Akaka and Lingle
hope to remove
‘holds’ on bill

WASHINGTON » A frustrated Sen. Daniel Akaka watched the U.S. Senate adjourn last night without taking action on the native Hawaiian sovereignty bill that he authored.

ON ASSIGNMENT Star-Bulletin political reporter Richard Borreca is in Washington, D.C., to cover the Senate's actions on the Akaka Bill.

The Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act of 2005, commonly referred to as the Akaka Bill, remains locked up because two Republican senators have placed "holds" on the bill, meaning that the Senate will not act on the measure unless the senators remove their holds or 60 senators agree to force a vote.

Time is starting to run out.

The Senate goes on a one-month recess starting next week and the bill has yet to be positioned for hearing or passage in the House.

Akaka said last night that he would try to talk to the two GOP senators who are objecting to the bill. "I am still working on it. Right now, I am on my way to look for the holders and try to get them to release their holds," Akaka said.

Akaka did not identify the two senators, but The Associated Press quoted a spokesman of Sen. John Ensign as confirming that the Nevada Republican has put a "hold" on the bill.

"We want to make sure there are not things in there that aren't germane to the bill," said Ensign's spokesman, Jack Finn. The possibility of the bill leading to legalized gambling is the main concern, Finn told the AP.

Although the bill prohibits a native Hawaiian governing entity from using the law governing mainland Native Americans to engage in legalized gambling, "We want to make sure the language is sufficient," Finn said.

The landmark federal legislature, which would start the process of forming a native Hawaiian government to negotiate with the state and federal governments, remained stalled despite pleas from Gov. Linda Lingle, Hawaii Sens. Akaka and Daniel Inouye and even GOP leader Sen. Bill Frist, R-Tenn.

Lingle is expected to return to Hawaii today after lobbying for the Akaka Bill for three days. Yesterday, she met with several senators who had objections to the bill, and she said she was uncertain if the measure would come to a vote this week or next.

Lingle was a guest in the Senate Republican caucus lunch yesterday and used the time to lobby for the Akaka Bill. After sitting next to Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., who opposes the bill but has promised to bring it to the floor for a vote before the August recess, Lingle said she remained optimistic.

"I do feel there is a commitment to have a vote and let the debate go forward. That is all we are asking for," Lingle said.

Lingle and Akaka are finding that the bill has become something of a moving target.

"There is not one thing, there are a multitude of things. As soon as you think you have dealt with one, something else pops up from a completely different senator," Lingle said.

Akaka acknowledged that this week's delays were not expected. "I came to work Monday after spending the weekend brushing up on what I was going to say, and then Monday morning it was not even on the schedule," he said.

Senior aides to Akaka and Inouye met yesterday with representatives of the White House, Office of Management and Budget and the Department of Justice, and with aides to Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., chairman of the Indian Affairs subcommittee, and Hawaii Attorney General Mark Bennett.

While that group was working on federal concerns about the bill, Kyl circulated a list of proposed amendments, including one that would limit the powers of any recognized government that would be identified by race.

"If citizenship in the native Hawaiian governing entity is determined racially, the entity shall be precluded from exercising governmental powers," the Kyl amendment said.

The most controversial amendment, however, would guarantee that the Akaka Bill would not "create legal obligations against the United States that are enforceable through a money-damages action, or to invite land claims litigation within Hawaii."

Akaka and Inouye have both said such a clause would not be acceptable to them, but it is unclear how much support it would have within the Republican majority.

Meanwhile, the House subcommittee on the Constitution held a hearing on the House version to explore whether "Congress can create a race-based government."

Supporters of the Akaka Bill argue it is not based on race, but rather the indigenous people who originally lived in Hawaii. But critics say the concept goes against the idea of a "color-blind" nation.

"The issue we are focused on today suggests that race should be the sole criteria for how individuals are treated. I couldn't disagree more," Rep. Steve Chabot, subcommittee chairman, R-Ohio, said. "America should not be a place where governments are defined by race or ancestry or the color of one's skin.

"And it should not be a place neighbors, who may have lived next to each other for decades, are suddenly subject to two civil and criminal stands because of race," Chabot said.

Bennett argued that participation in the native Hawaiian government is based not on race but on "being a descendant of the native indigenous people of the Hawaiian Islands."

"Native Hawaiians, like native Americans and Alaska natives, are the aboriginal indigenous people of their geographic region. All other racial groups in this country are simply not native to this country," he said.