Akaka pushes bill with Senate speeches
The U.S. senator aims to speak every day on the Senate floor on the native Hawaiian bill
With no action scheduled in Congress and a Memorial Day recess looming, Dan Akaka has taken to the Senate floor to remind colleagues that he was promised a vote on his bill for native Hawaiian recognition.
Yesterday, U.S. Sen. Akaka marked Day Two of his "education effort" for the bill, which has been stalled for six years.
He added that he escalated his tactics after Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., made a two-minute floor speech praising the decision of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission to oppose the Akaka bill.
"I thought I would take a few minutes every day to talk about my bill," Akaka said in a telephone interview from Washington.
"It is not easy. Today I had to wait all day to get on. It is whenever I can get time," Akaka said.
Yesterday, Akaka used a portion of his speech to thank his Republican colleagues, Sen. Bill Frist, R-Tenn., and Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., who have promised to move the bill for a floor debate.
"I thank our majority leader, the senior senator from Tennessee, who is working to uphold his commitment to bring this bill to the Senate floor for a debate and roll call vote," he said. "I also appreciate the efforts of my colleague from Arizona, who opposes the bill on substance, but has worked with me to uphold his promise to allow the bill to come to the floor for a debate and roll call vote."
Saying he hopes his speeches "will have some effect," Akaka added that he has been "hounding" Frist for a definite date for a floor vote.
The bill was supposed to be voted on last summer, but several Republican senators, including Lamar and Kyl, blocked it. Akaka says he has the votes for passage if the GOP would let the bill on the floor for a vote.
The problems with the measure in the GOP are one reason a Republican is needed in Congress, according to Quentin Kawananakoa, who is running for the 2nd Congressional District (rural Oahu-neighbor islands) seat as a Republican.
At a news conference yesterday, Kawananakoa said the Akaka bill enjoys wide support in Hawaii from both Democrats and Republicans, but is facing opposition among Republicans in Washington.
"I believe we need to have a voice in the majority caucus with the understanding of our island people. We need to have a voice in the United States Congress," Kawananakoa said.
