Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 23, Number 6, 1 June 2007 — Congressional committees move on Hawaiian recognition bill [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Congressional committees move on Hawaiian recognition bill

By KWŪ staff The legislation that would provide Native Haw aiians with the same federally recognized indigenous status already held by American Indians and Alaska Natives is making headway on Capitol Hill, after two key congressional coimnittees passed the measure smoothly - and unamended -in early May. The hill lays out a process for Congress' recognition of a future Native Hawaiian governing entity, whieh supporters see as the best means to defend against an ongoing spate of lawsuits that have sought to abolish Native Hawaiian programs and assets as unconstitutional. On May 2, the House Connnittee on Natural Resources passed the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act of 2007, eommonly referred to as the "Akaka Bill" in honor of its lead sponsor, Hawai'i Sen. Daniel K. Akaka. On May 10, the Senate Connnittee on Indian Affairs followed suit by passing an identieal version of measure, on the same day it approved a separate Hawaiian homeownership bill. A week before passing the measure, the Indian Affairs Connnittee held a hearing of testimony both in favor and opposed to the bill. Akaka said in a statement that he was "ecstatic" that the hill passed the Senate Indian Affairs Connnittee, calling it an important first step in addressing the eonditions of Hawai'i's indigenous people. "Native Hawaiians have suffered for over a century as a direct result of the illegal overthrow of their sovereign government," Akaka said. "They were disenfranchised from their culture, land, and way of life at the hands of foreigners connnitted to western values and conventions. Today, this loss of identity has left Native Hawaiians at the lowest levels

of achievement by all social and eeonomie measures. This hill will, at long last, provide a way forward for Hawai'i's original residents to rebuild their vibrant culture and determine their own future as a people." The hill now awaits a hearing before the full Senate, whieh Hawai'i senior Senator Daniel Inouye told The Honolulu Advertiser probably will not happen until after May. Hawai'i Rep. Neil Abercrombie told the Honolulu Star-BuIIetin that he expects the hill to be heard by the full House shortly. Administration opposition Supporters' satisfaction at the congressional committees' passage of the measure may have been tempered somewhat, however, by testimony presented at the Indian Affairs Coimnittee hearing by a Iustice Department official who made it clear that, after years of refusing to state a definite position on the Hawaiian recognition hill, the Bush administration is now strongly and openly opposed to it - raising the specter of a presidential veto if the hill passes. Last lune, the Iustice Department sent a surprise letter to the Senate opposing the recognition hill just as senators were poised to take a procedural vote that would have forced the measure to the floor for a final debate and vote. The procedural vote, called "cloture," was attempted as a way to circumvent longstanding procedural roadblocks placed on the hill by several conservative Republican senators who oppose it. In the cloture ballot, the hill fell just four votes shy of the 60 it needed to advance to the floor for a hearing, and the last-minute letter from the Iustice Department appeared to be an important factor in the outcome. Prior to that, the

administration had not definitely stated its position, and in fact had participated in negotiations over language in the hill that supporters hoped would resolve any major concerns. However, the surprise letter from the Iustice Department just

prior to the vote asserted that the Bush administration "strongly opposes" the bill. "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 hill would reverse that great American tradition and divide people by their race." After the letter was read on the Senate floor by Republican See REC0GNITI0N HLL on page IG

NŪ HOU • NEWS

i i Gov. Linda Lingle wūs in Washington D.C. lobbying Republican lawmakers on behalf of Sen. Daniel Akaka's Hawaiian federal recognifion bill. - Photo: Office of U.S. Senator Oaniel K. Akaka.

HAWAIIAN RECOGNITIDN

CūntinuEd fram page ŪG Sen. Ieff Sessions of Alahama, Hawai'i's senators said they believed the Iustice Department's opposition was based on a version of the hill that did not include amendments drafted as a result of negotiations with Iustice and other administration departments over their concerns. The proposed amendments address issues related to the federal government's legal liability, prohibition of gaming, military readiness, and civil and criminal jurisdiction.

However, the administration's reiteration of its opposition to the Hawaiian recognition hill at the recent Indian Affairs Committee hearing made it clear that those amendments - included in the most current revision of the hill - have not softened the White House position. Gregory G. Katsas, a senior Iustice Department attorney, told Indian Affairs that the Bush administration strongly opposed the hill because they believe that federal recognition is "inappropriate and unwise" for Native Hawaiians and that the hill raises "difficult" and "considerable" constitutional questions. Hawai'i Attorney General Mark Bennett responded by

saying that the hill wouldn't create a "unique race-based govermnent," but instead it would give Native Hawaiians a similar political relationship with the federal government shared with Native Americans and Alaskan Natives. "It is for this Congress to exercise its best judgment on matters of recognition of native peoples," he said. "Although some have expressed constitutional concerns, these fears are unjustified. Congress should not let unwarranted fears of judicial overreaching curb its desire, and responsibility, to fulfill its unique obligation to this country's native peoples." S