Aloha Rich-- Its already been a year since I was sworn in as Hawaiis United States senator. The first year has been a whirlwind -- and despite the gridlock in Washington, Im still very proud of some of the things we accomplished together. We passed the most comprehensive, historic immigration legislation in decades. With your help, I offered more amendments to craft this bill than any other Democrat -- amendments prioritizing family unity (our ohana), making the system fairer for women, helping expand foreign tourism in Hawaii, and giving DREAM Act students increased access to educational opportunities. We passed a budget that eases the pain of the sequester cuts impacting such programs as Head Start. We passed the National Defense Authorization Act, which provides Hawaii with over $400 million in key investments to keep our forces strong while creating jobs. One of the reasons I came to Washington was to pass legislation that makes a real difference for families here in Hawaii and across the country. But there’s still so much work to do. And I need your help. So click here to tell me: What priorities do you hope to see us work on over the second year? As people in Hawaii know, relationships matter. Relationships are an important part of being an effective legislator, since so much of my job involves finding common ground with other senators. Theres some fun in this -- last month, as part of a Senate Secret Santa, I gave Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) some homemade pottery and Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ) gave me rattlesnake eggs and a real scorpion lollipop. One particularly bright spot is the historic number of women senators -- we’ve stuck together and agreed to work together to get things done. Click here to tell me: What do you hope to see my fellow senators and me take up in the next year? Ive formulated my own set of priorities so far. I hope to work with my colleagues to level the playing field for everyone and create more opportunity for each and every American by: Strengthening consumer protections. Continuing to pressure the House to pass the Senates immigration reform bill. Raising the minimum wage -- nationwide. Making college more affordable. Seeing my Pre-K bill through, parts of which I introduced last year, so that we can expand access to high-quality early childhood education. Im in the Senate to work for you, though, so I very much want to hear what you think I should make a priority. Please click here to share your priorities with me. Heres to a successful second year in the Senate -- with your continued friendship and support! Mahalo, Mazie Hirono U.S. Senator
Posted on: Sun, 26 Jan 2014 02:34:46 +0000
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