Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 8, Number 11, 1 November 1991 — Status report on federal legislation effecting Hawaiians [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Status report on federal legislation effecting Hawaiians

Mai Wakinekona

By Paul Alexander Washington, D.C. Counsel for OHA

From time to time, it is appropriate to eheek on the status of pending federal legislation that could affect Native Hawaiians. Of particular interest is one of the provisions of S. 1193, a bill to make technical corrections to various Indian laws,

whieh recently passed the U.S. Senate. The provision whieh is technically an amendment to the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act is directed at solving the dispute between the Bush administration and the Congress over whether Congress could fund housing related programs for Native Hawaiians. At specific issue were funds that Congress had provided for infrastructure development on Hawaiian Home Lands. The administration had objected and refused to allocate funding because it perceives Native Hawaiians to be a racial group. In its view to legislate for the benefit of Native Hawaiians would be unconstitutional racial discrimination.

Congress has not agreed with the administration and to the contrary has legislated for Native Hawaiians on the basis of their special political status. As noted previously, this question of the status of Native Hawaiians is an extremely important disagreement that could ultimately threaten other legislation designated to benefit Native Hawaiians. The S. 1193 housing amendment provides

authority to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to provide various assistance to the state of Hawai'i for use by the state in meeting its responsibilities for the Hawaiian Homes Lands Act under the Statehood Act. In effect, the Senate has through extensive negotiations with the administration avoided the underlying dispute and instead found an alternative device for making funding available. S. 1 193 is expected to be acted upon by the House of Representatives in the nearfuture and then signed into law. The underlying dispute over the constitutional status of Native Hawaiians, however, will remain a very serious poliheal issue.

On another front, the Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs on Sept. 24 reported on S. 1717, a bill to amend the Native American Programs Act of 1974. S. 1717 reauthorizes the Administration for Native Americans (known as ANA). ANA provides funding to a broadly defined grouping of Native Americans, including Native Hawaiians. Of particular significance in S. 1717 are the specific provisions reauthorizing the OHA Native Hawaiian Revolving Loan Program.

The committee found that "the loan fund is well managed, is operating effectively, and is serving Native Hawaiians who would otherwise be unable to obtain financing for the inauguration or expansion of enterprises." The loan fund is reauthorized for an additional three years and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs is designated as the grant recipient and fund operator. OHAis to commit capital equaltothe$l million per year that S. 1717 authorizes.

The committee report also indicates that the technical assistance to be provided to ANA applicants should be provided through grantees or subcontracts in Hawai'i; and that both OHA and the Department of Hawaiian Homelands are eligible for ANA funds as "public . . . agencies serving native Hawaiians" under the Native American Programs Act.

The House of Representatives has passed a eompanion, although more limited reauthorization of ANA, as part of its reauthorization of the 01der American Act. The Senate is expected to act on S. 1717 shortly and probably will also add its version of S. 1717 to the reauthorization of the 01der Americans Act. A conference between the two houses of Congress on the differences would then follow with the Senate version at least as far as it relates to Native Hawaiians being the anticipated result. Another pending series of bills are Senate Joint Resolutions 22-34 relating to the requirement of Congressional approval for amendments to the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1921.

As noted previously, a heanng was held on July 23 by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on resolutions 23-34. These resolutions are relatively non-controversial. Action is expected on them later this Congress. Senate Joint Resolution 22, the so-called "purpose clause" amendment has not yet been the subject of Congressional hearings. The legislative appropriations process will shortly finish for fiscal year 1992 and will be reported when the final determinations are available.