Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 23, Number 7, 1 July 2006 — 'Political HARDBALL' [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

'Political HARDBALL'

How the Akaka Bill vote went elown

By Derek Ferrar and Sterling Kini Wang In the end, the U.S. Senate's lune 8 procedural vote on the Native Hawaiian federal recognition legislation popularly known as the "Akaka Bill" apparently eame down to what a number of observers called "poliīieal hardball," with the Bush administration and the Senate's Republican leadership applying lastminute pressure on GOP lawmakers to vote against the measure. Ultimately, the vote was 56-41 in favor of the procedural move, known as "cloture," whieh would have forced the bill to the floor for a final debate and up-or-down tally. However, that total was short of the 60 votes needed to advance the measure. All of the Senate Democrats in attendance voted in favor of the cloture motion, along with 13 Republicans and Independent lim Ieffords. All of the senators who voted against the motion are Republicans. "I am disappointed that we did not overcome the procedural obstacles to bring the bill to the floor, but I am heart-

ened by the fact that 56 senators supported our efforts," Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawai'i), the bill's main sponsor and namesake, said in a statement following the vote. "Sadly, the noble values of equality, fairness and strength in diversity, hallmarks of our state and our eountry, fell victim to politics, rhetoric and procedural maneuvering." Haunani Apoliona, chairperson of the OHA Board of Trustees, said that while the vote was a setback, it shouldn't be mischaracterized as the Senate opposing the bill. "This was not a vote on the merits of the bill," she said. She added that despite the vote, Native Hawaiians will not be deterred. "We will continue our own process to restore our poliīieal heritage and revitalize our eultural tradition that defines our way of life in Hawai'i," she said. Election year politics The Akaka Bill, officially known as the Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act, would formally acknowledge Hawaiians' special status as an indig-

enous people, and would establish a process for official U.S. recognition of a future Native Hawaiian representative body. For the last several years, the measure has been blocked by procedural holds placed by several Republican senators who oppose the bill. The lune 8 cloture vote was an attempt to overcome those procedural roadblocks. A similar vote had been scheduled in early September, but the vote was put off at the last minute after Hurricane Katrina struck. During the discussion preceding the lune 8 vote, supporters of the measure said it would grant Hawaiians the same rights and status already afforded to America's two other indigenous groups, Native Americans and Alaska Natives. They also said it would help rectify more | than a century of injustice following ' the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian kingdom with the backing of American troops. "I believe my bill goes a long way to unite the people of Hawai'i by providing a structured process to deal with unresolved issues and unhealed wounds that have plagued us since 1893," Akaka said during the cloture debate. Meanwhile, opponents of the bill said it would set up an unconstitutionally "racebased" government and set a precedent that could lead to the "Balkanization" of America along ethnic lines. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tennessee) called the bill "an assault on one of the most important values in our country ... our original national motto, 'E Pluribus Unum' - one from many ... putting us on the path of becoming more of a United Nations than a United States of America." But some poliīieal commentators said the vote may have had more to do with election-year politics than pure principles, with the balance of power in Congress possibly up for grabs in November. "My take on it is [that] success or failure will possibly not revolve around the substance of the bill, but rather the politics in Congress," longtime Hawai'i poliīieal consultant Don Clegg told The Honolulu Advertiser. "The mood of the Senate was not good for us," said OHA Chairperson Apoliona, who was present in the ehamber for the vote. Apoliona said that several Republicans who had committed to voting in favor of the cloture motion caved into "extreme poliīieal pressure" from their party and voted against it in the end. "In the last 48 hours [prior to the vote], Majority Leader Bill Frist was out

there trying to twist arms to peel votes away," she said. "Then during the vote, when we saw some senators who had said they would vote for cloture saying 'nay,' our hearts began to sink." One congressional race that may be particularly influenced by the vote is Akaka's own re-election bid, in whieh he is being challenged in the Democratic primary by Rep. Ed Case. Poliīieal observers have regularly opined that the fate of Akaka's recognition bill is likely to figure prominently in that contest. Bush administration weighs in A particularly disappointing moment for supporters of the bill eame on the day before the vote, when the federal Department of Iustice sent a letter asserting that the Bush administration "strongly opposes" the bill, and saying that the recognition afforded to Indian tribes is "inappropriate" for Native Hawaiians. "As the President has said, 'we must ... honor the great American tradition of the melting pot, whieh has made us one nation out of many peoples,"' wrote Assistant Attorney General William Moschella. "This bill would reverse that great American tradition and divide people by their race." The letter eame as a blow to Akaka and other backers of the bill, because they believed they had reached an agreement with the Iustice Department last year resulting in a number of proposed amendments that Akaka intended to make to the bill onee it reached the Senate floor. The amendments, whieh eame out of negotiations with Iustice and other administration departments, would address issues related to the federal government's legal liability, prohibition of gaming, military readiness, and civil and criminal jurisdiction. Prior to the Iustice Department's letter, the Bush administration had never expressly taken a position on the Akaka Bill. Democratic Hawai'i Rep. Neil Abercombie called the letter a "kiek in the teeth" to supporters of the bill, including Hawai'i Gov. Linda Lingle, who had long been lobbying hard to garner support for the bill from the president and her fellow Republicans in Congress. Sen. Daniel Inouye, meanwhile, told The Honolulu Advertiser that the 13 Republicans who voted to bring the bill to the floor "were courageous in standing up to intense pressure from the White See AKAKA HLL on page 22

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AKAKA BILL Cūntinued from page II

House and republican leadership." Efforts to continue While disappointed by the outeome of the vote, supporters of federal recognition for Hawaiians vowed to eonhnue thek efforts. While they look toward introducing a new version of the bill into Congress next year, Hawai'i's federal lawmakers are also considering proposing some kind of interkn measure to protect federal and state programs that benefit Native Hawaiians (see story on page 10). "The central issue of federal recognition for Hawai'i's indigenous people has yet to be given its fair examination," Akaka said. "We must continue to move forward for Native Hawaiians, the people of Hawai'i and everyone in this country who believe that ours is a nation whieh treats all of its people with an I equitable hand."