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Sen. Mazie Hirono says she is donating pay to Hawaii food banks during shutdown

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, speaks to reporters on her way to her office at the Capitol in Washington on Dec. 21. U.S. Sen. Mazie K. Hirono announced today that she will donate pay she receives during the partial government shutdown to food banks in all four counties across Hawaii.

U.S. Sen. Mazie K. Hirono announced today that she will donate pay she receives during the partial government shutdown to food banks in all four counties across Hawaii.

“More than 2,500 federal workers in Hawaii are either furloughed or working without pay during the holidays because Donald Trump shut down the government,” Hirono said in a news release. “As long as Donald Trump refuses to re-open the government, I will be donating my salary to Hawaii’s food banks – who serve nearly one in eight Hawaii residents in need.”

Hirono said she will divide her salary between the Hawaii Foodbank on Oahu and Kauai, Maui Food Bank, and Hawaii Food Basket on Hawaii island.

It is not the first time Hirono has donated her salary during a government shutdown.

During the shutdown in January 2018, Hirono donated her salary to Hawaii’s 14 federally qualified community health centers. Also, during the 2013 government shutdown, Hirono donated her salary to the nonprofit Lanakila Pacific and its Meals on Wheels program, the Hawaii County Economic Opportunity Council, Kauai Economic Opportunity, and to Hale Mahaolu, which provides quality housing for moderate income seniors and families on Maui County.

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