WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 -- Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, issued the following news release: Following calls for increased benefits for Hawai'i families, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai'i) today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has proposed updates to its Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits in Hawai'i to ensure they accurately reflect the cost of food across the state. The USDA has proposed a 2.3 percent increase in SNAP benefits for Hawai'i, which woul more PR

WASHINGTON, Dec. 7 -- Rep. Jill Tokuda, D-Hawaii, issued the following news release on Dec. 5, 2024: Yesterday, the full House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill -- introduced by U.S. Representative Jill Tokuda (HI-02) - to name the Captain Cook Post Office on Hawaii Island after First Lieutenant John Kuulei Kauhaihao of Honaunau, who was killed in action in Vietnam and posthumously awarded the U.S. Army's second highest award for valor, the Distinguished Service Cross. H.R. 8909 wo more PR

WASHINGTON, Dec. 5 -- Sen. Mazie K. Hirono, D-Hawaii, issued the following news release: ~ U.S. Senate unanimously passed Federal Disaster Tax Relief Act, which includes Tokuda and Hirono legislation to lessen the tax burden on survivors of the Maui wildfires. The bill now heads to President Biden's desk to be signed into law. ~ Today, U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) and U.S. Representative Jill Tokuda (D-HI) applauded the unanimous Senate passage of the bipartisan Federal Disaster Tax Rel more PR

WASHINGTON, Dec. 4 -- Sen. Mazie K. Hirono, D-Hawaii, issued the following news release: ~ Bill includes Hirono's Filipino Veterans Family Reunification Act, legislation that would speed up the visa process for children of Filipino World War II veterans ~ Today, U.S. Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) introduced the Reuniting Families Act, legislation that would promote family unity in our country's immigration system, reduce more PR

WASHINGTON, Dec. 6 -- Rep. Jill Tokuda, D-Hawaii, issued the following news release on Dec. 4, 2024: Today, the full House of Representatives passed the bipartisan Lahaina National Heritage Area Study Act - introduced by U.S. Representative Jill Tokuda (HI-02) - marking another significant step forward in her efforts to support the community in recognizing Lahaina's historic and cultural importance. H.R. 8219, the Lahaina National Heritage Area Study Act, would direct the National Park Service more PR

HONOLULU, Hawaii, Nov. 30 -- Rep. Ed Case, D-Hawaii, issued the following remarks welcoming Taiwan President Lai Ching-Te to Hawaii: * * * MAHALO! TO OUR HONORED GUESTS AND MY FELLOW 'OHANA FROM OUR WONDERFUL HAWAII, GOOD EVENING AND WAN-AN. AND TO PRESIDENT LAI, A VERY WARM ALOHA AND HUAN-YING! MR PRESIDENT, WE ARE TRULY HONORED THAT YOU WOULD CHOOSE TO BEGIN YOUR JOURNEY THROUGH OUR PACIFIC FAMILY HERE IN HAWAII, WHERE WE ALSO ARE FROM AND OF THE INDO-PACIFIC. TONIGHT THE EVENING IS BEAU more PR

WASHINGTON, Dec. 7 -- Rep. Jill Tokuda, D-Hawaii, issued the following news release on Dec. 5, 2024: Today, U.S. Representative Jill Tokuda (HI-02) and U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) applauded the U.S. Senate's unanimous passage of the bipartisan Federal Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2023 (H.R. 5863). The bill, which passed in the U.S. House in May, would exempt wildfire disaster relief payments received between January 1, 2020, and December 31, 2025, from taxable income. The Federal Disast more PR

WASHINGTON, Dec. 4 -- Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, issued the following news release: Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai'i), Chair of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, today again called on President Biden to pardon Native American activist Leonard Peltier who was convicted of murder in 1977 following a controversial investigation and trial, which many civil rights leaders and legal experts have called unjust, including the U.S. Attorney who prosecuted the case. Since 2022, Schatz has repeated more PR