Speaking after meeting with Frist and others for 45 minutes, Akaka, D-Hawai'i, said that if the procedure, called a cloture, is started, the earliest there could be action to force movement on the bill is Saturday. It would require 60 votes to allow the Native Hawaiian bill to move forward.

Akaka and Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, D-Hawai'i, who also was at the meeting said they didn't know for certain if they had that many votes.

Under the procedure, the earliest the bill could be debated on the floor would be September after the Senate returns from a month-long recess that is scheduled to start this weekend.