Posted at 11:15 a.m., Wednesday, May 16, 2001

Hawaiian bill takes first step in House

By Susan Roth
Advertiser Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — The Native Hawaiian recognition bill reintroduced in Congress this session passed its first step today with easy approval by the House Resources Committee.

It was a small but important victory for the bill's lead House sponsor, Rep. Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawai'i.

The unanimous committee action moves the bill to the House floor and sets the stage for possible early action.

The bill passed the House last session, but hit a Republican roadblock in the Senate.

At Abercrombie's request, the House Resources Committee agreed to amend the measure to make it identical to a version that has been introduced in the Senate, cutting out a section of instructions on how Hawaiians should organize their governing body.

The measure would set up a federal process for Hawaiians to establish government-to-government relations with the United States, similar to that of American Indian nations.

The new version forbids the Hawaiian government from conducting gaming, and does not authorize Hawaiian participation in programs or services provided by the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs, so as to prevent competition with American Indian nations for scarce federal money.

The changes address questions raised in the Senate last year, Abercrombie told the committee. He said he "couldn't be more pleased," about the committee vote.

Sens. Daniel Akaka and Dan Inouye, D-Hawai'i, reintroduced the measure in the Senate in January and are waiting to hear the Bush administration's views on it.