can do more than lower the flag to half-mast. We can take a stand against gun violence by passing common-sense gun safety laws." Health care Schatz supports Sen. Bernie Sanders' single-payer proposal, but also introduced his own proposal which would allow states to expand Medicaid into a universal system. Schatz supports the Affordable Care Act but supported a religious exemption from its individual mandate. Housing In April 2019, Schatz was one of forty-one senators to sign a bipartisan letter to the housing subcommittee praising the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development's Section 4 Capacity Building program as authorizing "HUD to partner with national nonprofit community development organizations to provide education, training, and financial support to local community development corporations (CDCs) across the country" and expressing disappointment that President Trump's budget "has slated this program for elimination after decades of successful economic and community development." The senators wrote of their hope that the subcommittee would support continued funding for Section 4 in Fiscal Year 2020. Privacy rights In one of his first Senate votes, Schatz voted against the FISA Amendments Act Reauthorization Act of 2012. On April 17, 2013, he voted to expand background checks for gun purchases. Schatz voted for the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act, a bill many civil liberties groups opposed. Personal life Schatz is married to Linda Kwok Kai Yun. They have two children. Schatz has three brothers, including an identical twin brother, Steve. Steve is executive director of Hawaii P-20 Partnerships for Education, an interagency educational partnership at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He formerly ran the Hawaii Department of Education's Office of Strategic Reform. Electoral history References External links Senator Brian Schatz official U.S. Senate website Brian Schatz for Senate campaign website |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- 1972 births 20th-century American politicians 21st-century American politicians Democratic Party United States senators from Hawaii Identical twins Jewish United States senators Lieutenant Governors of Hawaii Living people Democratic Party members of the Hawaii House of Representatives Politicians from Ann Arbor, Michigan Pomona College alumni Punahou School alumni State political party chairs of Hawaii American twins 21st-century American Jews