Posted on: Saturday, November 10, 2001

Native Hawaiian bill stalls in Congress

By Susan Roth
Advertiser Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — The Native Hawaiian recognition bill has hit a new snag in the Senate, but it's the same old problem: Republicans have stopped the bill from coming to the floor.

Under the rules, any senator can secretly hold up a bill. Hawai'i's senators — both Democrats — say that they know the anonymous objection came from the Republican side and that they are trying to figure out who is involved and how to address the problem.

"If I knew who it was, I'd be there pounding on his door," said Sen. Daniel Inouye, chairman of the Indian Affairs Committee, who moved the measure through his panel in July. A week ago, he tried to move it unanimously through the Senate, only to be stopped by the objection.

The measure, which would set a framework for creating a government-to-government relationship between Native Hawaiians and the federal government similar to those of American Indian tribes, passed the companion House committee in May but has never gone to the House floor. Rep. Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawai'i, who worked to get the bill out of committee, has said he is waiting for the right time to request floor action.

Inouye and fellow Hawai'i Democrat Daniel Akaka originally planned to seek full Senate action in October, after they expected most of the fiscal 2002 spending bills to be completed.

But that was before the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 completely reordered congressional priorities. Passage is looking less and less likely this year as the legislative session winds down and Congress is preoccupied with national emergency legislation and finishing the spending bills, now more than a month late. The new holdup in the Senate only adds to the difficulty.

Both senators say they are seeking a way to move the measure, but they acknowledge that it will be tough.

Inouye expressed frustration: "It's a reasonable, rational bill. It does not grant sovereignty, it doesn't declare a sovereign entity. A group will have to establish itself and communicate with the U.S. government. It's up to the secretary of the Interior to say, 'This is a legitimate group.' The Republicans I talk to say it's OK. None of my friends have a problem with it."

"Current events are preoccupying everyone's time," said Paul Cardus, spokesman for Akaka. "There are a number of important issues remaining for debate, and there will be less time for others that are not national in scope. This doesn't mean we don't keep trying, but realistically, there are other matters that can't wait."

Cardus said Akaka is trying to speak to Republican senators about the bill when he has an opportunity, but because he has been working on a defense authorization bill and emergency measures involving bioterrorism, weapons of mass destruction and a bailout of the Postal Service, "it's not a daily item on his agenda."

The senators changed the bill earlier this year in an effort to minimize Republican objections. Last year, the measure passed the House and the Senate committee, only to be blocked on the Senate floor by a small group of conservative Republicans who said they believed it would create unfair advantages for Native Hawaiians.

The measure now expressly prohibits all forms of gaming, in tandem with Hawai'i law, and it does not authorize Hawaiian participation in any programs or services provided by the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs. It still could pass as part of another piece of legislation, such as a spending bill, or it could move on its own.