The Akaka Bill, according to an April 1 article in The Hill, must come to the floor of the US Senate between now and Memorial Day to have a chance of passage in this Election Year.
Six Republicans who opposed the Akaka Bill were ousted in 2006. With Democrats in the majority, Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-HI) reports he has won the support of three of their Democratic replacements (Sens. Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Jon Tester (D-MT)) and his efforts to gather a 51 vote majority are now focused on recruiting the other three new Democratic Senators. (An article in The Honolulu Advertiser, April 5, claims new Akaka Bill support from four Senators, but doesn’t name them)
It is not clear if Akaka has 60 votes for ‘cloture’ to overcome a filibuster. Senators who oppose the Akaka Bill might still vote for cloture.
Although this bill would likely face a veto from President Bush, passage this year in the Senate could create a precedent for easier Senate passage of the Akaka Bill in future attempts. The US House passage of the Akaka Bill on September 26, 2000 has been easily repeated several times in subsequent Congresses. If elected President, Senators Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Barack Obama (D-IL) have pledged to sign the Akaka Bill. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) opposes it.
The three as-yet-undecided Senators named by The Hill need to hear from Hawaii residents. They can be contacted through the following web mail sites:
(Contact all US Senators: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm )
The three new Akaka Bill supporters and the three being targeted for conversion by Akaka’s staff, likely have very little honest information about the impacts of the Akaka Bill on Hawaiians and non-Hawaiians in Hawai`i. As freshmen, they have not been party to the previous Senate debates on the issue. Hawaii’s political class is nearly unanimous in its public support for the Akaka Bill—but polls show 66.8% opposition among the general public and 43% opposition among native Hawaiians as well.
LINK: http://www.hawaiireporter.com/story.aspx?afba19b6-cb1c-4377-84b0-0f62d89b7a4e
The Akaka Bill is not a one-state issue. It sets a precedent for creating a ‘tribal’ government which falsely appropriates the name of an ethnic group which is not tribal. The large fake “Indian reservations” created would be a massive playground for future Jack Abramoffs.
The nature of the Akaka Tribe government is not a mystery. The Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) are preparing the Kau Inoa ‘tribal’ roll and intend to transition themselves to become the government of the Akaka Tribe.
OHA’s venal record indicates the future direction of the Akaka tribal government. The recent public testimony of native Hawaiians against OHA is part of the evidence against the Akaka Bill.
The results of the Grassroot Institute’s two polls should also be an important part of educating Senators and the public about the attitudes of Hawaiians and Hawaii residents to the Akaka Bill.
What type of sovereignty will Hawaii and Hawaiians live under? Under law and protected by the U.S. Constitution, all Americans—including Hawaiian Americans—are sovereign in their personal affairs. That personal sovereignty can be greatly increased through school choice and fee simple home ownership—both strongly discouraged by the Trustees of the various institutions under which Hawaiians live.
The Akaka Bill would weaken this personal sovereignty by placing Hawaiians and a substantial portion of Hawaii under the dictatorial sovereignty of the Trustees with no constitutional safeguards to protect the individuals living under the ‘tribe’.
The Trustees have one goal in mind—expanding their personal power. Rep Neil Abercrombie (D-HI), speaking to the House Committee on Natural Resources on May 2, 2007, explained: “The bottom line here is that this is a bill about the control of assets. This is about land, this is about money, and this is about who has the administrative authority and responsibility over it.”
Visualize OHA Trustees with even more authority over land and assets—and authority over Kamehameha Schools and Hawaiian Homelands—then write a letter to the Senators.
LINKS:
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/freshman-senators-hold-key-to-native-hawaiian-bills-hopes-2008-04-01.html
http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008804050341
http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096415016
Poll results on the Akaka Bill:
http://www.grassrootinstitute.org/Sunshine%20on%20the%20Akaka%20Bill.shtml
Status of Akaka Bill in Senate;
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:SN00310:@@@X
Andrew Walden is the publisher and editor of Hawaii Free Press, a Big Island-based newspaper. He can be reached via email at mailto:andrewwalden@email.com
HawaiiReporter.com reports the real news, and prints all editorials submitted, even if they do not represent the viewpoint of the editors, as long as they are written clearly. Send editorials to mailto:Malia@HawaiiReporter.com
