Sen. Brian Schatz - D Hawaii, In Office - Biography

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Senate Democratic Deputy Conference Secretary Brian Schatz

D Hawaii (2012-) In Office

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Biographical

Full Name: Brian Emanuel Schatz
Gender: Male
Pronunciation: BRY-uhn shahts
Date of Birth: Oct. 20, 1972 (age: 51)
Place of Birth: Ann Arbor, Mich.
Religion: Jewish
Hometown: Hawaii
Place of Residence: Honolulu, Hawaii
Occupation: Non-profit administrator

Wikipedia

Official biography

Family:

Married: Linda Kwok Kai Yun Schatz

Children include Tyler Schatz, Mia Schatz

Biography:

Senator Brian Schatz has dedicated his career to public service as a strong advocate for Hawai‘i’s middle-class families, a clean energy economy, seniors, our veterans, and Native Hawaiians.

In the Senate, Schatz is working to create new clean energy jobs for Hawai‘i, strengthen the middle-class, enhance Social Security and Medicare, make college more affordable, support Native Hawaiian programs, and ensure our veterans receive the benefits they have earned.

As a leader on clean energy, Senator Schatz has introduced legislation to reduce the effects of climate change while also moving our nation into a clean energy economy, creating jobs, and lessening America’s dependence on foreign oil.

Staying true to his commitment to Social Security and our seniors, Brian helped to fight back efforts in Congress that would have unfairly cut seniors’ Social Security benefits. He introduced legislation to help our seniors by increasing their Social Security benefits while strengthening the financial stability of the program.

As a father, Senator Schatz has made education a top priority. He is working to provide every family with access to early childhood education and to also make college more affordable for Hawai‘i students and families.

He is committed to working with President Obama to reduce the cost of college by promoting accountability, innovation, and competition amongst colleges. This plan takes significant steps toward making college more accessible and affordable for Hawai‘i students and all middle-class families.

As Lieutenant Governor of the State of Hawai‘i, Brian turned the Office of Lieutenant Governor into a flexible and dynamic force. This included Brian heading up the development of Asia-Pacific relations by serving as the State lead when Hawaii hosted the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in 2011. The event brought 20,000 government and business leaders from 21 Asia-Pacific economies to Honolulu and $37.7 million for Waikiki hotels.

Brian led the State’s clean energy efforts including the Hawai‘i Clean Energy Initiative. Through collaborative leadership with state and federal agencies, Schatz developed strategies to put Hawai‘i on track to exceed their renewal energy portfolio standard goals and to be number one in the nation. The Hawai‘i Clean Energy Initiative has made the state a national model for clean energy growth and created new clean economy jobs.

From 1998 to 2006, Brian Schatz was a member of the State House of Representatives. He served as the House Majority Whip, Chair of the Economic Development Committee, Vice-Chair of Water, Land and Ocean Resources, Vice-Chair of Consumer Protection and Commerce, and as a member of the Hawaiian Affairs, Higher Education, Energy and Environmental Protection, and Agriculture Committees.

Before being elected Lieutenant Governor, for eight years Schatz was the CEO of Helping Hands Hawai‘i, one of Hawai‘i’s largest non-profit community social services organizations.

Senator Schatz was raised in Hawai‘i, and graduated from Pomona College in Claremont, California. He is married to Linda Kwok Schatz, who is an architect. See more >>

Miscellaneous Links:

Ballotpedia

C-SPAN

GovTrack

Project VoteSmart

Campaign Links:

Website, campaign

Email, campaign: info@brianschatz.com

X (Twitter), campaign

Facebook, campaign

Open Secrets political finance profile

Social Networking:

Facebook

Facebook, official

Instagram

X (Twitter), official

YouTube, official

Instagram, official

Flickr, official

Official Links:

Website, official

Press Releases

Official press releases »

Education

Pomona College - BA, philosophy (1990-1994)

Activities and notes: Study abroad in Kenya
Punahou School (Honolulu, Hawaii) - High school diploma (1990)

Office History

Congressional Offices:

U.S. Senate (Dec. 27, 2012-) In Office

Member, U.S. Senator for Hawaii

State Legislature Offices:

Hawaii House of Representatives (Nov. 3, 2002-Nov. 7, 2006)

D Representative, District 25
Hawaii House of Representatives (Nov. 3, 1998-Nov. 3, 2002)

D Representative, District 24

Election Results

2017 (Nov. 8, 2016 election)

U.S. Senate Seat for Hawaii (Class 3)

Brian Emanuel Schatz, 73.60%
Democrat

John Carroll, 22.24%
Republican

Joy J. Allison, 2.19%
Constitution

Michael A. Kokoski, 1.63%
Libertarian

Employment History

State of Hawaii (Dec. 2010-Dec. 2012)

Lieutenant Governor
Hawaii Democratic Party (May 2008-Jan. 2010)

Chair
Helping Hands Hawai'i (2002-2010)

CEO

Associated Organizations

Board membership:

Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation

Own leadership PAC:

Hawaii PAC

Awards

Legislator of the Year Award (National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials) (2023)
Spirit of Enterprise Award (U.S. Chamber of Commerce) (June 2020)
Excellence in Public Service Award (Population Association of America) (March 2019)
Distinguished Community Health Defender Award (National Association of Community Health Centers Inc.) (2019)
Policymaker Leader Award (Goodwill Industries International Inc.) (April 19, 2018)
Distinguished Community Health Defender Award (National Association of Community Health Centers Inc.) (2018)
Peter Benchley Ocean Award (Peter Benchley Ocean Awards) (May 12, 2017)
Distinguished Community Health Defender Award (National Association of Community Health Centers Inc.) (2017)
American Psychiatric Excellence Award (American Psychiatric Association) (2017)
Golden Triangle Award (National Farmers Union) (Sept. 2016)
Porker of the Month (Citizens Against Government Waste) (April 2016)
Distinguished Travel Champion Award (U.S. Travel Association) (2016)
Enough Good People Award (American Indian Alaska Native Tourism Association) (Oct. 21, 2015)

Official Signature

Contact Information

Email, member official contact form

Office Addresses:

Main Office:

Address:	722 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510
Phone:	202-224-3934
Fax:	202-228-1153

View Larger Map

» District Offices

Personal Financial Disclosures

Disclosures as a member:

Annual: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2021 (Amendment), 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2014 (Amendment), 2013
Extension Letter: 2024, 2023, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2015, 2014
» see more

Congressional Staff

Staff Turnover:

Turnover Index: 0.33
(House Average: 0.22)
» See more

Staff Salary Rate:

Office Median Annual Salary: $82,602.03
» See more

Staff Salaries Paid:

By Fiscal Year
By Calendar Year
By Quarter

» See full staffer list

» view all salaries

Committees

Senate Appropriations Committee

Senate Appropriations Committee Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Subcommittee

Senate Appropriations Committee Defense Subcommittee

Senate Appropriations Committee Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Subcommittee

Senate Appropriations Committee Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Subcommittee

Senate Appropriations Committee State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs Subcommittee

Senate Appropriations Committee Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies Subcommittee, Chair

Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee

Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee Communications, Media and Broadband Subcommittee

Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee Consumer Protection, Product Safety and Data Security Subcommittee

Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee Oceans, Fisheries, Climate Change and Manufacturing Subcommittee

Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee Surface Transportation, Maritime, Freight and Ports Subcommittee

Senate Foreign Relations Committee

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Africa and Global Health Policy Subcommittee

Senate Foreign Relations Committee East Asia, the Pacific and International Cybersecurity Policy Subcommittee

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Multilateral International Development, Multilateral Institutions and International Economic, Energy and Environmental Policy Subcommittee

Caucuses

Caught Our Eye

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Posted by Heavyn Lester on April 25, 2024
Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.) has three legislative assistants in his office, all of whom have advanced degrees. Two of them have two law degrees each. read more
Senators run afoul of ethics rules governing social media use

Posted by LegiStorm on Feb. 14, 2022
Several senators have run afoul of Senate ethics rules designed to prevent them from using official Senate resources for campaign activities, according to a LegiStorm review of all senators' Twitter accounts and official websites. read more
Sen. Schatz adviser heads to DoD AI center

Posted by Keturah Hetrick on Feb. 4, 2020
A Democratic aide is taking her tech expertise to the Defense Department. read more
University of Hawaii adds Sen. Schatz health expert

Posted by Keturah Hetrick on May 25, 2018
A Senate health-policy expert is saying aloha to the University of Hawaii. read more
Sen. Schatz adds telecom lobbyist ahead of FCC vote

Posted by Keturah Hetrick on Nov. 27, 2017
Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) has picked up a telecommunications lobbyist, just weeks before a Federal Communications Commission vote to repeal net-neutrality rules. read more
Climate and energy expert joins Schatz's office as legislative staffer

Posted by Jenna Ebersole on Aug. 28, 2015
Things are heating up in the office of Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii). read more
Tech lobbyist joins Schatz's staff

Posted by Jenna Ebersole on Jan. 13, 2015
A new policy adviser in the office of Hawaii Democrat Sen. Brian Schatz spent more than a decade - and most of her career - as a lobbyist for several tech companies. read more

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Senate Democratic Deputy Conference Secretary Brian Schatz

Biographical

Family:

Biography:

Miscellaneous Links:

Campaign Links:

Social Networking:

Official Links:

Press Releases

Education

Office History

Election Results

2017 (Nov. 8, 2016 election)

Employment History

Associated Organizations

Awards

Official Signature

Contact Information

Personal Financial Disclosures

Congressional Staff

Staff Turnover:

Staff Salary Rate:

Staff Salaries Paid:

Committees

Caucuses

Caught Our Eye