-18). Senator Sherrod Brown (OH), a member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee leading on burn pits issues, is introducing the bipartisan companion bill in the Senate with Senator Rob Portman (OH). This bill would require the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to notify   more

WASHINGTON, June 5 -- Sen. Mazie K. Hirono, D-Hawaii, issued the following news release on June 4: Yesterday, Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) used the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship hearing to highlight the challenges to accessing capital that small businesses face during the coronavirus pandemic. The Senator focused on the important role of Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) and other community-based lenders in supporting small and emerging bu  more

WASHINGTON, June 5 -- Sen. Mazie K. Hirono, D-Hawaii, issued the following statement on June 3 after unanimous Senate passage of changes to the Paycheck Protection Program that will provide additional flexibility to Hawaii small businesses: "Earlier today, I had a Zoom call with Hawaii small business owners who, in normal times, would have been in Washington, DC this week to participate in the 7th annual Hawaii on the Hill. On the call, and over the past three months, I've heard about how essen  more

WASHINGTON, June 5 -- Sen. Mazie K. Hirono, D-Hawaii, issued the following news release: During a Committee on Veterans' Affairs hearing, SenatorMazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) pressed Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Robert Wilkie on the urgency of completing the Advanced Leeward Outpatient Health Care Access (ALOHA) Project. Secretary Wilkie acknowledged that the ALOHA Project has been beset by unnecessary bureaucratic delays, and pledged to work with the Committee to prevent red tape   more

WASHINGTON, June 2 -- Sen. Mazie K. Hirono, D-Hawaii, issued the following news release: Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) called on the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to provide clear and comprehensive national standards to protect air travelers from coronavirus from the time they enter an airport to start their air travel to their la  more

WASHINGTON, June 5 -- Sen. Mazie K. Hirono, D-Hawaii, issued the following news release on June 4: Yesterday, Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Senator Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), along with 19 of their colleagues, wrote to Department of Defense (DOD) Secretary Mark Esper and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley to express their alarm at President Trump's threat to invoke the Insurrection Act as a response to protests across the country calling for justice and accountabi  more

WASHINGTON, June 6 -- Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) announced that the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency (HI-EMA) received $3,704,731.64 in new federal funding to cover the costs of personal protective equipment (PPE) for health care workers and first responders throughout the state. The funding, awarded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), comes after Hawaii was granted a Presidential Disaster Declaration to   more

HONOLULU, Hawaii, June 2 -- Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D- Hawaii) announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) approved Hawaii's request to operate the Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) program, ensuring that children in the state can continue to have access to nutritious food during the COVID-19 crisis. Authorized under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, the P-EBT program will provide approximately  more

WASHINGTON, June 5 -- Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, D-Vermont, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) joined by Senators Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) led a letter demanding answers from Defense Secretary Mark Esper about this week's haphazard decision-making around the transfer of 1,600 active duty troops to the National Capital Region. The Senators begin, "Earli  more

WASHINGTON, June 5 -- Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Maryland, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) joined by Senators Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) led a letter demanding answers from Defense Secretary Mark Esper about this week's haphazard decision-making around the transfer of 1,600 active duty troops to the National Capital Region. The Senators begin, "Ear  more

WASHINGTON, June 2 -- Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, issued the following news release: The U.S. Senate passed legislation to honor the more than 100,000 lives lost to the COVID-19 pandemic. The bipartisan legislation, authored by U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai'i), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), called for a moment of silence to pay tribute to those who have tragically passed. "The nation must mark this dark moment with unity and clarity," s  more

WASHINGTON, June 4 -- Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, issued the following news release: United States Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) released the results of a Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigation revealing the undue influence of unqualified, unaccountable private citizens-with no official government role or responsibilities-over Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) decisions. The investigation was initially requested by the senators in August 2018 f  more

WASHINGTON, June 6 -- Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, issued the following news release: U.S. Senators Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) and Angus King (I-Maine) recently introduced S. 3831, the Visit America Act, which would set a visitation goal of 116 million annual international travelers to the United States by 2028, formally authorize the U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board, and create a high-ranking position within the Department of Commerce focused on bolstering America's  more

WASHINGTON, June 4 -- Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, issued the following news release: United States Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) released the results of a Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigation revealing the undue influence of unqualified, unaccountable private citizens-with no official government role or responsibilities-over Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) decisions. The investigation was initially requested by the senators in Au  more

WASHINGTON, June 5 -- Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, issued the following news release: United States Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) released the results of a Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigation revealing the undue influence of unqualified, unaccountable private citizens-with no official government role or responsibilities-over Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) decisions. The investigation was initially requested by the senators in Au  more