I like this:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) introduced legislation Thursday to reauthorize the construction of a Native American veterans memorial on the Mall. A quirk of the original legislation, passed in 1994, allowed for the construction of the memorial but did not allow the National Museum of the American Indian to raise funds — a predicament for a memorial required to be built with private funds on the museum’s property. The new legislation allows the Smithsonian Institution to engage in fundraising and removes the responsibility from the National Congress of American Indians, a nonprofit organization originally tasked with finding resources. The legislation was first proposed by the late Sen. Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawaii) and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).
“American Indians, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians served in all of the American wars since the Revolutionary War,” Schatz said during a media call. “It is critical that we recognize their bravery and patriotism with a fitting memorial.” - Washington Post, 5/23/13
This is long overdue and I'm happy to see Senator Brian Schatz (D. HI) take the lead on this.
I haven't written about Schatz in a while so I figured I'd give you all a round up of what he's been up to. First, he voted to save sugar producing jobs in Hawaii:
http://mauitvnews.com/...
Senator Brian Schatz joined his Senate colleagues in voting against a harmful amendment for domestic sugar producers. The repeal of the sugar program would have created significant hardships for Hawaii’s sole remaining sugar producer, Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Company (HC&S).
Sugar producers and processors contribute $20 billion in economic activity, and are responsible for 142,000 American jobs.
“Today, the United States Senate saved the Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Company, which is the state’s sole producer of raw and special sugar, and is critical to Maui’s workforce and economy,” said Senator Brian Schatz. “HC&S provides $56 million in wages to 800 Maui residents that have served as a cornerstone of this company and community for decades. I thank my Senate colleagues for helping save jobs in Hawaii and protecting nearly $250 million in revenue that is produced by the company.” - Maui TV News, 5/22/13
Schatz's colleague, Senator Mazie Hirono (D. HI) also voted against the amendment:
http://mauinow.com/...
The bipartisan amendment, which failed to pass the Senate in a 45-54 vote, would have removed a number of measures that leveled the playing field for American sugar producers who must compete against foreign sugar industries, like those in Brazil and Mexico, which are subsidized by their governments, Sen. Mazie Hirono said.
A similar attempt to remove the protections contained in the 2008 Farm Bill was rejected last year by the Senate.
“This amendment was a raw deal for Hawaii and sugar producers across the country,” Hirono said in a statement issued today.
“Much is said about supporting ‘made in America’ products, and this measure does the opposite,” she said. “It would have virtually zeroed out American sugar producers and forced us to depend on heavily subsidized foreign producers for this important commodity.” - Maui Now, 5/22/13
Schatz is also looking out for rental car customers:
http://www.hawaii247.com/...
Sen Brian Schatz joined local and national advocates, as well as Sens. Schumer, McCaskill, and Boxer, calling for passage of the The Raechel and Jacqueline Houck Safe Rental Car Act of 2013 (S. 921).
Named after two sisters who were killed driving a rental car that had been recalled, this is a common sense bill that bans rental car companies from renting or selling vehicles that are under manufacture recall.
This legislation has gained support from all the major car rental companies – Hertz, Enterprise, Avis Budget, Dollar Thrifty, and National – as well as the American Car Rental Association.
Schatz joins Blumenthal, Boxer, Casey, Feinstein, Gillibrand, McCaskill, and Murkowki as co-sponsors to this bill, introduced by Sen. Schumer.
The Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety and Insurance held a hearing Monday to discuss this legislation.
“The Raechel and Jacqueline Houck Safe Rental Car Act promotes commonsense consumer protections that will guard the nearly 10 million people who visit Hawaii each year, many of which choose to rent cars,” said Schatz, a member of the Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety and Insurance.
“What happened to Raechel and Jacqueline Houck was a tragedy, and this is why Congress must put in place measures so that we can prevent something like this from happening,” he said. - Hawaii 24/7, 5/21/13
And as many of you know, Schatz is in a primary battle with Congresswoman Colleen Hanabusa (D. HI-1). This week we were finally able to see how Schatz and Hanabusa differ on the issues:
http://www.civilbeat.com/...
In a move that highlights a key policy difference with Sen. Brian Schatz, Colleen Hanabusa is scheduled to be a guest speaker on a telephone “Town Hall” meeting sponsored by an organization opposing a bill co-sponsored by Schatz.
The measure, sponsored by Sen. John Rockefeller, D-W.Va., would try to reduce federal Medicare spending and cut the overall federal debt by making drug companies pay a rebate to the federal government. Among its supporters is the AARP, which argues the rebates are preferable to other Medicare cost-cutting measures like raising the co-pays or increasing age requirements for Medicare recipients.
However, Hanabusa, who is running against Schatz for his Senate seat, has opposed the idea, signing a letter last year saying drug companies would pass on the cost of the rebate to consumers.
Schatz, in a statement supporting Rockefeller’s bill, said, “The bill will save more than $140 billion for taxpayers. This is a balanced, common sense approach that will generate savings while protecting Hawaii’s seniors, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to get it passed.”
As expected, drug companies are lobbying against the measure. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America has already spent $5.3 million on lobbying Congress this year — the fifth largest of any group. - Honolulu Civil Beat, 5/23/13
Hawaii Republicans are hoping that a nasty primary will tear Democratic voters a part while they work on breathing life into their standing:
http://www.civilbeat.com/...
"Republicans will rise again," proclaimed Barbara Marumoto, the former House representative.
Perhaps not anytime soon, though.
As Chang told Civil Beat, rebuilding a party takes time, maybe a decade. He said the focus for now would be on picking up more seats in the Legislature; most of the seven House GOP members were in attendance Saturday, while GOP Sen. Sam Slom sent a video message.
Beth Fukumoto said Republicans helped block the possibility of legalizing same-sex marriage and increasing the general excise tax. Her party, she said, also was successful in opposing a single-use bag fee and a tax on sugary drinks.
Fukumoto's goal for 2014: defeating the governor's constitutional amendment asking voters to allow use of public funds for private early education.
"It's a terrible idea," she said, something delegates seemed to agree with.
While they may seek more legislative seats, it's unclear whether Republicans will be able to field viable candidates (that is, someone with greater electoral traction than, say, Cam Cavasso) for the top political jobs of governor, U.S. senator and U.S. representative.
While Abercrombie is running for re-election — so far, without a primary opponent — and U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz and U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa are duking it out for Schatz's seat, no top shelf Republican has stepped forth.
Lingle, who gave the party's Lincoln Day Dinner keynote last month, was not at the convention. "She's finished," several party insiders told me.
Neither was Djou, who several sources said was thinking about running for governor or Congress. "He's still popular," another delegate claimed. - Honolulu Civil Beat, 5/18/13
Schatz is my preferred pick in this race. I could support Hanabusa if she wins the nominee but I have been greatly impressed with Schatz's determination and ambition to make climate change a top priority in Congress. You can read more about it here:
http://www.dailykos.com/...
I just hope Schatz and Hanabusa don't get too nasty in their battle to secure their party's nominee. Especially since Governor Neil Abercrombie (D. HI) has a lot riding on this race:
http://www.nationaljournal.com/...
Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, D-Hawaii, may not be running for governor of her state, but she's still running against Gov. Neil Abercrombie as she gears up for a 2014 Senate primary.
Nothing official has been worked out yet, but Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz will be able to count on strong support from the governor who appointed him to the Senate over Hanabusa in December. In public, Abercrombie has been mostly non-responsive about the Senate race, but according to an adviser, the governor plans to give as much help as he can to Schatz.
"He's clearly going to stand behind his pick," the adviser said, noting that concrete planning about how to do that will come later. "To the degree and extent there are opportunities to support one another, that will clearly be the case," the Abercrombie adviser continued. "We haven't talked about endorsements or anything, but it's clearly more than implied."
Abercrombie, 74, believes one of his missions as the titular head of the state Democratic Party is to inject more youth into the ranks of major office-holders. It’s a slight irony for the nation’s second-oldest governor, but it’s one of the reasons he appointed Schatz, 40, to the late Sen. Daniel Inouye's vacant seat. (Abercrombie later filled the lieutenant governor position Schatz vacated with a 41-year-old, former state legislator Shan Tsutsui.) Schatz is part of Abercrombie's legacy -- not only as one of the governor's appointments -- but because he's now the leading representative of one of Abercrombie's projects. - National Journal, 5/15/13
if you would like to donate or get involved with Schatz's campaign, you can do so here:
http://www.brianschatz.com/