{"id":1185156,"date":"2016-05-06T00:08:56","date_gmt":"2016-05-06T10:08:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.civilbeat.org\/?p=1185156"},"modified":"2016-05-06T06:14:27","modified_gmt":"2016-05-06T16:14:27","slug":"schatz-dishes-on-homelessness-and-the-donald","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.civilbeat.org\/2016\/05\/schatz-dishes-on-homelessness-and-the-donald\/","title":{"rendered":"Schatz Takes On D.C., Homelessness And The Donald"},"content":{"rendered":"

U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz has an eye on what he can accomplish in 2017. <\/span><\/p>\n

While he\u2019s up for re-election this year, there\u2019s no significant challenger on the horizon. He also has\u00a0<\/span>$3 million<\/span><\/a> in the bank, should a legitimate challenger come forth to run against him.<\/span><\/p>\n

But Schatz \u2014 who was <\/span>appointed to his position<\/span><\/a> in December 2012 after the death of U.S. Sen. Dan Inouye \u2014 told the Civil Beat Editorial Board Thursday that he still wants voters to judge him on his effectiveness in office.<\/span><\/p>\n

He <\/span>pointed to his ascension<\/span><\/a> to the Senate Appropriations Committee, which has enormous control over the purse strings of the federal government, as a sign that he has what it takes to navigate an increasingly fractious environment on Capitol Hill.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Senator
U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz says he’s settling into his role as Hawaii’s senior senator. <\/span>Anthony Quintano\/Civil Beat<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Schatz also touted his ability to work with Republicans, who currently control the majority in the House and Senate, and who are increasingly necessary to get anything accomplished.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s particularly proud of a piece of legislation introduced with a bipartisan group of senators, including Republicans Thad Cochran, of Mississippi, and John Thune, of South Dakota, that would expand tele-health services under Medicare to cut costs for patients and providers.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy pitch is very simple,\u201d Schatz said. \u201cI\u2019ve shown an ability to move legislation; I\u2019ve shown an ability to get federal funds; and I\u2019m doing a good job in the Senate working with both sides of the aisle.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tackling Housing And Homelessness<\/h2>\n

Schatz says that if he\u2019s re-elected, his two biggest priorities will be clean energy and addressing homelessness. More specifically, he says he wants to work with federal, state and local officials to enable\u00a0more affordable housing and reduce costs for the people who live here.<\/p>\n

Homelessness in Hawaii has reached a crisis, Schatz said. The state has one of the highest rates of homelessness in the country, yet officials here have struggled to get a handle on the problem in large part because there\u2019s not enough housing.<\/p>\n

Schatz said it\u2019s important to continue to bring more money into the state, such as through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, to help alleviate the shortage. But he also says Hawaii faces unique challenges due in large part to the high cost of living here.<\/p>\n

Construction costs on Oahu are some of the highest in the country, and ongoing development in Kakaako and the city\u2019s $6.6 billion rail project are only driving prices higher as work and materials become more scarce.<\/p>\n

This can make it difficult for developers seeking to add to the housing inventory, Schatz said. So, too, can long waits at county and state permitting centers.<\/p>\n

Worries About Airbnb and VRBO<\/h2>\n

The senator also worries about losing housing to vacation rentals, and in particular, those that might be operating illegally. While it would be great to add another 1,500 units to the housing stock, Schatz said companies such as Airbnb or VRBO provide an incentive for individuals to\u00a0rent their extra bedrooms and apartments for more money to tourists, taking them off the market for those who live here.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe simply need to build more housing, but we just haven\u2019t done it,\u201d Schatz said. \u201cWe also have the worst possible combination when it comes to housing, which is we have Manhattan prices but not Manhattan salaries.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said he\u2019s always looking for opportunities to reduce costs for the people who live here. The senator pointed specifically to proposal from the Federal Communications Commission that would allow people to buy their cable box rather than rent it.<\/p>\n

By getting rid of that rental fee, he said, consumers across the nation could save $17 billion a year.<\/p>\n

The Trump Threat<\/h2>\n

The senator also took the opportunity Thursday to discuss the presidential election. Schatz has a sobering opinion of billionaire businessman Donald Trump, who this week became the <\/span>last Republican<\/span><\/a> standing in the 2016 race for the White House.<\/span><\/p>\n

In fact, Schatz said that citizens should look at this as one of the most consequential\u00a0presidential elections in a generation.<\/span><\/p>\n

The senator called Trump \u201ca real danger to the country,\u201d and added that he should not be underestimated, even though he\u2019s a decisive underdog against presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, whom Schatz already has endorsed.<\/p>\n

“I think he’s be dangerous for the world. I think he’ll divide our country,” — Sen. Brian Schatz<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really important for people of all political persuasions to understand that he\u2019s a threat in a different way,\u201d Schatz said. \u201cThis is not an ideological critique of candidate Trump. He brings out the worst in people. I think he has close to zero foreign policy experience. I think he\u2019ll be dangerous for the world. I think he\u2019ll divide our country.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Schatz also sees a glimmer of hope in the potential political darkness. Trump is such a divisive figure among Republicans, that his candidacy could give Senate Democrats a chance to retake the chamber. Democrats would need a gain of five seats to do so; they are defending 10 Senate seats this fall, while\u00a0Republicans must defend 24.<\/p>\n

Should control of the Senate switch, Schatz, who\u2019s only been in office for three years, would shoot up the seniority ladder, which would likely result in better committee assignments that could benefit Hawaii.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were a few seats that we were already favored to win, but the map just expanded massively,\u201d Schatz said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s clear the Democrats will be united. But perhaps the part that remains underestimated is the extent to which true conservatives are not going to come around to Donald Trump. They find him offensive. I\u2019m not sure they will vote for the Democrat. But a lot of them may stay home.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz has an eye on what he can accomplish in 2017. While he\u2019s up for re-election this year, there\u2019s no significant challenger on the horizon. He also has\u00a0$3 million in the bank, should a legitimate challenger come forth to run against him. But Schatz \u2014 who was appointed to his position in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11778,"featured_media":1185041,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37717,2782,37609,2792],"tags":[],"post_format":[],"project":[],"coauthors":[2010],"class_list":["post-1185156","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-elections-2016","category-hawaii-beat","category-homelessness","category-politics"],"slp_mobile_featured_image":{"id":1185041,"href":"https:\/\/www.civilbeat.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1185041","image_path":"https:\/\/d1l18ops95qbzp.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/2016\/05\/Senator-Brian-Schatz-editorial-board5.jpg","caption":"U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz was recently elected to his first six-year term. He says he's now ready to take on Republicans and the Trump administration."},"acf":[],"slp_coauthors":[{"display_name":"Nick Grube","user_nicename":"ngrube","author_link":"https:\/\/www.civilbeat.org\/author\/ngrube\/"}],"slp_acf":{"cb_excerpt_type":"","cb_article_type":"","cb_related_logo_image":false,"cb_related_logo_link":"","cb_related_sponsor_logo_image":false,"cb_related_sponsor_url":"","cb_related_sponsor_text":"","cb_article_footnotes":"","dynamic_html":"","cb_author_contributor_type":"internal","cb_article_sidebar":""},"slp_primary_category":{"id":2782,"name":"Hawai\u02bbi"},"apple_news_notices":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Schatz Takes On D.C., Homelessness And The Donald","url":"http:\/\/www.civilbeat.org\/2016\/05\/schatz-dishes-on-homelessness-and-the-donald\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.civilbeat.org\/2016\/05\/schatz-dishes-on-homelessness-and-the-donald\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/d1l18ops95qbzp.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/2016\/05\/Senator-Brian-Schatz-editorial-board5-150x150.jpg","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/d1l18ops95qbzp.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/2016\/05\/Senator-Brian-Schatz-editorial-board5.jpg"},"articleSection":"Elections 2016","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nick Grube"}],"creator":["Nick Grube"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"天美视频","logo":""},"keywords":[],"dateCreated":"2016-05-06T10:08:56Z","datePublished":"2016-05-06T10:08:56Z","dateModified":"2016-05-06T16:14:27Z"},"rendered":"