WASHINGTON, Sept. 25 -- Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, issued the following news release: Today, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai'i) and U.S. Representative Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) introduced a resolution condemning an escalating censorship crisis that has removed and targeted thousands of books from the shelves of schools, libraries and universities across the country. The bicameral resolution, coinciding with Banned Books Week, reinforces congressional recognition of students' First Amendment   more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 20 -- Rep. Jill Tokuda, D-Hawaii, issued the following news release: Yesterday, the House Natural Resources Committee voted to advance the Lahaina National Heritage Area Study Act - introduced by U.S. Representative Jill Tokuda (HI-02) - to the full House of Representatives. The committee reported the bill unanimously. H.R. 8219, the Lahaina National Heritage Area Study Act, would direct the National Park Service, in consultation with state and local partners, to study the s  more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 24 -- Sen. Mazie K. Hirono, D-Hawaii, issued the following news release: Today, U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) and Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) Chair Representative Judy Chu (D-CA) led 7 of their colleagues in sending a letter to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Shalanda Young on Statistical Policy Directive 15: Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity (SPD 15), urging OMB to take add  more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 24 -- Sen. Mazie K. Hirono, D-Hawaii, issued the following news release: Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) joined Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) in introducing legislation to support survivors of sexual assault on college campuses. The Survivor Outreach and Support on Campus Act, or S.O.S. Campus Act, would require that every college and university that receives federal funding have an independent advocate dedicated to campus sexual assault prevention and resp  more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 25 -- Sen. Mazie K. Hirono, D-Hawaii, issued the following news release: Today, U.S. Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) introduced the bicameral, bipartisan Judiciary Accountability Act of 2024 (JAA). The legislation would ensure the more than 30,000 employees of the federal judiciary have strong statutory rights and protections against discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliation, and other forms of workpla  more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 28 -- The House Oversight and Accountability Subcommittee on Government Operations and the Federal Workforce released the following testimony by Maui County, Hawaii, Mayor Richard Bissen from a Sept. 4, 2024, hearing entitled "Assessing the Federal Government's Response to the 2023 Maui Wildfires": * * * Aloha mai kakou. Chairman Sessions and members of the Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to discuss the collective efforts made in response to the impacts of the Aug  more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 27 -- Rep. Jill Tokuda, D-Hawaii, issued the following statement on Sept. 26, 2024: * * * U.S. Representative Jill Tokuda (HI-02) issued the following statement on the Continued Rapid ʻOhiʻa Death Response Act of 2023 after the legislation unanimously passed the House of Representatives this week. "Rapid ʻOhiʻa Death presents an existential threat to Hawai'i's native forests that are a critical habitat for our endangered birds and other species. If we don't act now, our  more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 26 -- Rep. Jill Tokuda, D-Hawaii, issued the following statement on Sept. 25, 2024: * * * Today, U.S. Representative Jill Tokuda (HI-02) issued the following statement after voting yes on the House bill to prevent a government shutdown. "Our communities can't afford to lose critical services, but House Republicans have yet again been unable to write or pass legislation to keep the government operating. A shutdown would hurt working families in Hawaii who are already struggli  more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 27 -- Rep. Ed Case, D-Hawaii, issued the following news release: U.S. Representative Ed Case (D-HI 01 and his House colleagues, Reps. Michelle Steel (R-CA 45 ), Robert Cortez (Bobby) Scott (D-VA 3), James Moylan (R-GU) and Jill Tokuda (D-HI 02), have joined U.S. Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI) in co-leading a bipartisan, bicameral measure commemorating October as Filipino-American History Month. The Members' resolution (link to copy below), co-sponsored currently by an additional  more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 25 -- Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, issued the following news release: Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai'i) led members of the bipartisan Senate Telehealth Working Group in calling on Senate leaders to take up legislation to permanently extend telehealth flexibilities for Medicare beneficiaries that are set to expire at the end of the year. Specifically, the senators urged for the passage of the bipartisan CONNECT for Health Act which Schatz leads with U.S. Senator Roger Wicker (R-  more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 24 -- Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, issued the following news release: The U.S. Senate passed a bipartisan resolution authored by U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai'i) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) designating September 15-21 as "Telehealth Awareness Week." The resolution recognizes that telehealth has helped millions of Americans across the country access quality health care, and has become a critical component of health care delivery. "Telehealth helps people access quality he  more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 24 -- Sen. Edward J. Markey, D-Massachusetts, issued the following news release: Bill Text (PDF) | Section by section (PDF) Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, introduced his Artificial Intelligence (AI) Civil Rights Act, comprehensive AI civil rights legislation which will put strict guardrails on companies' use of algorithms for consequential decisions, ensure algorithms are tested before and after depl  more