ASSOCIATED PRESSHONOLULU The Native Hawaiian recognition bill has cleared another congressional hurdle. The House Resources Committee on Wednesday unanimously approved the bill after amending it to reflect minor changes made by the Senate Indian Affairs Committee last week. U.S. Rep.
ASSOCIATED PRESSHONOLULU
The Native Hawaiian recognition bill has cleared another congressional
hurdle.
The House Resources Committee on Wednesday unanimously approved the
bill after amending it to reflect minor changes made by the Senate Indian
Affairs Committee last week.
U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawai’i) urged
his colleagues on the House committee to support the measure, reassuring them
it would not require a host of new federal programs to serve Native Hawaiians
because there already are more than 160 federal laws addressing
them.
Supporters are now discussing whether to attempt to attach the bill
to one being fast-tracked through Congress to improve its chances of approval
before Congress adjourns Oct. 6.
The bill written by Sen. Daniel Akaka
(D-Hawai’i) would give Native Hawaiians the same federal status as most
American Indian tribes in order to protect funding for programs that
specifically benefit Hawaiians.
Some Hawaiian leaders fear those programs
are threatened by a February U.S. Supreme Court ruling that said it was
unconstitutional racial discrimination for the state to bar non-Hawaiians from
voting in Office of Hawaiian Affairs elections.
Abercrombie said, “As a
matter of federal policy and federal law, we want to assure that the United
States government deals with all of the indigenous, native people of the United
States in a consistent manner — recognizing and supporting their rights to
self-determination and self-governance.”
