Akaka announced today that the bill will likely be heard on the Senate floor in early June when the Senate returns from its May recess.

When the Senate session resumes, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist will file a motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to a floor discussion on the bill, Akaka said. A vote on the cloture motion will occur within 48 hours after it is filed, he said.

Akaka has spent much of his time this week fending of charges that the bill, which would provide Native Hawaiians with the same kind of recognition that Native American Indians receive, is raced-based and divisive.

In his statements earlier this week on the Senate floor, Akaka said his bill is based on federal policies toward indigenous peoples and that "those who characterize this bill as race-based are really saying that Native Hawaiians are not native enough.

"I find this offensive and ask that you join me in my efforts to bring parity to Native Hawaiians by enacting my bill," Akaka told fellow senators.

The Senate had been scheduled to hold a hearing on the bill last September, but Hurricane Katrina put it and other legislation on the back burner.

"As my colleagues have heard over the past week, this is an issue of importance to all of the people of Hawaii and this is not a native versus non-native issue in Hawaii," Akaka said in a statement his office released this morning. "Rather, this is about organizing a process for the people of Hawaii to be able to address longstanding issues resulting from a tragic, poignant period in our history. This is about establishing parity for Hawaii's indigenous peoples in federal policies.

"This is about clarifying the existing political and legal relationship between Native Hawaiians and the United States," Akaka said in the statement.