Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 21, Number 11, 1 Nowemapa 2004 — Recap of Akaka Bill activity in the 108th Congress [ARTICLE]

Recap of Akaka Bill activity in the 108th Congress

• Feb. 11, 2003: S. 344 is introduced by Hawai'i Sens. Akaka and Inouye. Sens. Harry Reid (D-Nevada), Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-Colorado), Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and others later join as co-sponsors. Like federal-recognition measures introduced by Akaka in previous sessions, the bill lays out a process for the U.S. government to formally recognize a Native Hawaiian governing entity, similar to the status held by Native American tribes and Native Alaskan groups. An identical eompanion measure is introduced in the House but is held pending Senate action. The bill is supported by Hawai'i's entire congressional delegation, along with the Hawai'i state Legislature and Gov. Linda Lingle, who testifies in favor of the bill and lobbies her fellow Republicans on its behalf. OHA trustees and other Hawaiian groups also testify in favor of the bill. • June 2003: The Senate's Committee on Indian Affairs approves S.344, but it is blocked from reaching a full floor vote by a Republican senator using an anonymous procedural hold. In the ensuing months, efforts to break the deadlock fail. • January 2004: By a vote of 65-28, the Senate approves the creation of a federal Office of Native Hawaiian Relations within the U.S. Department of the Interior to administer the "special legal relationship between Native Hawaiians and the U.S." Although the measure stops short of extending full federal recognition to Hawaiians, it sets in plaee an important first step in the recognition process laid out in the Akaka Bill. • April 2004: Major amendments are made in the bill, primarily to address concerns raised by Department of Interior officials. Among the changes is the revival of a provision from earlier versions that would create a commission of Native Hawaiians to oversee ancestry validation for potential voters in an election to form a Hawaiian representative body. In addition, a controversial provision sets a time limit of 20 years for the Hawaiian governing entity to file existing claims against the U.S. government in federal court. The Indian Affairs Committee again approves the bill as amended, but the procedural hloek against the bill remains in plaee. The eompanion bill in the House, H.R. 665, is similarly amended and is eventually approved by the Resources Committee in September. • September-October 2004: After the Senate bill fails to advance as a standalone measure, Sen. Inouye attempts to attach it to an important legal reform bill. However, the effort falls short when the legal-reform issue is shelved due to partisan wrangling. Inouye then attaches the bill to a funding package from the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, but drops the amendment after an end-of-ses-sion agreement is reached to ensure a hearing on the Akaka Bill as a standalone measure in the 109th Congress. ■