The committee approved the bill on a voice vote after discussion with no one opposing it.

"What a great day," said Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawai'i, a sponsor of the bill. "I'm very, very pleased."

Efforts to change the bill during the committee's discussion were expected but never took place.

"There were no amendments, no objections and it passed unanimously," said Haunani Apoliona, chairwoman of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, who attended the committee session. "It's a great first step in the House."

The next step is for the bill to go to the House floor and that depends on the schedule of the House leadership, Abercrombie said.

"I think we're going to do well," Abercrombie said. "I will keep pushing it and talking to other members, particularly members from the West and the conservative members."

Read a statement by Congresswoman Mazie Hirono, who applauded the decision to move the bill to the House floor.

This was the fourth time since 2000 that the bill received committee approval. The full House passed it once only to see it stymied in the Senate.

The proposed Native Hawaiian Recognition Act is known as the Akaka bill due to U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka's sponsorship and ongoing effort to rally support for it.

The Senate Indiana Affairs Committee has scheduled a hearing for tomorrow on an identical version of the bill, with both opponents and proponents scheduled to testify.

The bill would create a process for a Native Hawaiian governing entity to be formed and gain federal recognition. The new government would be able to negotiate with the United States and Hawai'i over the disposition of Native Hawaiian land, assets and other resources.

Read testimony in support of the Akaka bill by Hawaiian Homes Commission Chair Micah Kane and Attorney General Mark Bennett.

Bennett and Kane will testify before the U.S. Senate committee on behalf of Gov. Linda Lingle and Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona.