WASHINGTON, April 29 -- Rep. Ed Case, D-Hawaii, issued the following news release: Congressman Ed Case (HI-01), and Congresswoman Jill Tokuda (HI-02) announced the introduction of their Hawaii Invasive Species Protection Act, a bill to require that baggage and cargo transporting into the State of Hawaii by air or sea be pre-inspected for invasive species and high-risk agricultural materials, in the same manner as similar baggage and cargo transported to the U.S. mainland must be inspected pre-d  more

WASHINGTON, April 27 -- Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, issued the following news release: Senate Committee on Indian Affairs staff held a virtual listening session, "The ARTIST Act: Updating the Indian Arts and Crafts Act," on the discussion draft of the Amendments to Respect Traditional Indigenous Skill and Talent (ARTIST) Act of 2023. The ARTIST Act would update the Indian Arts and Crafts Act to support creative economies and strengthen enforce  more

WASHINGTON, April 28 -- Sen. Mazie K. Hirono, D-Hawaii, issued the following news release on April 26, 2023: U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) blocked Republicans from advancing the anti-transgender Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, legislation to ban transgender women and girls from participating in sports consistent with their gender. "If my Republican colleagues were actually worried about women and girls in athletics, they would join in our efforts to address unequal athletic   more

WASHINGTON, April 27 -- Sen. Mazie K. Hirono, D-Hawaii, issued the following news release: As South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol marks his first visit to the United States, U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) introduced bipartisan, bicameral legislation that builds on the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA) and encourages greater ties between American and Korean businesses. Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) joined Senator Hirono in introducing the Partner with Korea Act in the Senate an  more

WASHINGTON, April 27 -- Sen. Mazie K. Hirono, D-Hawaii, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, introduced the Stop Judge Shopping Act, legislation to combat "judge shopping" in federal courts by giving the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (D.D.C.) exclusive jurisdiction over cases that would have national implications. In recent years, activist groups have employed the practice of "judge shopping" by fi  more

WASHINGTON, April 29 -- Sen. Mazie K. Hirono, D-Hawaii, issued the following news release on April 28, 2023: U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) voted to advance a bicameral resolution affirming the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), which would enshrine gender equity in the U.S. Constitution. Despite the required 38 states voting to ratify the amendment, ratification has been stalled due to an arbitrary deadline put in place when Congress passed the ERA in 1972. Following the v  more

WASHINGTON, April 26 -- Sen. Mazie K. Hirono, D-Hawaii, issued the following news release: U.S. Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Representatives Ed Case (D-HI) and Jen Kiggans (R-VA) reintroduced the Filipino Veterans Family Reunification Act, legislation that would speed up the visa process for children of Filipino World War II veterans. "Filipino soldiers served our country with honor and bravery during World War II. But for too long, they've been denied many of   more

WASHINGTON, April 26 -- Rep. Jill Tokuda, D-Hawaii, issued the following news release on April 25, 2023: Representative Jill Tokuda (HI-02) joined U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Peter Welch (D-VT), and Congressman Greg Casar (D-Texas), alongside more than 50 advocacy organizations, in introducing the bicameral Child Labor Exploitation Accountability Act, legislation aimed at holding corporations accountable for the exploitation of children and workers in the food industry. The billprohibi  more

WASHINGTON, April 27 -- Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, issued the following news release: U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), and Katie Britt (R-Ala.) introduced new legislation to help protect children from the harmful impacts of social media. The Protecting Kids on Social Media Act would set a minimum age of 13 to use social media apps and would require parental consent for 13 through17 year-olds. The bill would also prevent social media companies  more

WASHINGTON, April 28 -- Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai'i), chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, and U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), vice chairman of the Committee, introduced the Unlocking Native Lands and Opportunities for Commerce and Key Economic Developments Act (UNLOCKED Act). The bill would authorize all federally recognized Tribes to issue leases of   more

WASHINGTON, April 26 -- Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kansas, ranking member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, issued the following news on April 25, 2023: U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) - the Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs - and Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) today introduced the Love Lives On Act. This legislation would allow spouses of deceased servicemembers to retain their survivor benefits if they remarry. This legislation was cosponsored by Sens. Mazie Hirono  more