#senator brian schatz
Schatz secures nearly $75M in new earmark funding, including housing and infrastructure on Maui
The funding includes $1.9 million for Hale Makua Health Services to purchase and replace nursing home beds; $1.2 million in funding to Maui County to support the first phase of an affordable housing development on Lānaʻi; and $1 million for Molokaʻi Airport to rehabilitate the runway and taxiways.
Bill improves on the NATIVE Act, which was signed into law in 2016
The original law enhances and integrates Native tourism, empowers Native communities, and expands unique cultural tourism opportunities in the United States. The bill passed by the US Senate in December, makes key updates to the existing law that will help improve the program and make it easier for Native communities to access federal resources.
Schatz: $1B delivered to Hawaiʻi in 2025 to support Maui’s recovery, upgrade health centers, expand internet
In 2025, US Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) worked to protect Hawai‘i from significant cuts to federal funding and helped secure more than $1 billion for Hawai‘i to support Maui’s ongoing recovery, expand high-speed internet, and improve airports and infrastructure.
Senate passes Schatz-Wicker resolution designating Telehealth Awareness Week
The US Senate passed a bipartisan resolution authored by US Sens, Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) designating Sept. 14-20 as “Telehealth Awareness Week.”
Schatz joins Ka Pewa podcast to talk about housing challenges and solutions
The Hawaiʻi Community Foundation announced its latest episode of the Ka Pewa podcast, featuring US Sen. Brian Schatz in conversation with host Kanoa Leahey. The podcast series is dedicated to exploring Hawaiʻi’s most pressing issues through candid, community-driven conversations, and this discussion centers on one of Hawaiʻi’s most urgent challenges: housing.
Schatz: Housing shortage is a problem the government has created and it can be fixed
US Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) spoke on the Senate floor on Tuesday about the national housing shortage in the United States. He said there’s an urgent need to cut “onerous regulations” that he said “stand in the way of building more housing.”
Groundbreaking: $46M Kahului Airport South TSA Checkpoint expected to reduce wait times
The state Department of Transportation conducted a groundbreaking ceremony for the $46 million Kahului Airport South TSA Checkpoint Project. The project is expected to be completed in December 2026.
Sen. Schatz to host statewide telephone town hall
US Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) will host a telephone town hall meeting at noon on Thursday, May 8, 2025.
Hawaiʻi congressional delegation take oath of office, as 119th Congress begins
Hawaiʻi’s congressional delegation—US Reps. Ed Case and Jill Tokuda, and US Sens. Mazie Hirono and Brian Schatz—joined colleagues on Friday in commencing the 119th Congress for 2023-2025.
Schatz secured $6 billion for Hawaiʻi in 2024, including funds to support Maui’s recovery
In 2024, US Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) helped secure more than $6 billion in federal funding for Hawai‘i as he led efforts to deliver resources to support Maui’s recovery from last year’s fires and advance a range of other priorities for the state.
Schatz urges tech companies to invest in clean energy to meet surging AI demands
With the rapid growth of artificial intelligence resulting in an unprecedented demand for energy, US Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) called on leading tech companies to invest in new clean energy in order to power their data centers.
Schatz measures advance to improve fire weather forecasts and promote use of AI to predict extreme weather
The Lahaina wildfire highlighted the dangers that remote communities face from fire, and the need for forecasts and warning services to reach them in a timely and actionable way. Schatz’s provision would mandate fire weather forecasts and warnings be disseminated to remote, isolated, or rural communities as effectively as anywhere else in the country.
Schatz demands answers from OpenAI in controversial ChatGPT ‘spring update’
US Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) is pressing OpenAI — the company behind ChatGPT — to respond to whistle-blower claims that the company “rushed” through safety tests and barred employees from warning the public about alleged risks of its latest artificial intelligence (AI) model, GPT-4 Omni, which released on May 13.
President Biden amends Hawaiʻi Disaster Declaration increasing federal cost share for Maui wildfire recovery
President Joe Biden announced that he has made additional disaster assistance available to the State of Hawai‘i following the Maui fires, increasing the federal cost share for federal assistance to 100% for an additional 90-day period.
Schatz calls on Congress to pass long-term disaster relief funding for Maui, other impacted communities nationwide
US Sen, Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) called on Congress to pass long-term disaster relief funding for impacted communities across the country, including on Maui and Vermont. Speaking on the Senate floor on Wednesday, Schatz underscored the need to pass funding for the Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program in order to provide survivors with flexible assistance to rebuild their homes, small businesses, and communities over the long-term.
Schatz announces more than $62.45 million for Hawaiʻi Green Infrastructure Authority
US Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) announced that the Hawai‘i Green Infrastructure Authority is receiving $62.45 million in grant funding from the Environmental Protection Agency to deliver solar power to low-income households across the state.
Sen. Schatz leads resolution highlighting importance of local news
US Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) led a group of 14 senators in introducing a resolution designating April 2024 as “Preserving and Protecting Local News Month.” The resolution recognizes local news as a public good that serves an essential function in American democracy.
Sen. Schatz calls for additional disaster relief funding for Maui
“For Lahaina to recover, thousands of homes will need to be rebuilt. Critical infrastructure will need to be restored. Businesses will need to get up and running again. And so Congress needs to step up and help,” said Sen. Schatz.
Maui to receive more than $35M in federal funding to rebuild public and senior housing destroyed in fires
The new funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency will help restore the David Malo Circle and Pi‘ilani Elderly Homes and Community Center facilities to pre-disaster design and function.
Schatz joins colleagues in introducing bill to promote use of AI to predict, respond to extreme weather
The bill would direct key federal agencies to use AI tools to improve weather forecasting, crack down on illegal deforestation and optimize electrical grids.
