Delegation confident Akaka bill will pass

By Yasmin Anwar
Advertiser Staff Writer

U.S. Reps Neil Abercrombie and Patsy Mink yesterday said hotly debated legislation to help Native Hawaiians gain federal recognition has strong support on Capitol Hill.

"We believe we have a good piece of legislation and are in a position to see it pass quickly," said Mink, D-Hawai'i, yesterday at the Hawai'i Democratic Party's first public meeting to organize a Native Hawaiian Caucus.

Discussion on the status of the bill topped the agenda at yesterday's meeting at Washington Intermediate School. More than 80 people showed up, including a dozen opponents who held signs bearing such slogans as "Kill the Akaka Bill."

Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawai'i, introduced the legislation last year after the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated the Office of Hawaiian Affairs' Hawaiians-only voting restriction. The measure is intended to help Native Hawaiians gain political status similar to that of more than 500 American Indian and Alaska native tribes. It would protect federal money for Hawaiian programs and help Hawaiians form a governing entity. Last year, the bill passed in the House but stalled in the Senate where it died in the waning days of the 106th Congress. It was reintroduced this year and awaits floor votes in the House and the Senate.

Opponents contend the bill threatens to forfeit Native Hawaiians' full claims to land and other entitlements. They say more public meetings are needed because the bill has changed significantly since it was introduced.

"For the Democratic party not to have a hearing on a bill that is totally different from the original bill is shaming," Frenchy DeSoto, a Wai'anae activist and co-founder of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, said at yesterday's meeting.

However, representatives for Inouye and Akaka said more public hearings on the legislation are "not likely at all," and told critics to e-mail their concerns. Abercrombie explained that the bill's sponsors had to seize the moment when Democrats took control of the Senate agenda after Vermont Sen. Jim Jeffords switched from the GOP to independent in June. "The overwhelming majority in both houses support this bill," he said.