WASHINGTON >> The Hawaiian recognition bill now before Congress is vital to the survival of the native Hawaiian people, Gov. Linda Lingle told a Senate committee yesterday. Lingle urges Senate to
pass ‘vital’ Akaka bill
By Elizabeth Wolfe
Associated Press"It is vital to the continued character of our state, and it is vital to providing parity and consistency in federal policy for all native peoples in America," Lingle said in testimony before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs in support of the so-called Akaka bill to federally recognize a native Hawaiian governing entity.
Approval of the bill will bring about "what is righteous, what is practical and what is just," she said.
The legislation would establish an office in the Department of the Interior to address native Hawaiian issues. It also would create an interagency group composed of representatives of federal agencies that currently administer programs and policies affecting native Hawaiians.
As Hawaii's new Republican governor, Lingle thinks she can sway the Bush administration to do more for native Hawaiians, she said after her testimony.
Lingle said she was "more optimistic and hopeful" after conversations this week with Attorney General John Ashcroft, Interior Secretary Gale Norton and presidential adviser Karl Rove.
Sen. Daniel Akaka, who introduced the bill and for whom it is named, said the bill extends the "process of reconciliation" that began with a 1993 congressional resolution apologizing for the U.S. government's role in overthrowing the Kingdom of Hawaii a century earlier.
Micah Kane, director-designate of the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, said there is broad support for the bill from Hawaii and non-Hawaiian communities and both Democrats and Republicans. He also said the Akaka bill would eliminate legal problems and uncertainties that have adversely affected the Hawaii economy.
Office of the Governor