WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 -- Sen. Mazie K. Hirono, D-Hawaii, issued the following news release on Dec. 13, 2022: U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) joined President Biden at the White House as he signed the Respect for Marriage Act into law. The bipartisan legislation, which Senator Hirono cosponsored and helped to pass last month, protects marriage equality for same-sex and interracial couples in federal law. "Being able to marry who you want, regardless of race or gender, is a fundamental right,   more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 -- Sen. Mazie K. Hirono, D-Hawaii, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, joined eight of her Democratic colleagues in introducing the Right to Private Conduct Act, a bill to protect the rights to privacy and liberty granted by the Supreme Court decision Lawrence v. Texas. This legislation would prevent any person acting under color of State law from inhibiting an individual's right to engage in priva  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 -- Sen. Mazie K. Hirono, D-Hawaii, issued the following news release on Dec. 14, 2022: The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation introduced by U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) to allow Native Hawaiian survivors of gender-based violence to access critical programs and resources provided by Congress through the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). The reauthorization of VAWA--which was signed into law in March, 2022--provides funding to survivors of domestic violen  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 9 -- Sen. Mazie K. Hirono, D-Hawaii, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI), secured the text of two bills she sponsored in the Fiscal Year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (FY23 NDAA), which passed the House earlier this week by a vote of 350-80 and now heads to the Senate for consideration, where it is expected to pass with broad support and become law. The NDAA includes the text of Senator Hirono's Coral Reef Sustainability Through Innovat  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 13 -- Rep. Ed Case, D-Hawaii, issued the following remarks: Madam Speaker: I rise today in support of S.7, the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Technical Amendment Act of 2022. This bill will ensure the full inclusion of Native Hawaiians, the indigenous peoples of our country whose origins lie in Hawai'i, in the Services, Training, Officers and Prosecutors (STOP) Grants for Tribal Coalitions program under VAWA. Violence against indigenous women has reached crisis levels on t  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 -- Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, issued the following news release on Dec. 14, 2022, and letter: U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai'i) today led a bipartisan group of senators in urging Brazilian president-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to work with American and global leaders to prevent deforestation of the Amazon rainforest and help fight climate change. Citing Lula's public commitments to protect the Amazon, the senators expressed their interest in working with him and th  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 -- Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, issued the following news release on Dec. 15, 2022: The U.S. Senate today passed the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which included several provisions authored by U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai'i). Schatz's provisions included measures to protect coral reefs, improve the nation's volcanic warning system, and stop the cruel practice of killing sharks for their fins. The NDAA bill now heads to president's desk to be signed   more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 -- Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, issued the following news release on Dec. 15, 2022, and letter: U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai'i) today called on the Department of Defense to step up its efforts to assist people experiencing health issues as a result of water contamination from the Red Hill fuel leak. "Protecting the health and safety of service members and their families is the sacred obligation of the Department of Defense, and the water contamination of the community  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 -- Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, issued the following news release: U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai'i) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and U.S. Representative Mark Takano (D-Calif.) introduced the Right to Private Conduct Act, a bill to protect the rights to privacy and liberty granted by the Supreme Court decision in Lawrence v. Texas. The legislation would prevent any person acting under color of law from inhibiting an individual's right to engage in private, non-comme  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 -- Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, issued the following news release on Dec. 16, 2022: Last night, the U.S. Senate passed the Restoring Resilient Reefs Act, bipartisan legislation authored by U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai'i) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) that will help protect coral reefs and advance coral reef stewardship. The legislation was included in the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and now heads to the president's desk to be signed into law. "Our cor  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 -- Sen. Mazie K. Hirono, D-Hawaii, issued the following news release on Dec. 15, 2022: U.S. Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI), a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, voted to pass the Fiscal Year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) which included key provisions she secured, including $1 billion for the defueling and closure of Red Hill and nearly $800 million for other military infrastructure upgrades in Hawaii. The NDAA--which passed the House by a vot  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 -- Rep. Kaiali'i Kahele, D-Hawaii, issued the following news release: Congressman Kaialii Kahele (HI-02) joined award winning-journalist, Katie Couric, along with Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-3), Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-1) and Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18) for the introduction of the Find it Early Act of 2022. This legislation ensures all health insurance plans cover screening and diagnostic mammograms and breast ultrasounds and MRIs with no cost-shari  more