    [Senate Hearing 112-649]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

                                                            S. Hrg. 112-649

                 S. 65, THE HAWAIIAN HOMEOWNERSHIP ACT OF 2011

    =======================================================================

                                 FIELD HEARING

                                   before the

                          COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS
                              UNITED STATES SENATE

                          ONE HUNDRED TWELFTH CONGRESS

                                 SECOND SESSION

                                   __________

                                 APRIL 13, 2012

                                   __________

             Printed for the use of the Committee on Indian Affairs

    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

                                    _____

                      U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

    76-305 PDF                WASHINGTON : 2012
    -----------------------------------------------------------------------
    For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing
    Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512-1800; DC
    area (202) 512-1800 Fax: (202) 512-2104  Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC
    20402-0001

                          COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS

                       DANIEL K. AKAKA, Hawaii, Chairman
                     JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming, Vice Chairman
    DANIEL K. INOUYE, Hawaii             JOHN McCAIN, Arizona
    KENT CONRAD, North Dakota            LISA MURKOWSKI, Alaska
    TIM JOHNSON, South Dakota            JOHN HOEVEN, North Dakota
    MARIA CANTWELL, Washington           MIKE CRAPO, Idaho
    JON TESTER, Montana                  MIKE JOHANNS, Nebraska
    TOM UDALL, New Mexico
    AL FRANKEN, Minnesota
          Loretta A. Tuell, Majority Staff Director and Chief Counsel
         David A. Mullon Jr., Minority Staff Director and Chief Counsel

                                C O N T E N T S

                                  ----------
                                                                       Page
    Hearing held on April 13, 2012...................................     1
    Statement of Senator Akaka.......................................     1
    Statement of Senator Inouye......................................     2

                                   Witnesses

    Boyd, Rodger J., Deputy Assistant Secretary, Native American
      Programs, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.....     7
        Prepared statement...........................................     8
    Danner, Robin Puanani, President/CEO, Council for Native Hawaiian
      Advancement....................................................    53
        Prepared statement...........................................    55
    Filimoeatu, Kehaulani, Board President/Co-Founder,
      HawaiianCommunity Assets, Inc..................................    60
        Prepared statement...........................................    63
    Galuteria, Hon. Brickwood, Majority Leader, Hawaii State Senate..    38
        Prepared statement...........................................    41
    Hanabusa, Hon. Colleen, U.S. Representative from Hawaii..........    19
        Prepared statement...........................................    21
    Hirono, Hon. Mazie K., U.S. Representative From Hawaii...........     4
        Prepared statement...........................................     6
    Kauhane, Michelle, Deputy Director, Department of Hawaiian Home
      Lands, State of Hawaii.........................................    11
        Prepared statement...........................................    13
    Mackenzie, Melody, Associate Professor of Law, Melody Kapilialoha
      Mackenzie; Director, Ka Huli Ao Center for Excellence in Native
      Hawaiian Law, William S. Richardson School of Law..............    22
        Prepared statement...........................................    24
    Watson, Kali, Chairman, Housing & Economic Development Committee,
      Sovereign Councils of the Hawaiian Homelands Assembly..........    50
        Prepared statement...........................................    52
    Wurdeman, Richard Naiwieha, President, Native Hawaiian Bar
      Association....................................................    43
        Prepared statement...........................................    44

                                    Appendix

    Brown, Samson L., President, Aupuni O Hawai'i, prepared statement    93
    Causley, Cheryl A., Chairwoman, National American Indian Housing
      Council, prepared statement....................................    87
    Kahui, Craig ``Bo'', Executive Director, La'i'opua 2020, prepared
      statement......................................................    89
    Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA), prepared statement.............    90
    Response to written questions submitted by Hon. Daniel K. Akaka
      to Rodger J. Boyd..............................................    95
    Richards, Paul P., Richards, President of the Waimanalo Hawaiian
      Homes Association (WHHA), prepared statement...................    92
    Ruis, Scottina Malia, Resource Management Specialist, Department
      of Hawaiian Home Lands, prepared statement.....................    94
    Young, Hon. Don, U.S. Representative from Alaska, prepared
      statement......................................................    89

                 S. 65, THE HAWAIIAN HOMEOWNERSHIP ACT OF 2011

                                  ----------

                             FRIDAY, APRIL 13, 2012

                                           U.S. Senate,
                                   Committee on Indian Affairs,
                                                    Honolulu, Oahu, HI.
        The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:05 a.m. in the
    Oahu Veterans Center, Hon. Daniel K. Akaka, Chairman of the
    Committee, presiding.

              OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. DANIEL K. AKAKA,
                        U.S. SENATOR FROM HAWAII

        The Chairman. I call this hearing of the Committee of
    Indian Affairs to order.
        Aloha mai, aloha mai kakou and mahalo for being here with
    us today.
        Audience. Aloha.
        The Chairman. It is so wonderful to be home and to be
    holding this legislative hearing on the U.S. Senate Bill 65,
    the Hawaiian Homeownership Opportunity Act of 2011. I know this
    measure is so important to advancing Prince Kuhio's vision of
    returning our people to the aina. And we must endeavor to meet
    the standard he set for us.
        As I mentioned earlier, this bill is crafted and sponsored
    by my good friend and partner, our great senior Senator Dan
    Inouye. Senator Inouye and I are pleased that you could join us
    today.
        Its companion bill in the house is sponsored by
    Congresswoman Mazie Hirono and co-sponsored by Congresswoman
    Colleen Hanabusa, and Congressman Don Young of Alaska.
        I'm happy to have invited the congresswomen to join the
    Committee on the dais for this hearing and to participate as
    their schedules permit. I know she's busy and--well, all of our
    members are busy--and I want to say, Congresswoman Hirono, much
    aloha. We are expecting Congresswoman Hanabusa shortly.
        I want to extend a warm aloha to our guests from
    Washington, DC and welcome HUD's Deputy Assistant Secretary for
    Native American programs, remember that name, Rodger Boyd, to
    Hawaii.
        Thank you for taking this time all of you for traveling
    here so far to talk with us and hear from the community about
    the importance of HUD housing programs for Native Hawaiians. I
    hope you were able to see some of the projects of HUD, Mr.
    Boyd, and what you've been supporting here in Hawaii.
        The United States has a trust relationship with Native
    Hawaiians as indigenous people of these islands of the State of
    Hawaii, and what is now the United States. Congress has
    understood this relationship for a long time, and began
    legislating to meet its trust responsibility--can you imagine--
    over 90 years ago. With passage of the Hawaiian Homes
    Commission Act of 1920, Congress set aside 203,500 acres of
    land to ensure that the Native Hawaiian people had home lands
    where our ways and our communities could continue to thrive.
        Along the way, and in furtherance of the trust
    responsibility, Congress has enacted over 150 laws to protect
    Native Hawaiian rights, address Native Hawaiian concerns and
    provide resources to meet Hawaiian needs.
        In 1959 the Hawaii Admissions Act, the United States
    required the State of Hawaii to administer certain portions of
    federal trust responsibility, and the state incorporated that
    responsibility into its own constitution and body of law.
        As part of that federal trust responsibility, today's
    hearing considers a bill to reauthorize HUD programs that
    provide housing assistance to Native Hawaiians, ensuring that
    Native Hawaiian people have access to housing programs on our
    trust lands consistent, consistent, with that and what the
    United States provides to other federally recognized Native
    peoples.
        The Hawaiian Homeownership Opportunity Act is an important
    part of meeting the housing needs of no income Native
    Hawaiians, and achieving the original goal of the Hawaiian
    Homes Commission Act of 1920.
        Senator Inouye, now I would like to ask you to make any
    opening statement you may.

                  STATEMENT OF HON. DANIEL K. INOUYE,
                        U.S. SENATOR FROM HAWAII

        Senator Inouye. Thank you. I thank you very much, Mr.
    Chairman, for holding this hearing on Senate Bill 65.
        Over the past four years American families have struggled
    through what some have called the great recession, and for the
    first time in a long while, American's middle class is
    experiencing housing problems. They have fallen behind in their
    loan payments. The value of their homes have dropped, and they
    can't sell it to recoup their investment. And some are losing
    their homes on foreclosures.
        The impact on Native communities have been many, many times
    worse. There were serious housing challenges experienced when
    the economy was good. According to the 2003 report published by
    the United States Commission on Civil Rights, approximately
    98,000 Native families are homeless or under-housed. And I'm
    certain that this number has only increased in the last decade.
        Poverty has run rampant in Native communities. Affordable
    and safe housing is difficult to obtain. As a result, Native
    families regularly face overcrowded and substandard living
    conditions.
        And here in Hawaii, studies have documented the acute
    housing needs of Native Hawaiians, which include the highest
    rates of overcrowding and homelessness in the State of Hawaii.
        Those same studies indicate that Native Hawaiians have the
    highest inadequate housing rates in the nation. And this should
    not be surprising because when you consider the cost of housing
    and the lack of affordable housing in this state, well,
    Hawaii's housing market has not yet fully recovered. The median
    sales price for single-family home on Oahu this past January--
    listen to this--was $618,000. And how many young families can
    afford this, or for that matter, old families?
        And so I introduce S. 65, the Hawaiian Homeownership Act,
    because I believe this program is essential to provide
    affordable housing for the beneficiaries of the Hawaiian Home
    Lands trust. This bill amends the Native American Housing
    Assistance and Self-Determination Act and the Housing Committee
    Development Act of 1992 to extend housing assistance and loan
    guarantees for Native Hawaiian housing through fiscal year
    2015.
        This bill also makes the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands
    eligible for loan guarantees. These changes will provide Native
    Hawaiians with program benefits similar to those available to
    American Indians and Alaska Natives.
        United States has consistently demonstrated, as the
    Chairman has indicated, that clear trust relationship and
    responsibility of Native Hawaiians through scores and scores of
    studies and statutes over these decades. It is through that
    trust relationship that our nation has provided housing
    services to Native Hawaiians.
        Despite the Congress' clear historical recognition of this
    trust relationship, I must sadly tell you that there are some
    members who oppose Native Hawaiian programs and funding. It is
    my hope that through the testimony today, the hearing record
    will reinforce the historical and legal justification for
    Native Hawaiian programs, like housing, to benefit our state's
    condition.
        And so I thank you, Mr. Chairman, for your leadership in
    holding these hearings today. Unfortunately, I have a flight to
    catch, Mr. Chairman, so I'll be here to listen to the first
    panel, and if I may, sir, I would like to submit questions that
    can be submitted to the witnesses. Thank you very much, sir.
        The Chairman. Thank you very much, Senator Inouye. Your
    full statement will be placed in the record, and we are
    delighted to have had you here for the time you can spend with
    us.
        And, again, I just repeat, this is his bill, co-sponsored
    by our delegation, and we'll continue to work on it. Thank you,
    again, Senator, for your opening statement.
        Congresswoman Hirono, we'll hear you during the first
    panel, and from Congresswoman Hanabusa in the second panel. We
    will also hear from HUD and DHHL as the principal agencies
    tasked with carrying out this part of the trust responsibility
    to the Native Hawaiian people, from legal and state law experts
    who can help us review how the federal trust responsibility has
    been advanced by Congress, and the State of Hawaii, and from
    the community and the organizations partnering with them to
    deliver needed services and opportunities.
        As Chairman, it is my goal to ensure that we hear from all
    who want to contribute to the discussion. The hearing record
    will be open for two weeks from today, and I encourage everyone
    to submit your comments through written testimony. I know we
    are on Hawaiian time, but I encourage the witnesses to limit
    your oral testimony to five minutes, if you can, and so we can
    engage in a discussion afterwards as well.
        Serving on our first panel is Honorable Mazie Hirono,
    Congresswoman from Hawaii's Second District. And I would like
    to ask Mr. Rodger Boyd to please step forward also, Deputy
    Assistant Secretary for Native American programs at U.S.
    Department of Housing and Urban Development in Washington, DC.
        Michelle Kauhane, Deputy Director, State of Hawaii,
    Hawaiian Home Lands in Kapolei, Hawaii. Welcome to our panel.
        Congresswoman Hirono, will you please begin.

                  STATEMENT OF HON. MAZIE K. HIRONO,
                    U.S. REPRESENTATIVE FROM HAWAII

        Ms. Hirono. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Good morning
    everyone.
        Senator Akaka, thank you so much for calling today's
    hearing, and, of course, Senator Inouye. Both of you have been
    leaders and champions in advancing the interests of Native
    Hawaiians, and it's certainly an honor to testify this morning.
        I am a strong supporter of S. 65, the Hawaiian
    Homeownership Act of 2011, which was introduced by our Senator
    Inouye, and I have introduced similar legislation in the House
    of Representatives, H.R. 2648, the Hawaiian Homeownership
    Opportunity Act, along with Congresswoman Hanabusa and Alaska
    Representative Don Young.
        My friend from Alaska, Don Young and I have partnered a
    number of times in the House to save and support Native
    Hawaiian and Alaska Native programs.
        Passage of S. 65 and H.R. 2648 would build up Congress'
    long and bipartisan history of supporting Native Hawaiian
    housing issues.
        Both of you have eloquently explained how important this is
    and how great the need is. This history of support spans nearly
    a century, and began with the passage of the Hawaiian Homes
    Commission Act which was passed in 1921 at the urging of
    Hawaii's Delegate to Congress, Prince Jonah Kuhio
    Kalanaiana'ole. That legislation set aside some 204,000 acres
    of land to provide homesteads for Native Hawaiians.
        With the enactment of the Statehood Act of 1959, the
    control and administration of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act
    was transferred from the Federal Government to the late new
    State of Hawaii. And later in 1960 the Department of Hawaiian
    Home Lands, DHHL, was created to administer the Hawaiian Homes
    Commission Act.
        Then in 2000 Congress passed the American Homeownership and
    Economic Opportunity Act. This legislature established two
    programs to help provide housing to Native Hawaiians. The
    Native Hawaiian Housing Block Grant Program and the Section
    184A Loan Guarantee Program.
        To date, DHHL and community groups around the state have
    helped provide housing, counseling and financial literacy
    training to thousands of Native Hawaiians.
        Both of these programs have a real impact on the Native
    Hawaiian community. The Hawaiian Homes Commission and the
    dedicated staff at DHHL have both worked hard to make sure that
    the resources provided have been well used. And it is our solid
    charge as Hawaiian representatives to make sure that the U.S.
    Congress understands and fulfills its obligations to Native
    Hawaiians. And we always work together to fulfill this
    important responsibility and duty.
        As Senator Inouye mentioned, unfortunately there are those
    in Washington who view these programs as set-asides based on
    race or arbitrary expenditures to the federal budget. They
    reject the notion that we have a special responsibility to the
    indigenous people of our nation. And in recent years I have
    fought on the floor of the House of Representatives against
    these notions. Fortunately we have been successful.
        These programs aren't handouts. And there's certainly more
    than simply numbers in the federal budget. These programs are
    about giving families--families that have some of the greatest
    needs of all in Hawaii's population--the opportunity for
    homeownership. Owning a home has long been a pillar of the
    American dream, and it is a dream that people do not forget and
    do not give up on, and that is why passage of S. 65 is so
    important.
        This bill would reauthorize the Native Hawaiians Housing
    Block Grant program, as well as the Section 184A program
    through fiscal year 2015. It would also set in statute the
    ability for DHHL to refinance mortgages under the 184A program,
    and this authority currently exists only as provided for in the
    annual appropriations law.
        So it's very important that we put this authority in
    statute to ensure the necessary flexibility for the program as
    well as certainty for those considering refinancing as an
    option.
        Finally S. 65 would make DHHL eligible for Title VI loan
    guarantee program under the Native American Housing Assisting
    and Self-Determination Act. This program currently allows
    Indian Housing Block Grant recipients to pledge future grant
    funds as security in order to receive a private loan guaranteed
    by HUD to finance affordable housing projects. This could prove
    to be a useful tool for financing affordable housing projects
    in the future.
        And I do commend the DHHL for being very resourceful and
    just gathering the tools that we need to enable more Native
    Hawaiian families in pursuing and obtaining the American dream
    of homeownership.
        So I strongly support the passage of S. 65 and will
    continue working with the members of our delegation to see this
    measure advanced. At the same time we need to make sure that
    the programs currently authorized under these programs, under
    the existing laws, continue in the meantime.
        So, again, I appreciate this opportunity to put my strong
    support for S. 65 on the record, and I do apologize, senators
    and to the panel members, for my inability to stay for the
    remainder of the panels. But please know everyone that I
    completely am on the same page with all of you in supporting
    this bill. Mahalo nui loa.
        [The prepared statement Ms. Hirono follows:]

     Prepared Statement of Hon. Mazie K. Hirono, U.S. Representative from
                                     Hawaii
        Aloha kakahiaka kakou (Good morning everyone). Thank you, Chairman
    Akaka, for calling today's hearing. You have been such a leader and
    champion in advancing the interests of the Native Hawaiian community.
    It is an honor to testify this morning.
        I am a strong supporter of S. 65, the Hawaiian Homeownership Act of
    2011, which was introduced by Senator Inouye. I have introduced similar
    legislation in the House of Representatives--H.R. 2648 the Hawaiian
    Homeownership Opportunity Act--along with Congresswoman Hanabusa and
    Alaska Representative Don Young.
        Passage of S. 65 and H.R. 2648 would build on Congress's long and
    bipartisan history of supporting Native Hawaiian housing issues. This
    history spans nearly a century and began with the passage of the
    Hawaiian Homes Commission Act. Congress passed this Act in 1921 at the
    urging of Hawaii's Delegate to Congress, Prince Jonah Kuhio
    Kalaniana`ole. That legislation set aside some 204,000 acres of land to
    provide homesteads for Native Hawaiians.
        With the enactment of the Statehood Act of 1959, the control and
    administration of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act was transferred
    from the federal government to the new State of Hawaii. A year later in
    1960, the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) was created to
    administer the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act.
        Then in 2000, Congress passed the American Homeownership and
    Economic Opportunity Act. This legislation established two programs to
    help provide housing to Native Hawaiians: The Native Hawaiian Housing
    Block Grant Program and the Section 184A loan guarantee program. To
    date, DHHL and community groups around the state have helped provide
    housing, counseling, and financial literacy training to thousands of
    Native Hawaiians.
        Both of these programs have a real impact on the Native Hawaiian
    community. The Hawaiian Homes Commission and dedicated staff at DHHL
    have both worked hard to make sure that the resources provided have
    been well used. It is our solemn charge as Hawaii's representatives to
    make sure that the U.S. Congress understands and fulfills its
    obligations to Native Hawaiians, and we work together to see to this
    important duty.
        Unfortunately there are those in Washington who view these programs
    as set asides based on race, or arbitrary expenditures on the federal
    budget. They reject the notion that we have a special responsibility to
    the indigenous people of our nation. In recent years I've fought on the
    floor of the House of Representatives against these notions--and
    fortunately we've been successful. These programs aren't handouts and
    they are certainly more than simply numbers in the federal budget.
    These programs are about giving families--families that have some of
    the greatest needs in all of Hawaii's population-the opportunity for
    homeownership.
        Owning a home has long been a pillar of the American dream. This is
    a dream that people do not forget, and do not give up on. There many
    stories of Native Hawaiians who have been on waiting lists for decades.
    Some have died waiting to see this dream fulfilled. So it is clear that
    we have much more work to do. And that is why passage of S. 65 is so
    important.
        S. 65 would reauthorize the Native Hawaiian Housing Block Grant
    program as well as the Section 184A program through Fiscal Year 2015.
    It would also set in statute the ability for DHHL to refinance
    mortgages under the 184A program. This authority currently exists under
    authority provided in annual appropriations law. However, setting this
    ability in statute would ensure necessary flexibility for the program
    as well as certainty for those considering refinancing as an option.
        Finally, S. 65 would make DHHL eligible for Title VI loan guarantee
    program under the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-
    Determination Act. This program currently allows Indian Housing Block
    Grant recipients to pledge future grant funds as security in order to
    receive a private loan guaranteed by HUD to finance affordable housing
    projects. This could prove to be a useful tool for financing affordable
    housing projects in the future.
        I strongly support the passage of S. 65 and will continue working
    with the members of the delegation to see this measure advanced. We
    will also continue to work together to see that the important programs
    that S. 65 would reauthorize receive the federal support they need in
    the meantime.
        Again, I appreciate the opportunity to testify in support of this
    important legislation. Mahalo nui loa (Thank you very much).

        The Chairman. Mahalo and thank you, Congresswoman Hirono,
    for your testimony.
        And now we will receive the testimony from Mr. Boyd. Would
    you please proceed.

             STATEMENT OF RODGER J. BOYD, DEPUTY ASSISTANT
               SECRETARY, NATIVE AMERICAN PROGRAMS, U.S.
              DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

        Mr. Boyd. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and good morning.
        Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee, it is a pleasure
    to appear before you this morning and of course to be back in
    Hawaii. My name is Rodger Boyd, and I am the Deputy Assistant
    Secretary for Office of Native American programs at HUD.
        On behalf of Secretary Shaun Donovan and Assistant
    Secretary Sandra Henriquez, I would like to express my deep
    appreciation for your ongoing commitment to improving housing
    conditions for Native Americans and Native Hawaiians.
        On a personal side, being a member of the Navajo Tribe,
    it's a great pleasure to have received your assistance over the
    very many, many years since I've been working on behalf of my
    Tribe and for Native Americans throughout the country.
        I'd also like to thank you for allowing HUD to provide
    comments on this S. 65 Hawaiian Homeownership Act of 2011. We
    have submitted written testimony to the Committee that does
    have greater details to my comments this morning.
        Chairman Akaka and Senator Inouye, as you know, HUD's
    Office of Native American programs is responsible for the
    management, operation and oversight of HUD's Native American
    and Native housing programs. The Native Hawaiian Housing
    Program my office administers is through the Native Hawaiian
    Housing Block Grant and the Native Hawaiian Section 12 184A
    Loan Guarantee Program.
        These programs contribute significantly to the development
    of housing and homeownership on Hawaiian home lands.
        I'm here today to testify that the Office of Native
    American Programs, and HUD, fully support the Hawaiian
    Homeownership Act of 2011, S. 65, and its expansion and
    reauthorization of both these programs through fiscal year
    2015.
        HUD has seen that the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands,
    which is the sole grantee of the Native Hawaiian Housing Block
    Grant, works effectively with its community partners to not
    only increase housing opportunities throughout the state, but
    to build stronger, more economically vibrant and self-
    sufficient communities. DHHL's leaders understand the value of
    thoughtful planning that is evidenced in their annual strategic
    housing plans, which include elements of regional planning,
    energy efficiency and resource leveraging. DHHL has indicated
    that a reliable, steady stream of federal grant funding is
    essential to project and plan for long-term growth and
    development.
        To address critical housing issues such as affordability,
    overcrowding, structural quality, and availability, DHHL has
    targeted a significant amount of block grant funds to support
    site improvements and infrastructure development; financial
    assistance for home buyers; rehabilitation of existing units;
    homeownership counseling; and technical assistance to prepare
    families for home purchase and ownership.
        The first Block Grant was awarded first in Hawaii 2002 for
    $9.6 million. Over the last ten years the Block Grant
    investments has totaled $108 million, including Recovery Act
    funding.
        A key provision of S. 65 would create a Title VI program
    using Block Grant funds, which would greatly expand DHHL's
    ability to leverage federal and private funds. Title VI could
    be a powerful addition to the development tool for DHHL.
        On the mainland, Title VI has financed dozens of successful
    projects in Indian Country, and has provided an incentive for
    lenders, which I think is extremely important to get involved
    in the development of Tribal housing.
        The Section 184A Loan Guarantee Program provides access to
    private-market mortgage financing for Native Hawaiian families
    who might not otherwise be able to get a mortgage loan because
    of the trust status on Hawaiian home lands.
        S. 65 would expand the 184A program to allow families for
    the first time to refinance their home mortgages at the current
    low market rates. This would help Native Hawaiian families save
    more money, giving greater stability to communities where
    housing costs are among the highest in the nation, which was
    well pointed out.
        Under the fiscal year 2012 the Appropriations Act
    authorized Section 184A refinancing, but only for fiscal year
    2012. HUD strongly supports making refinancing provision
    permanent, as this bill will so allow.
        With the recent authority to refinance in fiscal year 2012,
    DHHL's success in constructing new homes, we expect loan
    activity to significantly increase, and certainly a permanent
    provision would be value added.
        In conclusion, Mr. Chairman, HUD supports S. 65 and the
    reauthorization of both the Native Hawaiian Housing Block Grant
    and the Section 184A Loan Guarantee Program. Through these
    programs, HUD can continue to partner with DHHL in providing
    Native Hawaiian families with fair and affordable housing
    opportunities.
        Thank you again for the opportunity to appear before you
    today. And I will be happy to answer any questions you may
    have, thank you.
        [The prepared statement of Mr. Boyd follows:]

       Prepared Statement of Rodger J. Boyd, Deputy Assistant Secretary,
        Native American Programs, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
                                  Development
        Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee, it is a pleasure to
    appear before you this morning. My name is Rodger Boyd, and I am the
    Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Native American Programs
    (ONAP) at the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
        On behalf of Secretary Donovan and Assistant Secretary Henriquez, I
    would like to express my deep appreciation for your ongoing commitment
    to improving housing conditions for Native Hawaiian peoples. I also
    want to thank you for allowing HUD to provide comments on Senate Bill
    65, the Hawaiian Homeownership Act of 2011.
        Chairman Akaka, as you know, HUD's Office of Native American
    Programs is responsible for the management, operation and oversight of
    HUD's Native American and Native Hawaiian programs. These programs are
    available to 566 federally-recognized Indian tribes, 5 state-recognized
    Indian tribes formerly eligible under the United States Housing Act of
    1937, and the State of Hawaii's Department of Hawaiian Home Lands. We
    serve these entities directly, or through their tribally designated
    housing entities, by providing grants and loan guarantees designed to
    support affordable housing and community development activities.
    Native Hawaiian Housing Block Grant Program
        Title VIII of the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-
    Determination Act of 1996, as amended, or NAHASDA, establishes a block
    grant program, the Native Hawaiian Housing Block Grant (NHHBG),to carry
    out affordable housing activities for Native Hawaiian families eligible
    to reside on Hawaiian home lands. The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands
    (DHHL) is the sole recipient of this grant and administers the NHHBG
    program. DHHL is the department of government for the State of Hawaii
    responsible for the administration of the Hawaiian Homes Commission
    Act.
        To address critical housing issues such as affordability,
    overcrowding, structural quality, and availability, DHHL has targeted a
    significant amount of NHHBG funds to support:

       Site improvements and infrastructure for new construction of
            affordable housing;

       Financial assistance for homebuyers;

       Rehabilitation of existing affordable housing units;

       Homeownership counseling; and

       Technical assistance to prepare families for home purchase
            and ownership.

    NHHBG Program Funding and Accomplishments
        The first NHHBG grant was awarded in FY 2002 for $9.6 million. Over
    the last ten years, NHHBG grants have ranged from $8.3 million in FYs
    2006 and 2007 to a high of $12.7 million in FYs 2010 and 2012.
        In the last seven years, 461 affordable homes have been built,
    acquired, or rehabbed with NHHBG funds, and the program has provided
    the basic, critical infrastructure to support new construction
    throughout the Hawaiian home lands. In addition, the program has
    provided training and technical assistance to community housing
    providers, lenders, and low-income residents, including 233 Native
    Hawaiian families trained just last year in self-help home repair,
    financial literacy, and home buying. Over 840 families have
    participated in training over the life of the program.
        DHHL works with Native Hawaiian organizations, civic groups, and
    service agencies in the public, private, and government sectors. DHHL's
    housing and community development partners include: Habitat for
    Humanity, the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, USDA Rural
    Development and the County of Hawaii.
        Most of DHHL's affordable housing projects are developed over
    several years. Currently, there are six NHHBG-funded housing projects
    in progress, all of which are at various stages of development, from
    design, to infrastructure installation, to home construction.
        Here are a few examples:
    Kumuhau and Kakaina Subdivisions
        One hundred single-family homes are planned for construction on a
    16-acre parcel in Waimanalo on the island of Oahu, of which, 28 lots
    are reserved for NHHBG-eligible families.

       $1.4 million in FY 2006 and $50,000 in FY 2007 NHHBG funds
            was used for on- and off-site infrastructure construction for
            the Kumuhau subdivision. Approximately 18 of the 52 lots (45
            turnkey and 7 self-help lots) are reserved for NHHBG-eligible
            families.

       As of September 30, 2011, site work for Kumuhau was
            complete. The construction of 45 turnkey homes was underway, 22
            of which were complete. Of the 22 completed homes, 3 were for
            NHHBG-eligible families.

       The Kakaina subdivision consists of 44 lots. This project is
            in the infrastructure phase. Approximately 10 of the 44 lots
            will be for NHHBG-eligible families.

    East Kapolei I (Kanehili)
        This project consists of the development of 400 single-family homes
    on a 92-acre parcel in Kapolei on the island of Oahu; approximately 72
    of the homes will be for NHHBG-eligible families.

       $447,300 in FY 2002 NHHBG funds was applied toward the total
            cost of $2.5 million for project engineering and design, which
            was completed in March 2007.

       $1.7 million in FY 2006 NHHBG funds was used, in combination
            with DHHL trust funds, to pay for approximately 18 percent of
            the cost for mass grading and on- and off-site infrastructure
            construction in increment I of the subdivision.

       As of September 30, 2011, site work was complete for
            increment I phases 1 through 4, which includes 286 lots. House
            construction in increment I was ongoing, with 250 homes
            completed and occupied and another 30 homes under construction.

    Laiopua Villages 4 and 5
        Approximately 360 single-family homes are planned for construction
    on 2 parcels totaling 86 acres at Kealakehe in North Kona on the island
    of Hawaii. The homes are allocated between Village 4 (243) and Village
    5 (117) of Laiopua. Seventy-two lots are reserved for NHHBG-eligible
    families.

       $3.8 million in FY 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006 NHHBG funds
            was used for mass grading. Additional NHHBG funding will be
            used for infrastructure construction, house construction loans,
            or down payment assistance grants, and self-help technical
            assistance.

       $1.2 million in FY 2006 and 2007 and 2008 NHHBG funds is
            being used to install streets, sewer and utilities for Village
            5.

       As of September 30, 2011, mass grading work was complete for
            Village 5 and Village 4. Installation of streets, sewer and
            utilities was 95 percent complete for Village 5. House
            construction for 45 homes in Village 5 was underway. Village 4
            was in the design phase.

    East Kapolei II
        A total of 1,000 single-family residential lots are planned for
    construction on a 374-acre parcel in Kapolei on the island of Oahu, of
    which, approximately 200 lots will be reserved for NHHBG-eligible
    families.

       $53.9 million in FY 2007 and other NHHBG funds are planned
            to be used in combination with DHHL trust funds for on- and
            off-site infrastructure construction, consultant services,
            including engineers and architects, house construction loans or
            down payment assistance grants, self-help technical assistance,
            and utility fees.

       $3 million was used in FY 2010 to complete off-site sewer
            and drainage work.

       $4 million in Recovery Act funds is being used to do mass
            grading for East Kapolei II, increments B and C. As of
            September 30, 2011, this mass grading work was 90 percent
            complete.

        Partnerships with Habitat for Humanity and other service
    organizations are making it possible for low-income Native Hawaiian
    families to achieve homeownership through the self-help method of
    construction in various projects on the islands of Kauai, Oahu, Maui,
    Molokai, and Hawaii. Partnerships have also been secured to implement a
    home rehabilitation grant program, a self-help home repair training
    program, and to provide homeownership counseling and training.
    Native Hawaiian Housing Loan Guarantee (Section 184A)
        The Section 184A Loan Guarantee for Native Hawaiian Housing
    program, known as Section 184A, was established by Section 514 of the
    American Homeownership and Economic Opportunity Act of 2000 (P.L. 106-
    569, approved December 27, 2000), which amended the Housing and
    Community Development Act of 1992 (12 U.S.C. 1715z-13b). The purpose of
    Section 184A is to provide access to sources of private mortgage
    financing to Native Hawaiian families who could not otherwise acquire
    housing financing because of the unique legal status of the Hawaiian
    home lands.
        Eligible borrowers include Native Hawaiian families who are
    eligible to reside on Hawaiian home lands, the DHHL, the Office of
    Hawaiian Affairs, or private nonprofit organizations experienced in the
    planning and development of affordable housing for on Hawaiian home
    lands. Loans are used to construct, acquire, or rehabilitate eligible
    housing located on the Hawaiian home lands. The FY 2012 Appropriations
    Act authorized funding to be used for Section 184A refinancing.
    Section 184A Program Funding and Accomplishments
        In August 2005, DHHL closed on the first loan guaranteed under the
    Section 184A Loan Guarantee program. In May 2006, HUD executed a
    memorandum of agreement with DHHL that served as the foundation for
    subsequent loan activity. Prior to this agreement, DHHL was the only
    eligible participant in the program. Since 184A program activity began
    in FY 2005, 269 loans have been guaranteed. Given the recent authority
    to use the program for refinancing, and DHHL success in constructing
    new homes on Hawaiian home lands, HUD expects loan activity to
    significantly increase within the next year.
    The Hawaiian Homeownership Act of 2011, Senate Bill 65
        HUD supports The Hawaiian Homeownership Act of 2011 (Senate Bill
    65) and its reauthorization and expansion of both NHHBG and Section
    184A through 2015. DHHL is working effectively with community partners
    to not only increase housing opportunity on the Islands, but to build
    stronger, more economically vibrant and self-sufficient communities.
    DHHL understands the value of thoughtful planning as evidenced in its
    strategic plan, which includes elements of regional planning, energy
    efficiency and leveraging resources.
        Expanding the 184A program to allow families to refinance will
    provide a perfect complement to the limited amount of financing options
    available for properties on Hawaiian home lands. The Section 184A
    program makes it possible for eligible Native Hawaiian families to
    refinance their homes at the current market rate of interest. The money
    saved on a monthly basis through refinancing is critical to families
    living in high-cost areas, and provides greater stability of Native
    Hawaiian communities.
        And giving DHHL the ability to participate in the Title VI program
    will expand the leveraging capacity of federal funds, and at the same
    time, will decrease dependency on government dollars. Currently, only
    tribes or their tribally designated housing entities can participate in
    the Title VI program. This program is a powerful leveraging and
    development tool that encourages long-term projects and the leveraging
    of a variety of funding sources. Under Title VI, HUD can guarantee 95
    percent of a loan for affordable housing activities covered under
    NAHASDA. Borrowers pledge a portion of their current and future housing
    block grant funds as security. This program has provided an incentive
    for lenders to get involved in the development of tribal housing.
    Conclusion
        In conclusion Chairman, through the reauthorization of both the
    Native Hawaiian Housing Block Grant and the Section 184A program we can
    work towards giving every Native Hawaiian family a fair shot at having
    a home.
        Thank you again for this opportunity to appear before you today. I
    would be happy to answer any questions you may have.

        The Chairman. Thank you, very much, Mr. Boyd. Your full
    statement will be included in the record. I want to thank very
    much for your positive testimony.
        Ms. Kauhane, please proceed.

     STATEMENT OF MICHELLE KAUHANE, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, DEPARTMENT OF
                  HAWAIIAN HOME LANDS, STATE OF HAWAII

        Ms. Kauhane. Thank you, Senator.
        Aloha Chairman and Senator Inouye, and Distinguished
    Members of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs.
        My name is Michelle Kauhane, and I thank you for the
    invitation and opportunity to provide testimony on behalf of
    the State of Hawaii, Department of Hawaiian Home Lands. Our
    state agency is responsible for the administration of the
    federal land trust established by Congress through the Hawaiian
    Homes Commission Act of 1920.
        DHHL strongly supports Senate Bill 65, the Hawaiian
    Homeownership Opportunity Act of 2011, which reauthorizes
    federal housing assistance and loan guarantees for Native
    Hawaiians.
        Today I will provide highlights of my written testimony
    that give a short overview of DHHL's role in administering the
    Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, describe the Native Hawaiian
    housing need that make NAHASADA vitally important to our
    progress, and share some of the ways NAHASDA has assisted in
    supporting Native Hawaiian homestead communities.
        DHHL has a unique role as a state agency to manage the
    federally created land trust to reconnect Native Hawaiians to
    their ancestral lands in Hawaii. For the beneficiaries of the
    HHCA, self-determination and self-governance is expressed
    through the existence of organizations governed by
    beneficiaries or homesteaders themselves.
        These homestead associations have existed for decades, and
    have representative leadership through democratically elected
    processes for each homestead land area on different islands
    within the state.
        Just as Tribes are powerful partners with the Federal
    Government, homestead associations are vital to our state's
    success in implementing the tenets of the Hawaiian Homes
    Commission Act as Congress intended.
        After 92 years since the enactment of Hawaiian Homes
    Commission Act, just over 10,000 land leases have been issued
    to beneficiaries for homesteading purposes. An estimated 35,000
    lessees and family members reside on our homestead lands
    throughout Hawaii. Approximately 48 percent located on Oahu, 23
    percent on Hawaii island, 22 percent in Maui County and seven
    percent on Kauai.
        In addition to the beneficiaries residing on Hawaiian Home
    Lands, the waitlist of individual applicants to receive a land
    award under the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act exceeds 26,000
    individuals, with waiting times ranging from five years to 50
    years.
        According to an SMS 2008 survey, about 46 percent of the
    applicants on the DHHL waitlist have incomes below 80 percent
    of the HUD median. More than half of those low income
    applicants fall into the category between 30 and 50 percent of
    that same area median income.
        DHHL must provide housing solutions to meet the needs of
    the low and very low income on the waitlist. These families
    continue to get passed over as they have the most difficulty in
    qualifying for mortgage financing based on the current sales
    prices that are simply out of reach for these income
    categories.
        Since 2002, DHHL has received and utilized the NAHASDA
    funds primarily to support subdivision development.
    Approximately 75 percent of the open lands of our trust remain
    undeveloped. One of the largest barriers to issuing lands to
    individuals on the waitlist is the investment required in
    infrastructure for roads, utilities, water, wastewater
    facilities, broadband and renewable energy sources.
        In addition to subdivision development, we have issued low
    cost loans, down payment assistance and subsidies, individual
    development accounts, and home repair/rehabilitation programs.
    Likewise, the funds have supported financial literacy and
    homebuyer education and counseling, as well as foreclosure
    prevention and lease cancellation services.
        DHHL also awards grant funds to qualified entities with a
    wide array of programs servicing our homestead association and
    beneficiaries.
        In addition to direct financial resources, Senate Bill 65
    would also authorize credit subsidies that make mortgage
    capital available to Native Hawaiian beneficiaries under the
    HUD 184A loan program to purchase, construct and refinancing of
    homes.
        The HUD 184A program is one of the most successful trust
    land focused home loan products to be sponsored by the Federal
    Government. The program is one of only a very few sources of
    home loan capital available for financing homestead properties.
        In addition, the 184A program is a remarkably affordable
    mortgage product with no mortgage insurance requirement.
        The federal loan guarantee provided by the 184A program is
    powerfully important to bringing private capital to new home
    development in every county of the State of Hawaii where
    Hawaiian Home Lands are located. Since 2007 when the first loan
    closed, the 184A portfolio has grown to over $50 million in
    just over four years.
        Finally, Senate Bill 65 authorized, or would authorize DHHL
    for loan guarantees under Title VI of NAHASDA. This eligibility
    would allow the Department to borrow against its annual awards
    to do larger scale housing development and long-term planning.
        Mr. Chairman, on behalf of DHHL and Department of Hawaiian
    Home Lands, we thank you for your unwavering support for our
    homestead beneficiaries. You have always been a champion for
    Hawaii's people throughout your longstanding career in the
    United States Congress. We have been honored to share you with
    the rest of our nation and we welcome you back home with open
    arms at the end of 2012.
        Senate Bill 65, the Hawaiian Homeownership Opportunity Act
    of 2011 is vitally important to fulfilling the mission of the
    Hawaiian Homes Commission Act in reconnecting Native Hawaiians
    with their lands.
        Thank you for this opportunity to share our mana'o with you
    and the Committee.
        [The prepared statement of Ms. Kauhane follows:]

    Prepared Statement of Michelle Kauhane, Deputy Director, Department of
                      Hawaiian Home Lands, State of Hawaii
        Aloha Chairman Akaka, Vice-Chairman Barasso and Members of the
    Senate Committee on Indian Affairs.
        My name is Michelle Kauhane, and I thank you for the invitation and
    opportunity to provide testimony on behalf of the State of Hawaii,
    Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL). Our state agency is
    responsible for the administration of the federal land trust
    established by Congress through the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of
    1920 \1\ (HHCA).
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ Ch. 42, 42 Stat. 108 (1921)
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands strongly supports S. 65, the
    Hawaiian Homeownership Opportunity Act of 2011, which reauthorizes
    housing assistance and loan guarantees for Native Hawaiians.
        I will provide additional information about why this program is so
    important to HHCA beneficiaries, but before doing so, I want to provide
    some context regarding the Department's unique role as the
    administrator of the Hawaiian Home Lands trust.
    Hawaiian Trust Lands Under the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act
        Since Hawaii's overthrow as an independent nation and the
    subsequent annexation to the United States, one of the most significant
    federal policy achievements for native Hawaiians was the enactment by
    the U.S Congress of the HHCA. The HHCA began as a resolution in the
    territorial government in Hawaii, and was championed by the territory's
    congressional representative, Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole. Similar
    to other land allotment acts of that era for Alaska Natives and
    American Indians, the HHCA established a land trust of approximately
    200,000 acres of land located in every county in the state, to provide
    for the rehabilitation of native Hawaiians through the provision of
    land for residential, agricultural and pastoral homesteading. The Act
    is the clearest example of the United States' recognition of Native
    Hawaiians as an indigenous people with whom the United States has a
    trust relationship.
        Hawaii entered the Union in 1959, during a period when federal
    responsibilities towards indigenous peoples were often delegated to the
    States. Consistent with that policy, the HHCA was incorporated into
    Public Law 86-3, the Hawaii State Admissions Act in 1959, ``[a]s a
    compact with the United States relating to the management and
    disposition of the Hawaiian home lands . . .'' \2\ DHHL was established
    by the State of Hawaii in 1961 to manage the federal responsibilities
    delegated to the State of Hawaii associated with administering the
    HHCA.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \2\ Section 4, P.L. 86-3, 73 Stat. 4 (1959)
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        While the State of Hawaii has the authority to amend the HHCA,
    Section 4 of the Admissions Act requires the consent of the United
    States to amendments which reduce or impair certain funds, increase
    encumbrances on the Hawaiian Homes land trust, or change the
    qualification of lessees. By ensuring that actions that negatively
    impact the implementation of the HHCA require federal consent, the
    United States acknowledged its trust responsibility as it relates to
    the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act.
        In 1995, Congress enacted the Hawaiian Home Lands Recovery Act, \3\
    to recover lands that had been withdrawn from the Hawaiian Homes land
    trust. In recognition of the United States' political and legal
    relationship with Native Hawaiians, the Act also required the Secretary
    of the Interior to designate an individual to administer the
    responsibilities of the United States under the Hawaiian Homes
    Commission Act. The Assistant Secretary of Policy, Budget, and
    Administration of the Department of the Interior, therefore, is charged
    with exercising the responsibilities of the Interior Department as it
    pertains to advancing the interests of the HHCA beneficiaries and
    assisting beneficiaries with obtaining federal services related to the
    promotion of homesteading opportunities, economic self-sufficiency and
    social well-being. \4\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \3\ P. L. 104-42, 109 Stat.357 (1995)
        \4\  Id. Section 206.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        DHHL is governed by a 9-member Hawaiian Homes Commission appointed
    by Hawaii's Governor. Its Director, a member of the Governor's cabinet,
    also serves as the Chairman of the Commission. DHHL, therefore, has a
    unique role as a state agency managing a federally created land trust
    to reconnect native Hawaiians to their ancestral lands in Hawaii. We
    embrace this unique relationship and work in partnership with the
    federal agencies to fulfill the federal trust responsibility as it
    pertains to the Hawaiian Homes land trust.
        Like our American Indian and Alaska Native brethren with trust
    lands, we work with federal agencies to ensure that our native
    communities on trust lands are eligible to utilize federal programs
    like NAHASDA which provide much needed housing, access to capital, and
    opportunities for economic self-determination. We firmly believe that
    federal trust lands status should serve as a criterion for federal
    programming as a way for the United States to fulfill its federal trust
    responsibility to its native peoples.
    Self-Determination of Native Hawaiians
        In Hawaii, we do not refer to our Native peoples as tribal members
    or Indians, although it is clear that Congress intended the inclusion
    of Native Hawaiians in the federal policies of self-determination. The
    most common terminology most understood in the islands to represent
    native Hawaiians eligible for the HHCA land trust, are ``beneficiary''
    or ``homesteader''. Moreover, the lands in the Hawaiian Home Land trust
    are referred to as ``homesteads'' rather than reservations. For the
    purposes of our testimony, these terms will be used to describe native
    Hawaiians and land areas under the HHCA, which was enacted by Congress
    during a policy period of the federal government wherein land trusts
    and Native allotment programs were commonly established for Native
    peoples in Indian Country and Alaska. The HHCA was an extension of
    those policies, as well as the federal policies of self-determination
    that have been well documents over the last century.
        For the beneficiaries of the HHCA, self-determination and self-
    governance is expressed through the existence of beneficiary
    organizations governed by beneficiaries or homesteaders themselves.
    These organizations, called homestead associations, have existed for
    decades, and have representative leadership through democratically
    elected processes for each homestead land area on differing islands
    within the state. Just as tribes are powerful partners with the Federal
    Government, homestead associations are vital to our state's success in
    implementing the tenets of the HHCA as Congress intended.
    Homesteading Progress
        After 92 years since the enactment of the HHCA, just over 10,000
    land leases have been issued to beneficiaries for homesteading
    purposes. In the past 10 years, approximately 2,500 leases were issued.
    An estimated 35,000 lessees and family members reside on homestead
    lands throughout Hawaii. Approximately 48 percent are located on Oahu,
    23 percent on the island of Hawaii, 22 percent in Maui County, and 7
    percent on Kauai. Among the lessees, the majority of leases are
    residential (89 percent), followed by 8 percent agricultural, and the
    remaining 3 percent in pastoral.
        According to a 2008 lessee survey conducted by SMS Research, DHHL
    lessee households consist of 3 to 7 people with a mean of 4.2 household
    members. The median household income among lessees was $48,731 in 2008,
    lower than the median household income for the State at $63,746. In
    addition, the survey estimated 51 percent of DHHL lessee households had
    incomes below 80 percent of the HUD median.
        In addition to the beneficiaries on the land, the wait list of
    beneficiaries to receive a land award under the HHCA exceeds 26,000,
    with waiting times ranging from 5 years to 50 years. According to the
    SMS 2008 survey, 46 percent of the applicants on the DHHL waitlist had
    incomes below 80 percent of the HUD median. At least half (50.8
    percent) of all applicants that are at or below 80 percent AMI on the
    waitlist, fall into the 51%-80 percent range, just under 30 percent
    fall in the 30-50 percent AMI range, and approximately 22 percent fall
    in the less than 30 percent AMI range.
    Low Income Native Hawaiian Housing Need
        For low income native Hawaiian households (those making less than
    80 percent of the area media income), housing needs are severe with 68
    percent of these households experiencing some kind of housing problem
    such as affordability, overcrowding, structural quality, availability
    or some combination of these problems. For very low income households
    (those making less than 50 percent of the area median income) the needs
    are even more severe with nearly 75 percent of the households in this
    category facing some kind of housing problem. While housing needs are
    serious for the native Hawaiian population as a whole, the situation is
    more critical for the low and very low-income households. The
    percentage of low-income native Hawaiian households that experience
    housing problems is more than double the percentage of native Hawaiian
    households as a whole with housing problems--68 percent versus 27
    percent. For very low-income native Hawaiian households, this
    percentage is almost triple 75 percent versus 27 percent.
    Addressing the Needs
        Given the housing needs, DHHL has focused the use of the NHHBG
    funds on increasing the supply of affordable housing units or to
    rehabilitate existing units to relieve some of the overcrowding
    pressures and substandard living conditions experienced in many low-
    income native Hawaiian households. In addition, DHHL has supported
    healthy and safe communities. We have empowered resident organizations
    and continue to promote self-sufficiency for native Hawaiian families.
        It is well understood, that the progress made to implement the
    primary purpose of returning native Hawaiians to their lands under the
    HHCA, is and has been inadequate. These numbers clearly show that in
    2012, almost 100 years after the enactment of HHCA, there is still a
    strong desire by native Hawaiians to live and work on the Hawaiian Home
    Lands. There is no question that DHHL and the HHC have been underfunded
    and under-resourced for many years. Federal programs such as NAHASDA
    and the HUD 184A Loan Guarantee program help to fulfill the mission of
    the HHCA by reconnecting native Hawaiians to their ancestral lands.
    S. 65, Hawaiian Homeownership Opportunity Act of 2011
        DHHL strongly supports S. 65, the Hawaiian Homeownership Act of
    2011, a vital tool for native Hawaiian beneficiaries of the HHCA. S. 65
    reauthorizes NAHASDA Title VIII funding, provides necessary credit
    subsidies to allow HHCA beneficiaries to utilize the HUD 184A loan
    guarantee program for purchasing and refinancing home loans like their
    Indian and Alaska Native counterparts, and makes DHHL an eligible
    entity for NAHASDA Title VI loan guarantees.
    NAHASDA
        In 2000, the congress enacted Title VIII of NAHASDA, creating for
    the fist time, a modest allocation of federal funding to support the
    development of affordable housing for low- and moderate-income
    beneficiaries.
        Since 2002, DHHL has received and utilized NAHASDA funding to
    support subdivision development. Approximately seventy-five percent of
    the open lands of the Hawaiian Home Lands trust remain undeveloped. One
    of the largest barriers to issuing land to the 26,000+ individuals on
    the waitlist is investment in infrastructure for roads, utilities,
    water/waste water facilities, broadband and renewable energy sources.
    NHHBG funds have been a vital source of infrastructure funding for DHHL
    since 2002. These fund have brought vital leverage to our trust funds
    and have allowed us to continue housing development.
        In addition to subdivision development, NHHBG funds have provided
    grants to qualified entities with programs servicing homestead
    beneficiaries, loans, down payment assistance and individual
    development account programs, and home repair/rehabilitation programs.
    Likewise, the funds have supported financial literacy and homebuyer
    education and counseling, as well as foreclosure prevention/lease
    cancellation services.
    HUD 184A Program
        The HUD 184A program is one of a very few sources of home loan
    capital available to native Hawaiians residing on Hawaiian Home Lands.
    The HUD 184A federal loan guarantee is powerfully important in bringing
    private capital to new home development in every county of the State of
    Hawaii where Hawaiian Homes trust lands are located. This program is
    one of the most successful trust land focused home loan products to be
    sponsored by the federal government. S. 65 would provide credit
    subsidies that make mortgage capital available to native Hawaiian
    beneficiaries of the HHCA to purchase, construct, or refinance their
    homes.
    Title VI Loan Guarantees
        S. 65 authorizes DHHL for loan guarantees under Title VI of
    NAHASDA. This eligibility would allow us to borrow or issue debt for
    affording housing activities which helps us to leverage additional
    resources to increase opportunities of homeownership for homestead
    families.
    Conclusion
        Mr. Chairman, on behalf of the Hawaiian Homes Commission and the
    Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, thank you for your unwavering
    support of homestead beneficiaries. You have always been a champion for
    Hawaii's people. Your efforts over your longstanding career in the
    United States Congress have truly helped our people to reconnect with
    the `aina. You championed legislation that allowed homesteads to be
    inherited by family members meeting the 25 percent blood quantum. You
    created the Native American Veteran Direct Loan Program to address the
    unique situation faced by Native American veterans seeking to utilize
    the VA Home Loan Program on trust lands. Through the Hawaiian Home
    Lands Recovery Act you ensured not only that the Hawaiian homes trust
    was replenished after lands were wrongly withdrawn, but you also
    ensured that the United States designated a federal official to assist
    homestead beneficiaries at the federal level. And, most importantly,
    you created a pathway for the United States and Native Hawaiians to
    engage in a process of reconciliation to address the many longstanding
    issues resulting from the illegal overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii
    through the enactment of P.L. 104-150, the Apology Resolution.
        As the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, you have
    worked to ensure continued economic self-determination in native
    communities through increased access to capital and federal programs
    and services. You have championed the federal trust responsibility and
    worked to ensure that the United States fulfill its responsibilities to
    promote the welfare of its indigenous peoples. Mr. Chairman, we have
    been honored to share you with the rest of our nation and we welcome
    you back home with open arms at the end of 2012.
        S. 65, the Hawaiian Homeownership Opportunity Act of 2011, is
    vitally important to fulfilling the mission of the Hawaiian Homes
    Commission Act to reconnect native Hawaiians with their lands. Thank
    you for the opportunity to share our mana`o with you and your
    Committee.

        The Chairman. Thank you very much, Ms. Kauhane, for your
    testimony.
        I know our Senator Inouye has to leave, so I'm going to ask
    Senator for any questions he may have.
        Senator Inouye. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I've
    submitted the questions, but I would like to thank Mr. Boyd for
    making the special effort to be with us for this important
    hearing. I know that you had to go out of your way to do this.
    We appreciate it.
        Ms. Kauhane, we appreciate your leadership. Thank you very
    much. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        The Chairman. Thank you very much, Senator Inouye. Thank
    you for your leadership in Hawaii and wish you well and have a
    safe trip.
        Senator Inouye. Thank you.
        The Chairman. My first question is to Mr. Boyd. Thank you
    so much for being here, Mr. Boyd, I appreciate it, your
    presence.
        There has been some discussion regarding the spend-down
    rates of some Tribes under the NAHASDA program. My
    understanding is that the NAHASDA allows Tribes some
    flexibility in how and when to spend their annual allocations.
        Can you provide examples, examples of why NAHASDA allows
    grantees to carry funds forward? And explain why this is an
    important ability for grantees to have it.
        Mr. Boyd. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        Since the inception of NAHASDA, and everything within the
    development of operating the Block Grant Program is done by
    negotiated rulemaking. So many things that we set into place,
    in addition to what was originated in the statutes and
    regulations, we have always added over the years. And as a
    matter of fact NAHASDA will be up for reauthorization in 2014.
        But at any rate, I wanted to make that statement because
    it's not only HUD's involvement in the process of developing
    the operations of NAHASDA, but it also includes a lot of
    participation from Tribes throughout the country.
        One of the things that Tribes noticed, and we noticed early
    on, was some of the smaller Tribes--and, again, we operate
    under a Grant Block formula and based on need.
        But at any rate, over the years, we've found out that some
    of the smaller Tribes may only receive like about $50,000 a
    year. And so for those smaller Tribes, and some of the medium
    size Tribes, it's difficult to have enough money to some
    construct a home in one year given that amount.
        So through appropriations and no-year funding, Tribes are
    allowed to build on appropriations over several years so that
    they will obtain enough money to build a unit. In some cases,
    it's pretty dramatic in some situations.
        Another example probably would be a good case like in
    Alaska where you have regional housing preparations that have
    many villages under their jurisdiction, and so I think the no-
    year funding helps them also to roll those funds over for a
    couple of years so that they can adequately serve everybody
    within their communities.
        The Chairman. Thank you very much for that response.
        Michelle, the waitlist for Hawaiian Home Lands include
    persons who have been waiting for award, sometimes in excess of
    20 years. Can you describe some of the barriers to getting
    these people off the waitlist and onto the land?
        And describe what role NAHASDA funding and the Section 184A
    Loan Program played in helping the Department meet its mandate
    under the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act.
        Ms. Kauhane. Thank you, Senator.
        Yes, many of those folks, particularly low and very low
    income families who have been on the waitlist do get passed
    when they are required to qualify for the mortgage prior to
    being awarded their lot.
        And so NAHASDA has helped the Department in many ways with
    dollars in the ground for infrastructure, which then represents
    subsidies to purchase down the sales price of the homes so that
    families in low income categories can actually qualify for the
    mortgages at hand.
        The HUD 184A Loan Program in particular has been partly
    important to add a new source of mortgage capital to homestead
    communities. Prior to that we had VA, USDA and FHA 247. FHA
    247, which was the more highly used of the loan products,
    requires beneficiaries to add into its purchase price almost
    four percent on top of the sales price for mortgage insurance,
    whereas the 184A program is very affordable in that they can
    finance just one percent as a guaranteed fee. So the guarantee
    that comes from the Federal Government under the 184A Loan
    Program is vitally important to new access to capital for our
    homestead communities.
        The Chairman. Thank you, very much.
        I want to commend your Department for the work you've been
    doing in helping the homesteaders out, and look forward to
    continuing to do that.
        To the both of you, does the census data related to the
    Hawaiian Home Lands tracts accurately reflect the financial
    condition of Native Hawaiians remaining on the waitlist? And is
    there a continuing need for NAHASDA funding to the Native
    Hawaiian people? Michelle.
        Ms. Kauhane. Absolutely, Senator.
        I think that the U.S. Census data that is upholding
    households, existing families who may be currently living on
    the land, does not accurately reflect necessarily those folks
    who are on the waitlist.
        The folks who are on the land and those income statistics
    show those who are actually eligible to qualify for the
    mortgage financing, and therefore, are on the land and in those
    households today. Whereas, many of the folks on the waitlist
    who are in the lower income categories were unable to qualify
    for mortgage financing and, thus, remain on the list.
        The Chairman. Thank you, Mr. Boyd.
        Mr. Boyd. Senator, thanks for the question.
        We really see our partnership and our relationship with
    Native Hawaiians as being in the long term. We don't think that
    it's going to end at any time, to be honest. So we build our
    program, and certainly we do look at census data. I haven't
    really had a chance to analyze the current census data. But
    just looking at the need, and the good work that the Department
    of Hawaiian Home Lands is doing, we think that the additions
    that I testified on this morning will be very, very helpful.
        I think the whole idea with regard to our present economy
    and every additional tool that we can lend to the Native
    Hawaiian community in fostering homeownership and housing
    within your state will be very beneficial, and help to create
    greater sustainability.
        The Chairman. I want to thank our federal and state
    government officials for their responses. We look forward to
    passing this bill in the U.S. Senate and, of course, in the
    House with the help of Congresswomen Hirono and Hanabusa, and
    look forward to further assistance to our people.
        So I want to thank you very much. If we have any further
    questions, we'll get it to you. As Senator Inouye mentioned, he
    has questions that he has submitted for your answers.
        So, again, mahalo nui loa. Thank you very much.
        I would like to invite the second panel to the witness
    table. Serving our second panel is Honorable Colleen Hanabusa,
    Congresswoman for Hawaii's First District; Professor Melody
    Mackenzie, Associate Professor of Law and Director of Ka Huli
    Ao Center for Excellence in Native Hawaiian law at University
    of Hawaii, Richardson School of Law in Honolulu, Hawaii; the
    Honorable Brickwood Galuteria, Majority Leader of the Hawaii
    State Senate in Honolulu, Hawaii; and Mr. Richard Naiwieha
    Wurdeman, President of the Native Hawaiian Bar Association in
    Honolulu, Hawaii.
        Welcome and aloha to you, and look forward to your
    testimonies. Now, I would like to call on Congresswoman
    Hanabusa for your testimony. Please proceed.

                  STATEMENT OF HON. COLLEEN HANABUSA,
                    U.S. REPRESENTATIVE FROM HAWAII

        Ms. Hanabusa. Thank you, Senator Akaka.
        Good morning, Mr. Chairman. First of all I want to thank
    you for this opportunity to speak on Senate Bill 65, and I
    would like to ask that my written testimony become part of the
    record.
        The Chairman. All of your full statements will be part of
    the record.
        Ms. Hanabusa. Thank you. And the reason I ask that is
    because I would like to deviate a little from the statement to
    share with the members of our community as to how important
    Senate Bill 65 is, and the personal experience that I had in
    dealing with it.
        When I first got elected to Congress, we were on a
    continuing resolution, as Senator, you're very well aware of.
    And one of the issues in H.R. 1, which was the continuing
    resolution that the House was offering as the appropriation
    measure to fund the 2011 fiscal year, excluded the funding for
    the Native Hawaiians under the NAHASDA funding.
        And the reason why they could do that, is because under our
    rule, which is 21, and I believe the Senate has as comparable
    rule, that if it is not authorized in statute, then we are not
    able to actually amend an appropriation measure to have it
    included.
        I sat on the floor of the House until 3 o'clock in the
    morning as continuing resolution, the House Resolution 1, the
    continuing resolution for 2011 was making its way through. And
    I was told then that I would be ruled out of order, because as
    we all know, Title VIII technically expired in the year 2004
    when it was first instituted in 2000.
        So the lack of the authorization in the NAHASDA statute
    made it almost impossible for anyone, if the appropriators did
    not put it in, that they would be able to add it in for
    funding. To me the consequence of that would have been
    absolutely devastating for the Department of Hawaiian Home
    Lands. We all know that the trust obligation exists. However,
    notwithstanding that, we also know that as of next year the
    settlement of what we used to call the waitlist claims, would
    also expire.
        And having said that, the funding now becomes a critical
    matter. NAHASDA has fulfilled that gap for us. And I know that
    from my role in the State Legislature and chairing Hawaiian
    Affairs along with many of my other committees along the way.
        So this Senate bill, the Section 1 is extremely critical
    for, I believe, the obligation of the United States to continue
    to fulfill the promises made of the provision of housing for
    the Native Hawaiians. Not only that, but it is also critical
    for really the preservation of the culture, as well as the
    people, which was how the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1920
    was initially initiated.
        In addition to that, Senate Bill 65 addresses what I
    consider to be very important provisions as well. One of the
    parts that was lacking, which is now set forth in Section 2 of
    the bill, is the reference to Section 184. And I'm not sure if
    everyone recognizes, but the word ``refinance'' is dominant in
    there. That was one of the provisions that was lacking in the
    original version. And that also, I believe, hampered the
    Department of Hawaiian Home Lands' ability to assist in people
    receiving their housing and being able to move ahead, and that
    is the term ``refinance''.
        We also know that it also eliminates a lot of the other
    language, and makes it clear that the criteria standard housing
    and location on the Hawaiian Home Lands.
        In addition to that, Section 4 of the bill--that was
    Section 3--amends Title VI of the NAHASDA. And Title VI is
    really the loan aspects of it. And it makes it also very clear
    that where the language was: Where Tribally designated housing
    identities with Tribal approval. And those language still
    remain and we insert: Also or by the Department of Hawaiian
    Home Lands. That is found throughout the title, and whatever
    title is referenced, whether it's Title I of the NAHASDA, we
    have also added in Title VIII, which would now, by Section 1 of
    this bill--Section 2 would authorize its continuation until the
    fiscal year 2015.
        Senator, I cannot impress upon everyone how critical this
    bill is, because it will be the funding mechanism for the
    Department of Hawaiian Home Lands. It will be as the Department
    of Hawaiian Home Lands struggles for funding from the state
    when its trust monies run out, as to how we're going to be able
    to fulfill this obligation to place Native Hawaiians on the
    land.
        So I cannot thank you enough for Senate Bill 65, and for
    the ability to have co-sponsored it in the House. And to ask,
    again, that you inform your colleagues, which I know you will,
    and that for the community to recognize how significant a piece
    of legislation this is. And though it may only be four pages,
    it really does hold within it the future of the Department of
    Hawaiian Home Lands.
        Thank you very much, Senator, for the opportunity to be
    here with you, and to testify on this very important measure.
        [The prepared statement of Ms. Hanabusa follows:]

     Prepared Statement of Hon. Colleen Hanabusa, U.S. Representative from
                                     Hawaii
        Good morning Mr. Chairman and members of the Committee:
        I appreciate the opportunity to submit my comments on S. 65, the
    Hawaiian Homeownership Opportunity Act of 2011 which would reauthorize
    Title VIII of the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-
    Determination Act (NAHASDA), benefitting native Hawaiians. I am a
    cosponsor of the House companion bill, H.R. 2648 and feel strongly that
    passage of this legislation is of critical importance for this
    Congress.
        Title VIII of NAHASDA is more than an affordable housing
    initiative--it is a critical piece of legislation for the people of
    Hawai`i because it fulfills a trust obligation that Congress created in
    1920 with the passage of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act. The Act
    recognized that it was necessary to return native Hawaiians to their
    land to ``fully support self-sufficiency.and the preservation of the
    values, traditions, and culture of native Hawaiians.'' This trust
    responsibility to the native Hawaiian people has since been reaffirmed
    by federal legislation aimed at protecting native Hawaiians on their
    land, such as the Hawaiian Homelands Recovery Act (P.L. 104-42), the
    Native Hawaiian Education Act (20 USC  4901-1909), and inclusion of
    Native Hawaiians in the Native American Programs Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C.
    2991 et seq.), the National Historic Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470 et
    seq.), the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2801 et seq.)
    and many other statutes.
        This bill would extend the authorization to cover the costs of
    federal guarantees for financing for tribal housing under 25 U.S.C.
    4195(b) from 2011 to 2015. The importance of this reauthorization
    became very evident when the House Appropriations Committee cut the
    NAHASDA funding for native Hawaiians in HR1, the Continuing Resolution
    (CR) for 2011. Rule XXI of the Rules of the House of Representatives
    for the One Hundred Twelfth Congress prohibits any amendment, not
    previously authorized by law, which would appropriate money to said
    program. In essence funding for native Hawaiians under NAHASDA will
    always be at the mercy of the appropriators, irrespective of the merits
    of the program and/or the trust obligations of the Congress.
        Funding of the program would allow for continued facilitation of
    affordable housing opportunities for eligible native Hawaiians on their
    trust lands, a program administered by the State of Hawai`i with
    significant oversight by the Federal Government as a condition of
    statehood. This program has a history of being very successful,
    effective, and non-partisan--one that Hawai`i's former Republican
    Governor considers to be her legacy. The Department of Hawaiian
    Homelands has been able to extend support to native Hawaiians not only
    through placement of families on homesteads, but also through their
    down payment assistance program and home loan mortgage assistance
    program, and the development of renewable energy projects and the
    construction of energy efficient homes for beneficiaries.
        In short, this program does just what it was intended to do, which
    is support the self-sufficiency for native Hawaiians on their home
    lands, and it is the responsibility of Congress to continue to uphold
    this trust obligation. As a matter of policy, Congress must strive to
    ensure that Native Hawaiians have parity with other federally
    recognized Native peoples in the administration of the trust
    responsibility and the protection of their rights.
        Again, thank you very much for the opportunity to testify before
    the committee. I look forward to engaging in dialogue regarding the
    reauthorization of NAHASDA Title VIII and continuing the important work
    of the Committee to uphold these Native rights.

        The Chairman. That you, very much, Congresswoman Hanabusa.
    Thank you for your stalwart service in the U.S. House of
    Representatives. You've served Hawaii real well. Thank you for
    your explanation of the bill further, and also to stress the
    importance of that bill for Hawaii, and people of Hawaii, for
    all the people of Hawaii. And so thank you much for your
    leadership in this.
        And now I would like to call on Ms. Melody for your
    testimony. Please proceed.

      STATEMENT OF MELODY MACKENZIE, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF LAW,
     MELODY KAPILIALOHA MACKENZIE; DIRECTOR, KA HULI AO CENTER FOR
    EXCELLENCE IN NATIVE HAWAIIAN LAW, WILLIAM S. RICHARDSON SCHOOL
                                 OF LAW

        Ms. Mackenzie. Thank you so much, Mr. Chair. Mahalo for the
    opportunity to testify on S. 65.
        My testimony is going to be a little different from what
    you've heard so far. I'm going to specifically focus on the
    special political and legal relationship between United States
    and Native Hawaiian people, sometimes called the trust
    relationship. This relationship has been acknowledged and
    reflected in federal actions and legislation for almost a
    century.
        I also want to note that Native Hawaiians are really the
    only Native people in the United States who are in essence
    federally recognized, but do not have a specific government-to-
    government relationship clearly delineated and spelled out with
    the Federal Government.
        The relationship between Native Hawaiians and the Federal
    Government arises from many sources, but I wish to identify and
    talk about four specific sources.
        The first, of course, is federal and congressional
    authority in relation to Native peoples and the status of
    Native Hawaiians as indigenous, aboriginal, Native people of
    Hawaii.
        As you know, the Indian Commerce Clause of the U.S.
    Constitution gives Congress the authority to ``regulate
    commerce with the Indian Tribes''.
        This power is broad and has often been described as plenary
    authority. The Clause's reference to ``Indian Tribes'' I
    believe does not limit congressional authority to take action
    only on behalf of Native groups organized as Tribes or
    indigenous to the continental United States. Instead, to the
    framers of the U.S. Constitution, an Indian Tribe was simply a
    distinct group of indigenous people set apart by their common
    circumstances, a definition that obviously applies to Native
    Hawaiians.
        Native Hawaiians are undoubtedly the indigenous, native,
    aboriginal people of Hawaii. And modern day Native Hawaiians
    are linked not only by ancestry, but also by culture, language,
    history and land to the original inhabitants of Hawaii.
        Indeed, in 2011, the State of Hawaii took extraordinary
    action of officially recognizing the ``indigenous, aboriginal,
    maoli'' status of Native Hawaiian peoples.
        I'm sure that Senator Galuteria will be speaking on that
    more.
        Secondly, I would like to point to the role of the U.S. in
    the 1893 overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom and deprivation of
    the lands and sovereignty of Native Hawaiian people as also a
    basis for that needed relationship between the United States
    and Native Hawaiian people.
        The facts of that incident are very well known: The landing
    of U.S. troops at the behest of Minister John L. Stevens in
    support of a small group of non-Hawaiian businessmen, including
    citizens of the United States, to overthrow the indigenous and
    lawful government of Hawaii; and the eventual annexation of
    Hawaii in 1898, through a joint resolution which made no
    provision for vote by Native Hawaiians or other citizens of the
    Hawaiian Kingdom. Under that joint resolution, the United
    States receives approximately 1.8 million acres of the ceded
    public crown and government lands of the Kingdom.
        As a result of these actions by the United States--its
    participation in the overthrow and its ultimate annexation of
    Hawaii--the United States was instrumental in depriving Native
    Hawaiians of their sovereignty and their national lands.
        Third, I point to the entire course of dealings, of federal
    dealings over an extended period of time, that demonstrated
    that the United States has interacted with Native Hawaiians
    based on the specific political and legal relationship and the
    responsibility that it holds towards its Native peoples
    generally.
        You discussed very eloquently this morning the 1921 passage
    of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act and its enactment. I just
    want to note that in the congressional record, it's clear that
    Congress found constitutional precedence for the act in
    previous enactments granting Indians and others special
    privileges in using public lands.
        Another action during the territory period, in 1938
    Congress again exercised its authority by granting Native
    Hawaiians exclusive fishing rights to portions of the Hawaii
    National Park.
        In 1959 the Hawaii Admission Act has been discussed by
    several testifiers this morning as well as yourself. I also
    want to point out that Section 5 of the Admission Act commands
    the state to hold the ceded lands in trust for five trust
    purposes, one of which is the betterment of the conditions of
    Native Hawaiians, as defined in the Hawaiian Homes Commission
    Act.
        Section 4 of the Act has also been discussed, requires the
    State of Hawaii, as a compact with the United States, to
    incorporate the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act in the state
    constitution. And moreover, under the Hawaiian Homes Commission
    Act itself, Congress has retained the ultimate authority to
    alter, amend or repeal the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act.
        So while, indeed, the state gained principal responsibility
    for administration of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act in
    1959, the Federal Government retains significant authority over
    that act.
        Significantly, of course, in 1993 the U.S. passed--the
    Congress passed the Apology Resolution and apologized to the
    Native Hawaiian people for the U.S. participation in the
    overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom.
        I would also point to other federal actions, such as the
    Mauka to Makai Report issued by the U.S. Department of Interior
    and U.S. Department of Justice and the establishment of Office
    of Native Hawaiian Relations within the Department of the
    Interior.
        As you obviously know, Congress has included Native
    Hawaiians in laws enacted to benefit other native peoples in
    the United States. And more specifically Congress has enacted
    specific laws relating solely to the Native Hawaiian people
    pursuant to its authority under the Indian Commerce Clause.
    These include the Native Hawaiian Education Act and the Native
    Hawaiian Health Care Improvement Act. And the findings in both
    of these acts specifically refer to the ``trust relationship''
    between Native Hawaiian people and the United States.
        And, finally, I would point to the U.N. Declaration on the
    Rights of Indigenous People, which is now endorsed by the
    United States, that it supports the continued recognition and
    development of that special political and legal relationship
    between the United States and the Native Hawaiian community.
        Thank you again, mahalo nui for the opportunity to testify
    this morning.
        [The prepared statement of Ms. Mackenzie follows:]

      Prepared Statement of Melody Mackenzie, Associate Professor of Law,
         Melody Kapilialoha Mackenzie; Director, Ka Huli Ao Center for
     Excellence in Native Hawaiian Law, William S. Richardson School of Law

    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        The Chairman. Thank you very much, Melody Mackenzie, for
    your testimony. Thank you for highlighting all the points you
    did about Hawaii's history, and the relationship we have had
    thus far with the United States and how important it is that we
    achieve that government relationship, and not only politically
    but legally as well. So mahalo nui loa.
        Now I would like to call on Brickwood Galuteria, Senator
    for the State of Hawaii. Please proceed with your testimony.

    STATEMENT OF HON. BRICKWOOD GALUTERIA, MAJORITY LEADER, HAWAII
                              STATE SENATE

        Mr. Galuteria. Aloha, Mr. Chairman, welcome home.
        The Chairman. Good to be home.
        Mr. Galuteria. We love that you come home. And thank you
    for providing me with the opportunity to testify before you
    today in full support of S. 65 Hawaiian Homeownership
    Opportunity Act of 2011. I currently serve as the Majority
    Leader for the Hawaii State Senate. I Chair the Hawaii State
    Senate Committee on Hawaiian Affairs, and as a member of the
    Hawaii State Legislature's Native Hawaiian Caucus.
        So I bring you news from the state legislature. I'd also
    like to acknowledge our former Senate President, who now serves
    in Washington with you, Congresswoman Hanabusa, and greetings
    from your former colleagues as well.
        Ms. Hanabusa. Thank you.
        The Chairman. Please pass my aloha to the group as well.
        Mr. Galuteria. I certainly will today when I head back. In
    fact, we head into session, so I apologize, but I'll probably
    have to leave after this testimony, Mr. Chair. The Hawaii State
    Senate Committee on Hawaiian Affairs has oversight over the
    Department of Hawaiian Home Lands and its administration of the
    federal land trust created by the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act
    of 1920. Congress, through its enactment of over 150 statutes
    that protect the rights of and address the conditions of Native
    Hawaiians, has long recognized Native Hawaiian people as an
    indigenous people with whom it has a federal trust
    relationship, as Melody indicated.
        The Hawaiian Homes Commission Act is a clear example of
    federal policies towards Native peoples that have consistently
    been applied to Native Hawaiians, not always at exactly the
    same time, but often closely afterwards.
        The prevailing federal policies at the turn of the century
    focused on the assimilation and allotment. The Dawes Act and
    Burke Act focused on providing eligible Indians with allotments
    of lands for residential, ranching and agricultural purposes.
        The general concept behind this policy was to return Native
    people to the land. The Hawaiian Homes Commission Act was
    modeled after these Indian General Allotment Acts as it sought
    to ``rehabilitate'' the Native Hawaiian people by placing them
    back on their ancestral lands.
        Learning from tragic circumstances that resulted in
    American Indians losing some of their lands, the Hawaiian Homes
    Commission Act created a federal land trust that provided for
    99-year leases to qualified Native Hawaiians, thereby ensuring
    longevity of the trust lands to benefit the Native Hawaiian
    people.
        In 1959 when the State of Hawaii entered into Statehood,
    prevailing federal policies towards Natives were to delegate
    authorities over to state governments. As a condition of
    Statehood, therefore, the State of Hawaii agreed to administer
    the Hawaiian Home Lands trust. It provides especially that:
    ``As a compact with the United States relating to the
    management and disposition of the Hawaiian home lands, the
    Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, as amended, shall be adopted as
    a provision of the Constitution of said State,'' and that's
    what we enjoy today.
        While the State of Hawaii has administrative and rulemaking
    authority, the Federal Government retains oversight to ensure
    that the original intent of the Act is maintained.
        Now, Mr. Chairman, the Native Hawaiian people, despite the
    loss of their government, our government, and following the
    overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii and subsequent annexation to
    the United States, we continue as a distinct Native community.
        While the Native Hawaiian people lack a formal government-
    to-government relationship with the United States, we are
    repeatedly recognized by the United States as an indigenous
    people with whom the United States has a trust relationship.
        The State of Hawaii established the Department of Hawaiian
    Home Lands in 1961 to fulfill the State's responsibilities in
    administering the federal land trust. As indicated, the
    Hawaiian Home Lands is governed by a nine-member Commission
    appointed by Hawaii's Governor. And the Commission Chairman
    also serves as the Director of the state agency and is a member
    of the Governor's cabinet.
        Now, in addition to this, Mr. Chairman, the Hawaiian Homes
    Commission Act beneficiaries also govern themselves through the
    existence of beneficiary organizations called homestead
    associations. These organizations, which have existed as long
    as homestead communities, have representative leadership
    through democratically elected processes for each homestead
    area.
        And they're important partners. They're important partners
    with the State of Hawaii and important partners with the
    Federal Government. They know their communities, they know
    their lands, and are best able to engage and communicate with
    state and federal policymakers to address priorities.
        S. 65, the Hawaiian Homeownership Opportunity Act
    reauthorizes financial tools that provide much needed access to
    capital for Hawaiian Homes Commission Act and beneficiaries.
    Whether already residing on home lands, or still on the waiting
    list, access to capital remains a barrier for many, many
    beneficiaries. We, the state, fully support any and all tools
    that help us to meet the mandate of the Hawaiian Homes
    Commission Act with the knowledge that the State's commitment
    and obligation ends in 2014.
        And measures like S. 65 is critical to the DHHL funding
    mechanism. Mr. Chairman, the State of Hawaii has embraced its
    role in managing the Hawaiian Home Lands trust, and continues
    to support efforts to enhance self-determination and self-
    governance.
        As an example, as Melody indicated, in 2011 I joined my
    colleagues in introducing and enacting legislation, commonly
    referred to as Act 195 to establish Native Hawaiian Roll
    Commission that recognizes the Native Hawaiian people as the
    only indigenous, aboriginal, maoli people of Hawaii--excuse me,
    Mr. Chairman--that expresses the State's support for the
    continuing development of the reorganization of the Native
    Hawaiian governing entity, in part, for the establishment of a
    federally recognized government-to-government relationship with
    the United States.
        The enactment of Act 195 was yet another example of
    Hawaii's ongoing desire to recognize the unique contributions
    and traditions of the Native Hawaiian people. We, as a state
    legislature, find every opportunity, where appropriate, to
    bring Native Hawaii practices into public policy.
        We also designed Act 195, Mr. Chairman, to complement your
    efforts in Congress and to present the Federal Government clear
    evidence of the State of Hawaii's recognition of and continued
    support for self-governance and self-determination of the
    Native Hawaiian people.
        Furthermore, to bring us to a clear call for action towards
    creating a governing entity, former Governor John Waihee,
    Hawaii's first Native Hawaiian Governor, has been appointed to
    lead a five-member commission charged with preparing and
    maintaining a roll of qualified Hawaiians that would work
    toward the reorganization of a Native government.
        The commission is to prepare and maintain a roll of
    qualified Hawaiians who meet specific criteria. Once the roll
    is finished, the commission would be required to publish the
    registry to start the process of holding a convention to
    organize Native Hawaiian governing entity. At this point it
    would be incredibly premature, Mr. Chairman, to say what that
    model would be, what that model would look like, but now that
    the dye has been cast, I will see that we will arrive there
    sooner than later.
        Mahalo, Mr. Chairman, for your unfailing leadership and
    representation of our Native Hawaiian people at the highest
    echelons of government. You've served as the role model for so
    many of us who have followed in your noble footsteps in elected
    service. Your unwavering ability to demonstrate the Spirit of
    Aloha and to represent Hawaii's values in your actions and
    words even in the most trying of circumstances, has shown us
    how to successfully ``walk in both world's'', both native and
    western.
        Your accomplishments in representing all people of Hawaii
    are staggering, but we particularly appreciate your success in
    ensuring the Federal Government's fulfillment of its trust
    responsibilities to the Native Hawaiian.
        The Apology Resolution, as an example, will forever stand
    as one of the most poignant Acts by the United States in
    apologizing for its role in the overthrow, and begins the
    process of reconciliation. And we thank you for your role in
    that.
        And, finally, as I mentioned earlier in this testimony, I
    maintain full support of S. 65, the Hawaiian Homeownership
    Opportunity Act of 2011, along with any and all initiatives to
    meet the mandate of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act.
        So with that, I say mahalo to the Committee of one today,
    and mahalo to you, Mr. Chairman, for this opportunity to
    testify. Aloha.
        [The prepared statement of Mr. Galuteria follows:]

    Prepared Statement of Hon. Brickwood Galuteria, Majority Leader, Hawaii
                                  State Senate
        Aloha Mr. Chairman, Senator Inouye, and Distinguished Members of
    the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. Thank you for the providing me
    with the opportunity to testify before you today on S. 65, the Hawaiian
    Homeownership Opportunity Act of 2011.
        I currently serve as the Majority Leader for the Hawaii State
    Senate and as the Chair of the Hawaii State Senate Committee on
    Hawaiian Affairs. I represent the districts of Iwilei, Chinatown
    Downtown, Kaka`ako, Ala Moana and Waikiki and am a member of the Hawaii
    State Legislature's Hawaiian Caucus. I have spent my life actively
    involved in efforts to honor our kupuna, by preserving and perpetuating
    the language, culture, and traditions of the Native Hawaiian people.
        The Hawaii State Senate Committee on Hawaiian Affairs has oversight
    over the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) and its
    administration of the federal land trust created by the Hawaiian Homes
    Commission Act of 1920 (HHCA). Congress, through its enactment of over
    150 statutes that protect the rights of and address the conditions of
    Native Hawaiians, has long recognized the Native Hawaiian people as an
    indigenous people with whom it has a federal trust relationship.
    Federal policies towards native peoples have consistently been applied
    to Native Hawaiians--not always at the exact same time, but often
    closely afterwards.
        The Hawaiian Homes Commission Act is a clear example. The
    prevailing federal policies at the turn of the century focused on
    assimilation and allotment. The Dawes Act and Burke Act focused on
    providing eligible Indians with allotments of lands for residential,
    ranching, and agricultural purposes. The general concept behind this
    policy was to return native people to the land. The Hawaiian Homes
    Commission Act was modeled after these Indian General Allotment Acts as
    it sought to ``rehabilitate'' the Native Hawaiian people by placing
    them back on their ancestral lands. Learning from tragic circumstances
    that resulted in American Indians losing some of their lands, the HHCA
    created a federal land trust that provided for 99-year leases to
    qualified Native Hawaiians, thereby ensuring the longevity of the trust
    lands to benefit the Native Hawaiian people.
        In 1959, when Hawaii entered into statehood, prevailing federal
    policies towards natives were to delegate authorities over natives to
    state governments. As a condition of Statehood, therefore, the State of
    Hawaii agreed to administer the Hawaiian Home Lands trust. Section 4 of
    the Admissions Act (P.L. 86-3, 73 Stat 4) specifically provides that
    ``As a compact with the United States relating to the management and
    disposition of the Hawaiian home lands, the Hawaiian Homes Commission
    Act, 1920, as amended, shall be adopted as a provision of the
    Constitution of said State . . . subject to amendment or repeal only
    with the consent of the United States . . .''. While the State of
    Hawaii has administrative and rulemaking authority, the federal
    government retains oversight to ensure that the original intent of the
    HHCA is maintained.
        The Native Hawaiian people, despite the loss of their government
    following the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii and subsequent
    annexation to the United States, have continued to exist as a distinct
    native community. While the Native Hawaiian people lack a formalized
    government-to-government relationship with the United States, they have
    been repeatedly recognized by the United States as an indigenous people
    with whom the United States has a trust relationship. The State of
    Hawaii has embraced its role in managing the Hawaiian Home Lands trust,
    and continues to support efforts to enhance the self-determination and
    self-governance of the Native Hawaiian people.
        In 2011, for example, I joined my colleagues in introducing and
    enacting legislation, commonly referred to as Act 195, to establish a
    Native Hawaiian Roll Commission. Act 195 recognizes the Native Hawaiian
    people as the only indigenous, aboriginal, maoli population of Hawaii
    and expresses the State's support for the continuing development of the
    reorganization of the Native Hawaiian governing entity for a federally
    recognized government to government relationship with the United
    States. The legislation was unanimously passed by the State's House of
    Representatives and was approved by 23 of 25 votes in the Hawaii State
    Senate. Act 195 serves as clear evidence of the State of Hawaii's
    recognition of and continued support for self-governance and self-
    determination of the Native Hawaiian people.
        The State of Hawaii established the Department of Hawaiian Home
    Lands in 1961 to fulfill the State's responsibilities in administering
    the federal land trust. DHHL is governed by a nine-member Commission
    appointed by Hawaii's Governor. The Commission Chairman also serves as
    the Director of the state agency and is a member of the Governor's
    cabinet. Beneficiaries of the HHCA govern themselves through the
    existence of beneficiary organizations called homestead associations.
    These organizations, which have existed as long as homestead
    communities, have representative leadership through democratically
    elected processes for each homestead area. Homestead associations are
    important partners that help the State of Hawaii to fulfill its
    responsibilities under the HHCA because they know their communities and
    lands, and are best able to engage their communities and to communicate
    with state and federal policymakers to address issues of priority.
        S. 65, the Hawaiian Homeownership Opportunity Act of 2011,
    reauthorizes financial tools that provide much-needed access to capital
    for HHCA beneficiaries. Whether already residing on the Hawaiian Homes
    Land Trust or still on the waiting list, access to capital remains a
    barrier for many HHCA beneficiaries. We fully support any and all tools
    that help us to meet the mandate of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act.
        Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for your unfailing leadership and
    representation of our Native Hawaiian people at the highest echelons of
    government. You have served as the role model for so many of us who
    follow your noble footsteps in elected office. Your unwavering ability
    to demonstrate the Spirit of Aloha and to represent Hawaii's values in
    your actions and words even in the most trying of circumstances has
    shown us how to successfully ``walk in both worlds''--both native and
    western. Your accomplishments in representing all people of Hawaii are
    staggering, but we particularly appreciate your success in ensuring the
    Federal Government's fulfillment of its trust responsibilities to the
    Native Hawaiian people. The Apology Resolution, P.L. 103-150, will
    forever stand as one of the most poignant Acts by the United States in
    apologizing for its role in the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii and
    committing to a process of reconciliation with the Native Hawaiian
    people--a process that is ongoing and provides the path forward for
    self-governance and self-determination by the Native Hawaiian people.

        The Chairman. Aloha, thank you for your mana'o, and that of
    your colleagues in the U.S. Senate as well as the Legislature.
    So mahalo nui for that.
        Now, I would like to call on Mr. Wurdeman. Please proceed
    with your testimony.

       STATEMENT OF RICHARD NAIWIEHA WURDEMAN, PRESIDENT, NATIVE
                        HAWAIIAN BAR ASSOCIATION

        Mr. Wurdeman. Aloha, and thank you so much for this
    opportunity to allow me and the Native Hawaiian Bar Association
    to testify on such an important piece of legislature.
        I would like to start by concurring with Senator
    Galuteria's comments about you and your service in Congress and
    the United States Senate.
        Senator Akaka, you truly have been a role model for the
    Native Hawaiian people. It is such an honor just to be here
    today, to be sharing what little insight I have to add. In all
    your years of service, it is just so greatly and deeply
    appreciated what you have done for the Native Hawaiian people
    and for the community as a whole. And I just wanted to thank
    you for all those years of service and commitment. And your
    example of showing what real aloha is and always being yourself
    in all the challenges that you faced up in the Senate and the
    U.S. House before that. And you never steered away from being
    and showing people what the Hawaiian people are about. And I
    just wanted to again thank you for all of your services and
    your role, Senator.
        The Chairman. Mahalo nui loa.
        Mr. Wurdeman. Senator, you started off this morning with a
    very good overview of the history of the trust obligations that
    the United States does have. And the Hawaiian Homes Commission
    Act of 1920, of course, was the first congressional act that
    clearly defined that trust obligation. There was absolutely no
    if, ands, or buts about it. That trust obligation was
    established. It was acknowledged, subsequently acknowledged,
    and recognized by our federal courts over the years.
        And you also touched, and Professor Mackenzie also talked
    about the Admission Act later, and the compact that the United
    States entered into with the Admission Act with the State of
    Hawaii, really a condition of Statehood that this Hawaiian
    Homes program continue and be administered properly and
    adequately.
        And so with these legal responsibilities, it's really sad,
    but also a great testament to you, Mr. Chairman, that you're
    addressing these issues through this legislation, that after
    over 90 years of this program, we still have many of our Native
    Hawaiian people, especially those who are in the lower income
    brackets, unable to receive awards because they're not able to
    qualify.
        And this current legislation is really, as Congresswoman
    Hanabusa stated earlier, so very important to close that gap
    and to address those problems. And we thank you for calling
    this bill for hearing, for pushing it through the Senate, and
    it is long overdue, and something that certainly will continue
    the process of closing these gaps and giving the beneficiaries
    of the Hawaiian homestead Commission Act, especially those of
    the lower income brackets, an opportunity to have a home; to
    have their keiki be in a safe environment; to be able to live
    as a regular functioning family; and to go to school and not
    have to worry about all the other challenges that come without
    having a stable home life.
        There's one other point that I would like to make, and it
    was touched briefly upon by Senator Galuteria as well, the
    Apology Resolution of 1993, that I know you were very
    significant in pushing through the U.S. Congress. And this is
    another very necessary step in that whole reconciliation
    process. I think the legal obligations are very clear. It's the
    need now to continue the reconciliation process, and this bill
    certainly is another important step in doing that.
        And so the Native Hawaiian Bar Association and myself, we
    strongly support this measure, and I thank you again for this
    opportunity to present testimony, Senator.
        [The prepared statement of Mr. Wurdeman follows:]

      Prepared Statement of Richard Naiwieha Wurdeman, President, Native
                            Hawaiian Bar Association
        Chairman Akaka, Vice Chairman Barrasso, and distinguished members
    of the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs:
        On behalf of the Native Hawaiian Bar Association, I would like to
    thank this Committee for the invitation to present testimony on S. 65,
    The Hawaiian Homeownership Opportunity Act of 2011.
        The Native Hawaiian Bar Association is an association of lawyers,
    judges and other legal professionals of Native Hawaiian ancestry which
    seeks to promote unity, cooperation and the exchange of ideas among its
    members. Formed in 1992, NHBA strives for justice and effective legal
    representation for all people of Native Hawaiian ancestry. NHBA
    represents attorneys whose practice range from solo practice to large
    firms, corporations, legal services organizations, nonprofit
    organizations and governmental agencies. NHBA has trained over 30
    practitioners of traditional Hawaiian peacemaking through its
    Ho`oponopono Project. These haku are active today in our community.
    NHBA has also convened symposia and meetings on the issues affecting
    our Hawaiian community today: sovereignty, access and gathering
    protection, water usages guaranteed under State law, Hawaiian Home
    Lands and ceded lands breach of trust claims.
        As this Committee is aware, the Native American Housing and
    Assistance and Self Determination Act of 1996 (NAHASDA) reorganized the
    system of housing assistance provided to Native Americans through the
    Department of Housing and Urban Development by eliminating several
    separate programs of assistance and replacing them with a block grant
    program. The legislation authorized for Indian tribes two programs--the
    Indian Housing Block Grant program and Title VI Loan Guarantees which
    provided financing guarantees to Indian tribes for private market loans
    to develop affordable housing. Similar opportunities were extended to
    Native Hawaiians when NAHASDA was amended in 2000. Loan guarantees for
    Native Hawaiian Housing was added to provide access to sources of
    private financing on Hawaiian Home Lands. The Native Hawaiian Housing
    Block Grant Program has allowed for numerous families to receive home
    buyer education and has allowed for the development of affordable homes
    for low-income native Hawaiian families who are beneficiaries of the
    Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1920. A number of success stories can
    be told by the Department of Hawaiian Homelands and various other
    organizations which are currently serving qualifying native Hawaiian
    families through the programs that were extended to Native Hawaiians
    with the amendments to NAHASDA in 2000. However, far too many Native
    Hawaiian families still remain on the Hawaiian Homes waitlist and still
    far too many need to be reached. The reauthorization of NAHASDA funding
    to Native Hawaiians and the extension of programs that will occur with
    passage of this Act are very important and the trust obligation of the
    United States Government to the Native Hawaiian people, including the
    trust obligation to those direct recipients or those intended direct
    recipients under this Act, is well established.
        Under the treaty making power of the United States, Congress had
    exercised its constitutional authority to confirm treaties between the
    United States and the Kingdom of Hawaii, and from 1826 until 1893, the
    United States had entered into treaties and conventions with the
    Kingdom of Hawaii to govern commerce and navigation in 1826, 1842,
    1849, 1875, and 1887; and the United States had recognized the
    sovereignty of the Kingdom of Hawaii and had accorded full diplomatic
    recognition to the Kingdom of Hawaii.
        In 1993, the United States Congress ``on the occasion of the 100th
    anniversary of the illegal overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii on
    January 17, 1893,'' extended an apology on behalf of the United States
    to the Native Hawaiian people for the United States' role in the
    overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii. See Public Law 103-150 (107 Stat.
    1510). The Apology Resolution acknowledged that the overthrow of the
    Kingdom occurred with the active participation of agents and citizens
    of the United States and, further, Congress ``expresse[d] its
    commitment to acknowledge the ramifications of the overthrow of the
    Kingdom of Hawaii, in order to provide a proper foundation for
    reconciliation between the United States and the Native Hawaiian people
    . . .'' Id. Congress also acknowledged in the Apology Resolution that
    ``the indigenous Hawaiian people never directly relinquished their
    claims to their inherent sovereignty as a people or over their national
    lands to the United States, either through their monarchy or through a
    plebiscite or referendum.'' Id.
        Following the Newlands Resolution in 1898 (which was passed after
    the failure of the Treaty of Annexation in 1897 and the protest of
    Queen Lili'uokalani) and the Organic Act of 1900 and, by 1919, the
    Native Hawaiian population had declined tremendously (from an estimated
    1,000,000 in 1778), and in recognition of this severe decline in the
    population, Congress enacted the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1920
    (42 Stat. 108), which designated approximately 203,500 acres of public
    lands for the welfare and rehabilitation of native Hawaiians. See
    Native Hawaiian Education Act; Keaukaha-Panaewa Community Association
    v. Hawaiian Homes Commission, 588 F.2d 1216 (1978). Congress enacted
    the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act which mandated that certain lands,
    designated the Hawaiian home lands, be held in trust for the benefit of
    native Hawaiians. Keaukaha-Panaewa Community Association v. Hawaiian
    Homes Commission, 739 F.2d 1467 (1984). Under the Admission Act in
    1959, Section 4 of that Act required that the provisions of the
    Commission Act be incorporated into the Constitution of the State of
    Hawaii. Id. at 1469. This incorporation was described ``as a compact
    with the United States.'' Id. While the responsibility for the
    administration of the Hawaiian Home Lands was transferred to the State
    of Hawaii, the United States retained the exclusive right to consent to
    any actions affecting the lands included in the trust and any
    amendments to the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1920 enacted by the
    legislature of the State of Hawaii affecting the beneficiaries under
    the Act.
        Also, under the Admission Act in 1959, public lands that were
    transferred from the United States to the State of Hawaii were to be
    held as a public trust for five purposes, one of which was ``for the
    betterment of the conditions of native Hawaiians, as defined in the
    Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, 1920, as amended.''
        In addition to the special trust relationship between the United
    States and the Native Hawaiian people being recognized and reaffirmed
    through the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1920 and then the
    Admission Act, other Acts of Congress have also recognized and
    reaffirmed this special relationship through the passage of the Native
    Hawaiian Education Act, and with the inclusion of Native Hawaiians in
    such legislation as the American Indian Religious Freedom Act, the
    National Museum of the American Indian Act, the Native American Graves
    Protection and Repatriation Act, and other legislation.
        The Native Hawaiian people continue to maintain their separate
    identity as a distinct native community through cultural, social, and
    political institutions, and to express their rights as native people to
    self-determination, self-governance, and economic self-sufficiency. The
    Native Hawaiian people also, once again, never relinquished their
    claims to their inherent sovereignty as a people or over their national
    lands and to their claims of their national lands. Although the passage
    of this Act is certainly just one step in the reconciliation process
    and is far from adequately addressing what the United States did to and
    what it legally and politically owes to the Native Hawaiian people, the
    loan guarantees and the Native Hawaiian Housing Block Grant Program
    does, as our esteemed Congresswoman from Hawaii, Representative Colleen
    Hanabusa, stated last year during the introduction of H.R. 2648, ``help
    [to] fulfill a trust obligation this Congress created in 1920 that
    recognized it was necessary to return Native Hawaiians to the land in
    order to preserve their culture, their tradition and values.''
        Chairman Akaka and Honorable Members of this Committee, I
    respectfully urge your passage of the Hawaiian Homeownership
    Opportunity Act of 2011. Thank you very much for this opportunity to
    testify on this important matter before this Committee.
        Mahalo nui loa.

        The Chairman. Mahalo nui loa for your testimony, and all of
    your support. Please pass the aloha to the lawyers.
        I would like to, before I ask my questions, ask
    Congresswoman Hanabusa, will you please join me on the dais,
    and ask you for your comments here, and also you may ask any
    questions you have of this panel.
        Melody, mahalo nui loa for all you've been for Hawaii, and
    what you've contributed already, and in helping to shape the
    future of Hawaii.
        Your testimony provides a comprehensive review of the
    federal trust responsibility, and relationship with the Native
    Hawaiian people of the United States.
        Generally, has the United States' treatment of the Native
    Hawaiian people been consistent with prevailing federal Indian
    policy in your view? Is there more the United States must do in
    order to ensure parity, parity in adaptation of federal policy
    to its Native people?
        Ms. Mackenzie. Thank you, Senator, for that question.
        I alluded to that in my comments, but Native Hawaiians,
    indeed are, I think, the only native group in the United States
    that has a long history of basically federal recognition, but
    does not have a clearly acknowledged government-to-government
    relationship with the U.S. government. And I think that is the
    crucial factor that's missing in our relationship with the
    United States, and certainly one that you yourself have sought
    to remedy in the past.
        To me that is a crucial point, something that we, as indeed
    Senator Galuteria indicated, that we are working towards.
        And, you know, it's been argued very often that Native
    Hawaiians are federally recognized. The only part that is
    missing is that government-to-government relationship
    specifically acknowledged by the Federal Government.
        The Chairman. Mahalo for your mana'o on that.
        Naiwieha, in your testimony, you talk about S. 65 and one
    part of fulfilling the federal trust obligation to the Native
    Hawaiian people.
        Can you describe what other concrete things the United
    States can do to better fulfill its trust obligation to the
    Native Hawaiian people?
        Mr. Wurdeman. Well, that's a very open-ended question,
    Senator, and the easy answer to that is to have the United
    States return all the lands back to the Hawaiian people.
        But Congress has, in many different acts, included Native
    Hawaiians, whether it's through the Graves Repatriation Act,
    through the Native Hawaiian Education Council, all of these
    different measures over the years to address its obligations
    and its legal responsibilities to the Native Hawaiian people.
        Certainly allowing funding for the Hawaiian Homes program
    is, as I stated earlier, a very significant step, and it is
    very encouraging to know that our Hawaiian Homes Department has
    very capable leadership and will take to heart and will work
    endless hours. I know, I'm very confident, in making these
    goals happen on Hawaiian home lands and making these
    opportunities available for the beneficiaries that this
    legislation intends to address.
        The Chairman. Thank you very much. We'll keep in contact. I
    know you will you have perceptions and ideas and mana'o in the
    future, what we're trying to do in Congress of the United
    States.
        To both of you, do you have any additional comments,
    additional comments or information you believe is important for
    the Committee to know in contemplating this bill or the federal
    relationship with the Native Hawaiian people?
        Ms. Mackenzie. Senator, I included in my written testimony,
    but I think it might be appropriate to talk a little bit about
    the Apology Resolution. And as you know, there was a recent
    U.S. Supreme Court case that interpreted and looked at the
    Apology Resolution. That was in relationship to the ceded
    lands.
        I wanted to point out that, although in that particular
    case the U.S. Supreme Court did not think it was appropriate to
    rely upon the Apology Resolution in order to uphold the
    moratorium on the sale of the ceded lands, that the court in no
    way dismissed the findings or overturned the findings in the
    Apology Resolution.
        So from a legal perspective, those very strong findings
    about the role of the United States about the relationship
    between the Native Hawaiian people and United States, about the
    loss of sovereignty and control over national lands, and the
    claims of Native Hawaiians, those findings are still very, very
    valid, and I just wanted to just make that clear in the record.
        The Chairman. Thank you.
        Mr. Wurdeman. I concur with Professor Mackenzie's comments
    about the Supreme Court case. The issue really that had gone up
    to the Supreme Court was whether, as far as the Apology
    Resolution was concerned, was whether the 1993 legislation
    created a cloud on title. And, you know, from the Native
    Hawaiian's perspective, that cloud to title always existed. It
    wasn't this act of legislation that did so. But that is really,
    with respect to the Apology Resolution, the court said that
    that's not what the Apology Resolution did. And as Professor
    Mackenzie adequately and accurately stated that the findings
    were accurate and still exist.
        The Chairman. Mahalo. Thank you very much.
        I would like to ask Congresswoman Hanabusa for any comments
    she may have or questions she would like to ask.
        Ms. Hanabusa. I think what's missing in this record is this
    is an opportunity that we all have to educate members of
    Congress in particular situations, the members. This is a
    unique opportunity where we can educate or help better
    understand the situation that we're in. The NAHASDA, which is
    the underlying legislation and the changes that are being made
    in terms of HUD, is really an opportunity to look at housing as
    well.
        So if you can shift your gears a little bit, and if you can
    put into the record, either one or both of you, the
    significance of homeownership to the Native Hawaiian people,
    and why, in the creation of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act
    of 1920, it was deemed to be so important a part for the
    preservation of the people and the culture?
        And I think that if we can put that forth from that
    perspective, we will have a record that Senator can take back,
    and we can take back to the Congress to show how NAHASDA is
    significant. As you know, NAHASDA really began as a Native
    American housing issue and also covers Native Alaskans as well.
        But if you can help us by telling the members of Congress
    how critical this one piece is.
        Ms. Mackenzie. I think I can help in the sense of looking a
    little bit at the history of Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, and
    noting that the representatives from Hawaii who sought session
    act 10 had basically been concerned because Hawaiians had been
    frozen out of their lands and driven into the cities, and that
    they were dying.
        And the idea was that returning to the land would help to
    reestablish a traditional Hawaiian way of life. And you can see
    the reestablishment of that if you go into the homestead
    communities today. And what this bill would do by allowing more
    Native Hawaiians to participate and indeed to get homesteads,
    would be then to encourage and reenforce the idea of Native
    Hawaiians returning to their lands and being able to be
    themselves in their own territory.
        Mr. Wurdeman. Thank you for the question, Representative
    Hanabusa. As I alluded to briefly earlier, I think
    homeownership provides stability in a people, in a community,
    and the social statistics of Native Hawaiians, welfare rolls,
    incarceration rates, health issues are very, very significant
    in Hawaiians rank on the top of all of those social ills at
    this point, and have been for many, many years.
        And the legislation and NAHASDA and homeownership I think
    is an important step in providing stability.
        I have ohana, and we all have ohana who don't have those
    opportunities, that have been homeless. That, you know, and I
    see a lot of that. Those are issues in my own family, and
    amongst some of my own friends. And I have a cousin who
    recently received an award on Hawaiian Home Lands and was a
    recipient of these programs who raised a family of seven
    children and moved from house to house, apartment to apartment
    throughout the raising of his kids, and never had a stable home
    life.
        He is just one example of success and how happy they were
    to finally own a home after all these years, after being on
    these waitlists. And I really believe that similarly allowing
    others and creating these opportunities for others that don't
    have these opportunities will go a long way in helping address
    some of these social ills that I talked about in providing our
    Native Hawaiian families with the stability of a normal home
    life.
        Ms. Mackenzie. I would just like to add, in looking at
    this, I thought, you know, in many ways we're back in the same
    situation we were in 1920 with people coming to Congress
    basically saying our people are dispossessed from their lands.
    They're dying. They don't have a place to live. And we're in
    that same situation.
        So I see this S. 65 as an opportunity to really fulfill the
    promise of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act. Thank you.
        Ms. Hanabusa. One of the issues that has always bothered me
    from the time that I served in the State Legislature, and I was
    in a very ironic situation, because it was over the Felix--what
    I term the Felix investigative committee, and that was to learn
    that there was a period of time in our history where the State
    of Hawaii wasn't a state then, I guess it was the Territory of
    Hawaii--I'm not quite sure what point it carried over--
    prohibited the speaking of the Hawaiian language in our
    schools, for example.
        It seems to me that what the great travesty that government
    has done is to have really taken away a lot of that cultural
    identity. This S. 65, to be the most critical component of it
    is the fact that it reauthorizes Title VIII of the NAHASDA,
    which then gives to 2015 the authorization for really the
    Hawaiian Homes Commission to then receive those funding.
        So can you elaborate on the significance of the development
    of the community itself, and how it does right a major wrong
    that even those in state government today I don't think
    recognizes what was done to our Native people.
        Mr. Wurdeman. I'll start with the comment about the state
    government and how it has failed over the years. And it was
    encouraging, just the other day they finally addressed the past
    ceded land revenue issues that have persisted since 1978 that
    there was a clear legal obligation for the state government to
    fulfill, but the Native Hawaiian people, and despite the legal
    obligations and responsibilities, have always taken the back of
    the room, always been in the lessor priority when there have
    been other needs for the community.
        So the Native Hawaiian people have persevered through all
    of this. Despite all of the legal mandates, they have continued
    to try to revitalize their culture through the language, as
    Congresswoman Hanabusa has stated, and that has been a lot of
    self-initiative, the formation of charter schools, and a pride
    within a people of regaining what was stripped from them or
    from their grandparents and their parents in generations before
    them to revitalize this culture.
        And part of this growth and development, again, is to allow
    these kind of opportunities that Congress set forth way back in
    1920, as far as its rehabilitation process. And this is just
    another component to that rehabilitation process and the growth
    and development, or redevelopment of the culture in the Native
    Hawaiian community.
        Ms. Mackenzie. I don't know that I can add much more to
    that. But I would like to stress something, that the Native
    people have persevered in spite of oftentimes government
    opposition in things like Hawaiian language or Hawaiian
    culture.
        So imagine what we could do if we had support? And what I
    see this bill doing is offering the opportunity to the Federal
    Government and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands to really
    support the Native Hawaiian people in this kind of second or
    third Renaissance of our culture, our language and our ways.
        Ms. Hanabusa. Thank you. Thank you, Senator.
        The Chairman. Thank you, very much, Congresswoman Hanabusa,
    for your questions and your comments.
        I want to add that since the overthrow of the Hawaiian
    Kingdom, the people, Native Hawaiians have really, in a sense,
    suffered and were scattered to the point where Prince Kuhio
    Kalanaiana'ole was concerned about this, and wanted to find a
    way of bringing the people back. And, of course, the homestead
    concept came to being.
        He was able, in his years in Congress, to bring that about.
    And so in 1920, the Hawaiian Home Lands bill was passed. And
    remember this was by the consent of the Congress of the United
    States.
        So it really sent, in a sense, the future of a government-
    to-government relationship that we're facing today, and want to
    complete that government-to-government relationship.
        So parity is so important. When I say ``parity'', I mean
    our country had laws to deal with our indigenous people,
    American Indians and Alaska Natives. And since we became a
    territory and now a state we have not dealt with indigenous
    Hawaiians. And so the time is appropriate for us to do that.
    It's necessary, really, at this point in time.
        I want to thank you for your mana'o on this, and look
    forward for further discussions on this, and for the support.
        I want to tell you that support from Hawaii is very, very
    important to us in Congress, because opponents always want to
    say Hawaii doesn't support it. And now it's there legally, too.
    And so I'm really thankful and grateful that we have come to
    this point, and look forward to pursuing this even further. So
    I want to thank.
        Do you have any further questions or comments?
        Ms. Hanabusa. No, thank you.
        The Chairman. I want to thank the second panel for your
    mana'o. It has been very, very helpful to us. Thank you.
        Now, I would like to call on a third panel, and invite you
    to the witness table. Serving on the third panel is Mr. Kali
    Watson, Chair of the Housing & Economic Development Committee
    for the Sovereign Councils of the Hawaiian Homelands Assembly;
    Robin Danner, President/CEO of the Council for Native Hawaiian
    Advancement in Honolulu Hawaii; and Ms. Kehau Filimoeatu, Chair
    of the Hawaiian Community Assets in Honolulu, Hawaii.
        I want to welcome you with much aloha, and good to see all
    of you here this hearing. Kali, will you please proceed with
    your testimony?

             STATEMENT OF KALI WATSON, CHAIRMAN, HOUSING &
               ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE, SOVEREIGN
              COUNCILS OF THE HAWAIIAN HOMELANDS ASSEMBLY

        Mr. Watson. Thank you, Chairman, Senator Akaka, as well as
    Congresswoman Hanabusa.
        We appreciate the opportunity to be here today to present
    testimony on Senate Bill 65. My name is Kali Watson. I'm the
    Chairman of the Housing & Economic Development Committee for
    the Sovereign Councils of Hawaiian Home Lands Assembly, which
    represents approximately 30 different homestead associations
    throughout the state spanning from Anahola to Nanakuli on Oahu,
    all the way to Panaewa on the Big Island. I also represent the
    Association of Hawaiians for Homestead Lands. We support Senate
    Bill 65.
        Let me first start off. We all recognize that this is about
    money, about funding for housing. But I think it's more than
    that. It's more about people. I know when I first left the
    Department, we started up a non-profit and started working in
    the community. And one of the families, or one of the projects
    we started was the Replacement Home Project.
        I remember sitting in the basement of this home in Kewalo
    on this island. And as I was sitting there, I was looking
    around, and I saw this family that basically was living in a
    dilapidated house where the top floor was so unsafe that they
    couldn't live there. The kids slept in a tent in the yard. And
    for their front door, they had this wooden plank that they
    would literally push it on the side and use it as a front door.
    It wasn't even attached. When it rained, there would be a
    stream of water passing through the house.
        And so one of the things that really struck me is how can
    we help this family? And so we put together a loan package. And
    what was key to making that loan work was NAHASDA. It provided
    us $6,000 that was used to actually build this house.
        I worked with other associations and communities groups in
    order to help this family, Alger, they provided stipends so the
    husband could go to a nursing school. The other thing is I was
    kind of wondering, the wife and the daughter were present. They
    never said anything. They never smiled or anything. And some
    guys might think it's funny, but they had no teeth. So the
    Alger Foundation stepped up and provided the dental work. And
    today, I got to say that it's a good situation. They have a new
    house and they have a place they can call home. That was
    because of NAHASDA, in a major part. While I was working at the
    Department, and over the years working at my non-profit, we've
    been able to see the impact of NAHASDA in homesteading
    communities, and it's been tremendous. We look at the newer
    subdivision and these large, beautiful homes in Kaneheli, in
    Kapolei. You look on Maui at Waiehu Kou, beautiful homes. As
    well as Laiopua on the Big Island. So this funding source has
    had a tremendous impact in helping our people obtain affordable
    housing.
        The Department has also undertaken innovative approaches
    which have made a difference. For example, the Hoolima project
    in Kapolei, which is rent to own. It's enabled to access low
    income housing, tax rates, and put together different types of
    funding including NAHASDA, putting in infrastructure for
    subdivision to make it work.
        In Waimanalo, Kupuna housing, is also using various
    sources. I think with the Department in the process of, I
    guess, doing their housing plan, NAHASDA could be looked at in
    providing funding for rental projects.
        Some of the new products besides rentals that have come to
    fruition is in Nanakuli, for example. We're doing a 48-unit low
    income rental housing project called Hale Makane. That
    particular project targets families in the 30 to 40 percent
    area median income. And has basically strung together a bunch
    of eight different funding sources in order to make it happen.
        The thing about the housing, we're trying to address a
    waiting list of over 21,000 people that spans throughout the
    islands. And without this particular funding source, the
    NAHASDA, it would be very, very difficult to address that need.
    And I think that, you know, when you look at what's happening
    around Hawaiian communities, the timing is critical right now
    for the continuation of this funding source.
        We had the $600 million settlement that was passed in 1994
    coming to an end. That's $30 million a year that is going away.
        In the past couple years, the state has not provided
    general funds to our program. Contrary to the 1978
    constitutional amendment that mandated not only administrative,
    but development funds shall be made available to this program.
    The legislature has not done that.
        There's a lawsuit going on right now trying to address
    that. Hopefully we will be successful and we will be able to
    access those funds. I guess the point I make is that NAHASDA is
    very, very important to our Hawaiian community. This S. 65 bill
    is something that I think will be critical in us moving
    forward.
        The Department is at present time conducting their housing
    plan under this act. The community and the beneficiaries, I
    anticipate, will step forward and become an active participant
    in developing a plan that addresses this waiting list.
        What is also exciting is that we see in the Hawaiian
    communities a collaboration, not only by the homestead
    associations and the waitlists, the advocacy groups, but now
    OHA has started to step forward. They funded major
    infrastructure costs. They recently, I guess we were all at the
    signing ceremony where the $200 million in lands in Kakaako is
    being transferred to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and
    they've signed a resolution in agreeing to work with the
    Department of Hawaiians to make that, not only a productive
    relationship, but more importantly, an opportunity to provide
    housing, economic development, and other things that will have
    a very positive impact on our people.
        I've had the opportunity to talk with the Kamehameha
    Schools trustees, and they too are looking to start to
    collaborate and work with the Hawaiian organizations, the trust
    organizations. And I think collectively we have an opportunity
    at this time in history to really, really make a difference,
    but whether it be the Federal Government in the continuation of
    our funding, whether it be the Ali'i Trust working together to
    address the needs of our people, whether it's the SCHHA, the
    Hawaiian Community Assets, all of these organizations work
    together as collective groups. That's going to be key for our
    future and our people. Thank you.
        The Chairman. Thank you, very much, Kali, for your
    testimony and your support of the bill.
        [The prepared statement of Mr. Watson follows:]

        Prepared Statement of Kali Watson, Chairman, Housing & Economic
      Development Committee, Sovereign Councils of the Hawaiian Homelands
                                    Assembly
        Dear Senator Akaka, Senator Inouye and Members:
        Thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony in support to
    S.65 relating to the Hawaiian Homeownership Opportunity Act of 2011--
    which amends the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-
    Determination Act of 1996 (NAHASDA) and the Housing and Community
    Development Act of 1992. This bill extends through FY2015 the
    authorization of appropriations for housing assistance for Native
    Americans and loan guarantees for Native Hawaiian housing.
        This Bill also amends the NAHASDA to: (1) make the Department of
    Hawaiian Home Lands of the state of Hawaii eligible for loan
    guarantees; and (2) extend through FY2015 the authorization of
    appropriations for the credit subsidy to cover the costs of federal
    guarantees for financing for tribal housing activities.
        Federal Block Grants from NAHASDA have provided significant
    infrastructure development and facilitated the construction of much
    needed affordable housing in many homesteading communities throughout
    State of Hawaii. At a time when DHHL's residential waiting list has
    grown to 21,216 as of June 30, 2011, the need for the reauthorization
    and increase of NAHASDA funding is even more critical, especially with
    the anticipated end to State funding under the $600 million settlement.
    Without said continued funding, the affordable housing activities will
    take a major hit.
        DHHL is presently in the process of updating its Five Year Housing
    Plan as required under NAHASDA and significant input by its
    beneficiaries is anticipated. Besides the standard single-family
    residential housing, DHHL and its beneficiaries are embarking on more
    condense and far expansive development of rental housing and
    condominium developments. This will not only provide new types for DHHL
    housing products, and in larger numbers, but will also allow the
    leveraging of its funds with other funds. In the 48-unit low income
    rental Hale Makana O Nanakuli Project, the Nanakuli Hawaiian Homestead
    Community Association, with the assistance of the nonprofit Hawaiian
    Community Development Board was able to access federal CDBG and HOME
    funds from HUD, Rural Development 515 and 521 funds of close to $14
    million. With continued NAHASDA funding, more projects like this are
    possible.
        The Sovereign Councils of the Hawaiian Homelands Assembly, formerly
    the State Council of Hawaiian Homestead Associations was founded more
    than 20 years ago to unite homestead communities and to advocate for
    the beneficiaries of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1921. The
    SCHHA is the oldest statewide advocacy organization representing the
    interests of more than 30,000 beneficiaries and families residing in
    the communities of the Hawaiian Home Land Trust. Its mission is to
    promote the self determination of native Hawaiians and the well being
    of homestead communities.
        I urge you to please pass this measure, S. 65.

        Robin, will you, please proceed with your testimony.

     STATEMENT OF ROBIN PUANANI DANNER, PRESIDENT/CEO, COUNCIL FOR
                      NATIVE HAWAIIAN ADVANCEMENT

        Ms. Danner. Welcome home, and welcome to the Committee
    staff for making the trip to our home lands. For the record my
    name is Robin Danner. I am the President of the Council for
    Native Hawaiian Advancement, which is most comparable to
    organizations like UNSET, or NCAI or AFN.
        CNHA is governed by a 21 member board of directors,
    consisting of all Native Hawaiian leaders from across the
    nation representing diverse areas of service including
    education, culture, affordable housing, civic affairs and
    relevant to today's topic, homestead leaders on our board
    working directly on trust land solutions. Many of our CNHA
    board members are here today, Mr. Chairman, because of your
    leadership in bringing a field hearing here to Hawaii. They can
    physically see that when I tell them that I'm going to
    Washington, DC, I'm actually doing something, and today they
    can actually participate in that. Our vice chairman is here,
    Billy Ornellas, and about a dozen of our members.
        As a 14-year homesteader, I have raised four of my children
    in my homestead, and over the last 11 years, have lead CNHA to
    become one of the most active policy advocates, along with the
    SCHHA, on the unique issues of the Hawaiian Home Land trust.
    While these trust lands may be limited by blood quantum under
    the homesteading program, we know that these lands are
    nourishing all of our children, regardless of blood quantum, by
    providing lands for charter schools, the language programs,
    lifting up our communities by creating centers of commerce on
    these trust lands, providing places to heal and to reconnect
    through the placement of relevant health and other services on
    these trust lands.
        Definitely, as Kali said, providing shelter to thousands of
    family members through the development of housing on these
    lands. Every home certainly that CNHA has assisted a family
    with over the last decade, in partnership with Hawaiian Home
    Lands, has included families that are small in Hawaiian, big in
    Hawaiian, even in some cases no end residence. These are
    powerful lands, not just for beneficiaries, but for everyone.
        CNHA's full testimony submitted to the record approaches
    the hearing topic of the Senate Bill 65 under three main areas.
    First, NAHASDA funding and impact, which I think Congresswoman
    Hanabusa alluded to over the last decade. Second, access to
    capital strategies under the reauthorization; and third, the
    priority of self-determination in the implementation of
    NAHASDA.
        The modest levels of NAHASDA funding dedicated to Hawaiian
    Home Lands is really the first and only consistent federal
    funding to flow to Hawaiians since passage of the Hawaiian
    Homes Commission Act 90 years ago. And this first time
    consistent funding source has only been flowing for the last
    ten years. Baby steps in comparison to our counterparts in
    Indian Country, prior to NAHASDA flowing to their trust land
    areas which began for them in 1996, federal housing dollars
    flowed under the 1937 Housing Act, providing a miniscule one
    percent of the national public housing allocation to trust land
    areas on the continent and Alaska. Indian Country, and most
    certainly Hawaiian Home Lands have much to catch up on.
        With only ten years under our belt, the impact of NAHASDA
    funds has been a fantastic beginning, and it must be said,
    NAHASDA is the lifeline of hope to the low and moderate income
    families on the waitlist that year after year are passed over
    due to the inability to qualify for high end housing costs.
    NAHASDA is vital to ensuring that the promise of Prince Kuhio
    in enacting the HHCA is accessible to every beneficiary
    regardless of income.
        While DHHL has utilized the vast majority of its NAHASDA
    allocation each year to much needed infrastructure and
    subdivision development, the annual portion dedicated to
    community based service providers such as CNHA, and many of our
    member organizations, have been dedicated to financial
    education, credit history repair, and down payment assistance
    that is helping low and moderate income families achieve
    homeownership.
        We have leveraged NAHASDA seed funding to attract other
    capital sources, and today, have more than 350 Native Hawaiian
    families in our Financial Education & Counseling pipeline.
        I would like to mahalo Aunty Keahu, who is here today from
    our Board of Directors, for creating an environment for CNHA to
    partner with her organizations, such as Hawaiian Community
    Assets to deliver these powerful services.
        NAHASDA funds have also been used by CNHA and its member
    organizations to develop and deliver solar water heating
    systems, and photo voltaic renewable energy systems. Senator, I
    cannot express enough how important this area is and will
    continue to be in making sure that our communities are not left
    behind and last on the grid. NAHASDA is essential to ensuring
    that low income families are first to benefit from the
    technologies of renewable energy and reduced energy costs in
    their homes.
        Under the Access to Capital element of NAHASDA, we applaud
    the community for including language to upgrade the HUD 184A
    home loan product, to allow for refinances. Thank you.
        This ability to refinance to historic low levels of
    interest rates is worth tens of thousands of dollars over the
    life of a mortgage loan. Families need this exactly right now.
        We also strongly support the Committee's work to include in
    Senate Bill 65, the extension of Title VI from the Indian
    NAHASDA program to Hawaiians.
        As you know, Senator, Title VI allows DHHL to leverage its
    annual NAHASDA allocation up to five times the amount to access
    capital for very large developments.
        Our final area in our testimony addresses the ``self-
    determination'' that are very much part of the NAHASDA Title,
    the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-determination
    Act. We would ask that the Committee include more specific
    language and encouragement to clarify the self-determination
    goals of the legislation are for the collective people, the
    collective beneficiaries in the homesteads, and not State
    Government. Consultation by HUD, by DHHL, with beneficiaries
    and their homestead association leaders should be emphasized.
        In closing, as the Committee moves Senate Bill 65, I
    appreciate the educational aspect of the Chairman's work in
    educating fellow Committee members, the Congress and other
    Native peoples, that as Hawaiians, we are a federally
    recognized Native peoples, yet we are the only group of the
    three that has yet to engage in a government-to-government
    relationship like American Indians and Alaskan Natives.
        Chairman Akaka, in just one year as Chairman under your
    leadership and the work of your staff, and Director Loretta
    Tuell, you have done more to remind and to educate others that
    our people and the federal programs dedicated to addressing our
    condition are not race-based, but rather are within the power
    of the Congress to address the issues of unique category of
    Natives under the U.S. Constitution.
        So I thank you, Chairman. I have worked in the federal
    arena on Native issues for just under 24 years now, and the
    last 12 months have shown an incredible sensitivity and
    accuracy as to our status among the family of Native nations.
    Mahalo.
        [The prepared statement Ms. Danner follows:]

    Prepared Statement of Robin Puanani Danner, President/CEO, Council for
                          Native Hawaiian Advancement
        Aloha Chairman Akaka and Members of the Senate Committee on Indian
    Affairs,
        My name is Robin Puanani Danner. I am the President and Chief
    Executive Officer of the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement
    (CNHA), founded in 2001 to enhance the cultural, economic and community
    development of Native Hawaiians. CNHA, with a membership of over 150
    Native Hawaiian Organizations, 28 percent of which are Hawaiian home
    land organizations, is dedicated to addressing the challenges in our
    communities from education to business, affordable housing to cultural
    preservation, and is a statewide advocate most comparable to the
    National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), and the Alaska Federation
    of Natives (AFN).
        I am native Hawaiian, born on the island of Kauai, raised in the
    fishing village of Niumalu, the Indian reservations of the Apache,
    Navajo and Hopi, and spent many years among the Alaska Native peoples.
    For the last 14 years, I have lived on my Native homestead issued under
    the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, with my children and husband.
        My background includes former positions in finance as a bank
    executive, a Tribal Housing Authority executive director, and county
    housing director serving Native populations. Currently, I am the chair
    of the board of the Homestead Community Development Corporation that in
    addition to my position with CNHA, is highly relevant to the field
    hearing topic of S. 65--Hawaiian Homeownership Act of 2011.
    Native Hawaiians and the Federal Trust Relationship
        As the Committee knows, Native Hawaiians are among the families of
    Native peoples of the United States, and although not as well known,
    are included in the federal Indian policy and trust relationship. In
    1920, the U.S. Congress enacted the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act
    (HHCA), establishing a federal land trust that nearly mirrors the
    content of the 1906 Indian Allotment Act. In 1959, the U.S. Congress
    enacted the Hawaii Admissions Act, which includes language to further
    recognize the trust relationship with Native Hawaiians. Over the last
    90 years, the U.S. Congress has enacted over 150 statutes recognizing
    my people as Native, like American Indians and Alaska Natives, using
    the plenary power authorized under the U.S. Constitution to address a
    myriad of issues.
        Similar to the Office of Insular Affairs for the territorial
    peoples of the U.S. and the Bureau of Indian Affairs for American
    Indians and Alaska Natives in the Department of the Interior, Congress
    created the Office of Native Hawaiian Relations to continue the process
    of reconciliation in accordance with P.L. 103-150, the Apology
    Resolution, and to oversee the trust responsibilities of the United
    States to Native Hawaiians, with a particular emphasis on the HHCA and
    the 1995 Hawaiian Home Land Recovery Act.
    Native Hawaiians and the State Trust Relationship
        One of the conditions of statehood enacted by the United States was
    a compact between the federal and state governments, to administer the
    HHCA referenced above through the establishment in 1961 of the state of
    Hawaii Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL). The Hawaii state
    constitution incorporates and embraces the United States' trust
    relationship to Native Hawaiians, which was further strengthened by the
    1978 Constitutional Convention establshing a second state agency, the
    Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA). Each of these state agencies are
    public trusts of the people of Hawaii, not representing Native
    Hawaiians, but rather representing all of the people of our state to
    deliver on the trust mandates established under federal law and state
    law. There are similar ``Offices of Indian Affairs'' in other state
    governments, including Utah and Arizona.
        In 2011, the state of Hawaii enacted Act 195, to assist the Native
    Hawaiian people in the development of a roll that can be used for
    government reorganization efforts, and to urge the federal government
    to recognize a Native Hawaiian government. In 2011, this honorable
    committee, the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, voted to approve the
    Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act, to similarly recognize
    the self-governance of Native Hawaiians, creating parity with the more
    than 560 Native governments in approximately 35 states of the country.
        In summary, the relationship of Native Hawaiians to state and
    federal governments, is very similar and mirrors the policies and
    agencies of our counterpart Native peoples in the other 49 states. The
    Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) and the Office of Hawaiian
    Affairs (OHA), are Hawaii state agencies with trust responsibilities to
    Native Hawaiians. Similarly, the United States government has
    acknowledged its federal trust responsibility to Native Hawaiians and
    administers it through agencies such as the Departments of the
    Interior, Health and Human Services, and Housing and Urban Development.
    Native Hawaiians and Their Trust Land Representative Organizations
        Similar to Indian Country and the organization of Native
    governments around trust land areas, eligible Native Hawaiians have
    long held and established governing organizations organized around the
    trust lands established under the HHCA. These organizations are
    commonly referred to as homestead associations, or homestead
    beneficiary organizations. Over 30 such homestead associations exist
    across the state, tied directly to homestead trust lands of the HHCA.
    Each has enrolled homestead members and residents, and each
    democratically elects its leadership.
        In many ways, these homestead associations mirror the mission and
    representation that pueblos, tribes, or villages do in other areas
    where federally created trust land areas exist. Participation is
    voluntary in nature by eligible members, and the actions of these
    homestead associations are governed by the participating eligible
    members.
        Many other significant types of Hawaiian organizations exist,
    including social justice private nonprofits, member nonprofits like
    CNHA or the civic clubs and Royal Hawaiian Societies. These
    organizations are similar to the service focused, cultural and advocacy
    organizations of many Native organizations around the country. The
    homestead associations are significant in the context of the hearing
    topic of S. 65--Hawaiian Homeownership Act of 2011, because it calls
    for the reauthorization of Title VIII of the Native American Housing
    Assistance and Self-Determination Act (NAHASDA). Self-determination in
    the title of this powerful housing law is indicative of the connection
    between housing solutions, and the self-determination of the people
    themselves, through their respective homestead associations.
    S. 65--Hawaiian Homeownership Act of 2011
        Our testimony is organized into three distinct areas of discussion
    and recommendations--NAHASDA, Access to Capital and Self-Determination.
    NAHASDA
        This discussion content focuses on the amendment that added Title
    VIII to NAHASDA, through enactment of the Hawaiian Homeownership Act of
    2000.
    A. Trust Relationship & First Federal Funding to the HHCA
        Although the promise of the Hawaiian Home Land Trust has existed
    for over 90 years when the HHCA was enacted in 1920, the only federal
    funding of any significance to be dedicated toward its success
    consistently each year, has been NAHASDA funds which began flowing only
    a short 10 years ago.
        Eighty years of little to zero federal resources makes for a
    situation of extreme catch up, but the last 10 years of modest but
    stable NAHASDA funding has been the beginning of incredible
    opportunity. It must be acknowledged that one decade of consistent
    funding is a very short period of time, yet the impact during that time
    is not only visible, it has created a new energy and enthusiasm for the
    possibilities in fulfilling the original promise of residential
    homesteading under the HHCA. NAHASDA is one of the only tools and
    resources available to the Hawaiian Home Land trust to bring the HHCA
    within reach of the hardworking low and moderate income families that
    remain on the waitlist.
        We offer our full support for S. 65--the Hawaiian Homeownership Act
    of 2011 for the following basic reasons:

            1) Trust Responsibility--It embodies an important and long
            awaited component of the trust responsibility to native
            Hawaiians by providing stable and consistent funding;

            2) Affordable Housing Planning--It continues the benefits to
            the management of the Hawaiian Home Land Trust by requiring
            DHHL to organize a strategic plan and to deliver to HUD at
            regular intervals, an updated Native Hawaiian Housing Plan;

            3) Self-Determination--It lays a strong foundation for the
            Hawaiian Home Land Trust to transition from a 90-year paternal
            approach to land development and land management to the
            incredible power of including homestead beneficiaries in the
            administration of their land trust through the time tested
            success of federal self-determination policies.

    B. NAHASDA Funding Impact
        While DHHL is the direct grant recipient from HUD of NAHASDA funds,
    the agency has over the years, set aside roughly 10 percent of its
    annual funding award, to provide sub-grants to community based
    organizations. CNHA and many of our member organizations have competed
    for and received sub-recipient NAHASDA grants. Following are a handful
    of examples of the impact of these funding awards:

            1) Solar Water Heating Systems--NAHASDA funds have been vital
            seed funding to create an environment for the transformation of
            household energy costs by low to moderate income households on
            Hawaiian home lands. This is perhaps one of the areas where we
            must lead the charge to ensure that regular every day families
            have full and unfettered access to the incredible renewable
            energy technologies.

            There are approximately 7,000 existing residential homes
            located in our trust land areas. Only 15 percent have one form
            or another of solar power to either generate electricity or
            heat water. The projected capital need to achieve a 100 percent
            transformation of homestead neighborhoods is just under $40
            million. With a small grant from NAHASDA, the journey has
            begun, but more importantly, the residential solar projects
            funded by NAHASDA have attracted private capital and is
            leveraging dollars and attention to homestead areas. In
            addition to reducing utility costs for struggling families,
            these investments are creating jobs and an entire cottage
            industry for small businesses in Hawaii.

            2) Down Payment Assistance--NAHASDA funds have been utilized to
            develop meaningful and culturally designed Individual
            Development Accounts (IDA) to support down payment assistance
            on home purchases, as well as youth financial education
            curriculum that reminds us of the ingenuity of our ancestors in
            resource management, something that financial education is all
            about.

            3) Homeownership Centers--NAHASDA funds are responsible for the
            development of a Homeownership Resource Center that delivers
            affordable housing services from inside a neighbor island
            homestead area. The homestead association embraced its
            responsibility to bring valuable services to the people, and
            with the support of NAHASDA, operates a full service
            foreclosure prevention, financial education counseling and
            preparation for mortgage loan qualifications.

        We would recommend that NAHASDA funds expended by DHHL begin to
    take an investment direction of vertical housing units over subdivision
    infrastructure, including homeownership, farming/ranching housing, and
    multi-family rental development.
        Perhaps most important beyond the funding level and direct
    investment of NAHASDA funds in the projects described above, is the
    power of validation and empowerment that legislation like the Hawaiian
    Homeownership Act of 2011 creates on the ground in community. It cannot
    be underestimated, the impact on community leaders when Congress acts
    upon the issues that are most pressing and most relevant to the day-to-
    day challenges of families. Passage creates momentum of projects yes,
    but it also creates a momentum of community spirit to tackle tough
    issues together and in a systematic way.
    II. Access to Capital
        This discussion content focuses on information and recommendations
    relevant to the availability of capital for home development, qualify
    of life home improvements and leveraging of federal funding in the
    capital markets.
    A. HUD 184a
        The HUD 184a component of the legislation authorizes a home loan
    guarantee product to attract capital to the construction and purchase
    of homes located on trust lands. This product cannot be overstated as
    to its important. Capital is the lifeblood of any healthy community,
    and as is well known on Indian reservations and Hawaiian Home Lands,
    there are only a handful of home loan products available.
        The significance of the HUD 184a program can only be truly
    appreciated when one considers what would happen in their own
    neighborhoods if access to capital was shut down, and empty homes were
    not able to be purchased for lack of mortgage capital and overcrowding
    of families beyond the safe capacity of a residential structure. The
    Reauthorization of HUD 184a is paramount, as is the upgrade to the
    program to allow for refinancing, and equity extraction for education,
    home improvement and small business investment.
    B. Extending Title VI to Hawaiian Home Lands
        The trust land nature of Hawaiian Home Lands is both a blessing and
    a curse for affordable housing and economic development. It is a
    blessing for many of the same reasons it is for Indian Country, which
    is a preserved land base held in trust that cannot be alienated, for
    our people to nurture Native Hawaiian language and culture, and
    continue our life ways as the original peoples of the Hawaiian Islands,
    regardless of homesteading eligibility by any individual Native
    Hawaiian. However, access to capital is made more difficult due to the
    trust nature of our lands.
        It need not be a curse, with strategic approaches that ensure
    capital can flow to trust land developments and projects. Title VI is a
    section of NAHASDA that is currently only available to Tribal NAHASDA
    grantees. It authorizes the grantee to leverage up to five times the
    annual NAHASDA allocation to plan and implement developments that would
    be made more expensive if piecemeal funding were the only option. Title
    VI is an excellent, no-cost amendment that would provide flexibility to
    leverage the modest annual NAHASDA allocations. We support inclusion of
    native Hawaiians to Title VI of NAHASDA.
    C. Needs Assessment Study
        It has been a full decade since the initial passage and inclusion
    of Native Hawaiians in NAHASDA. Funding levels have been at the
    discretion of Congress and the Administration over that period of time.
    We recommend that a needs assessment be conducted, with full engagement
    of homestead beneficiary leaders to inventory the need based on
    consultation, the realities of development challenges due to the
    location of lands in the trust, and the recent results of the 2010
    Census.
    III. Self-Determination
        This section discusses the significance of the self-determination
    intent of NAHASDA and recommendations to maximize the opportunities to
    create relevant and long term solutions in trust land areas. It should
    be noted that some at the state agency of DHHL have wrongly assumed
    that the self-determination intent of NAHASDA, and even the HHCA, is
    for DHHL, when in fact, federal self-determination policies are for
    Native peoples and their representative organizations, not state
    governments. Although state government is improving its education of
    its employees in this regard, the confusion by even a small minority of
    state employees can create barriers to the implementation of the goals
    of self-determination to the people.
    A. Homestead Beneficiary Consultation
        Consultation with beneficiaries by DHHL has greatly improved over
    recent years, and has relied upon the precedence and the best practices
    of tribal consultation when state government is contemplating
    significant changes in policy or program direction. One of the
    continual misnomers in the administration of NAHASDA as it relates to
    Hawaiians is the confusion by DHHL and sometimes HUD, who these
    agencies should be consulting with.
        In Indian Country, HUD consults with tribes, the technical
    recipient and authority for their allocation of NAHASDA funds, unless
    it is tribally designated to another entity like a tribal housing
    authority. For Hawaiians, the recipient and authority for our NAHASDA
    allocation is a state agency intermediary. The homestead associations
    that are representative of the beneficiaries collectively, are the
    comparable to Indian Country's tribes, therefore, consultation by HUD
    and DHHL should be conducted with beneficiaries and their geographic
    representative associations. We would recommend that the Committee
    encourage DHHL and HUD to maximize the benefits of consultation by
    bringing clarity to the issue of Homestead Beneficiary Consultation.
    B. Empowerment & Capacity Building Programming
        Not more than 5 percent of the annual NAHASDA allocation can be
    used for administration by state government (DHHL). Over the last
    decade, DHHL has utilized administrative resources on its state
    government employees to engage and be trained at national convenings,
    and to strategize with HUD and Native leaders. The complete absence of
    empowering homestead associations and beneficiary community leaders
    themselves is detrimental to the short term and long term capacity
    building of the people and associations that remain in our communities
    when state government employees retire or leave employment.
        Indeed, opportunities for beneficiary leaders to network and become
    educated on national affordable housing solutions, and especially with
    other Native counterparts is an incredible missed opportunity. For
    example, the cross pollination of ideas, of strategies such as the
    coordination of Native CDFIs, of leveraged funding strategies that are
    taking place in other areas of Indian Country, can only be implemented
    by homestead associations, and not state government.
        We strongly recommend that HUD's oversight ensure that the self-
    determination tenets embodied in NAHASDA include review of how state
    government is building the capacity, empowerment and self-determination
    of the people it was intended to serve. We applaud DHHL in its recent
    efforts to improve in this area, and would recommend that the self-
    determination and capacity building of homestead leaders be a standing
    component of its Native Hawaiian Housing Plan.
        Self-determination is a corner stone of success in federal policy.
    It has resulted in more progress made in bringing solutions to the
    challenges of Native communities than any other policy. NAHASDA is a
    powerful tool to embrace the power of self-determination when our
    people are engaged, consulted with and challenged to implement
    solutions. We emphasize the continual recognition and encouragement of
    federal and state agencies to administer its programs with this over-
    arching goal of NAHASDA.
    Summary & General Recommendations
        In conclusion, we thank the Committee for its championship of good
    public policy that enables Native communities to achieve our full
    potential. Congress has the plenary power under the constitution to
    address the issues of Native peoples, and we mahalo Chairman Akaka for
    his lifelong work and service to all Native peoples of the country.
        We support the reauthorization of the Hawaiian Homeownership Act,
    and appreciate the committee's work to improve on the tools available
    to address the affordable housing needs of our people.
        Mahalo for the opportunity to submit comments to the Committee.

        The Chairman. Thank you very much, Robin, for your mana'o
    and your testimony, and, of course, your support of the bill.
    And thank you for what you and your group is doing to help the
    Hawaiians.
        Now I would to call on Kehau. Please proceed.

    STATEMENT OF KEHAU FILIMOEATU, CHAIR, HAWAIIAN COMMUNITY ASSETS

        Ms. Filimoeatu. Aloha, Honorable Senator Akaka,
    Representative Hanabusa and staff. Aloha.
        My name is Kehaulani Filimoeatu. And I have been privileged
    to serve as the Board President of Hawaiian Community Assets, a
    nonprofit HUD approved housing counseling agency and emerging
    Native CDFI that assists low and moderate income communities
    secure and sustain permanent housing with a particular focus on
    Native Hawaiians.
        I speak with you today to share my mana'o about the need to
    reauthorize NAHASDA through S. 65, which will ensure equal
    access by all indigenous peoples of the United States to
    funding for the purposes of financing affordable housing
    activities and housing-related community development activity
    as consistent with the purposes of the Act. NAHASDA funding has
    played a key role in our organization's history, but more
    importantly it has enriched the lives of thousands of Native
    Hawaiian families who have received our services, achieved the
    dream of homeownership, and continue to work toward self-
    determination.
        Hawaiian Community Assets was founded in 2000 on the Island
    of Maui, with the charge to create a community development
    financial institution that would address the housing needs of
    Native Hawaiian individuals and families. Our mission was, or
    is to increase the capacity of low and moderate income
    communities to achieve and sustain economic self-sufficiency,
    with a particular focus on Native Hawaiians.
        HCA supports permanent housing, culturally-relevant
    financial education, and asset building programs to achieve its
    mission.
        Our particular focus on home ownership stems from
    philosophy that roots itself within the organization and every
    aspect of our work. This philosophy, known as Kahua Waiwai,
    espouses the basic philosophy of ``A Sense of Place''. The home
    is viewed as a foundation or Kahua. Upon this foundation is
    built the family's spiritual values, teachings and cultural
    traditions for Waiwai. It is that spiritual value of the home
    and its surroundings that provides stability and the
    opportunity for families to build a secure future.
    Opportunities that help stabilize family life help to create a
    more stable community. Thus, it be can be said that home
    ownership encompasses more than just purchase of a house, it is
    an investment in the future. A strong foundation, if built
    properly, will serve generations to come.
        HCA has two long-standing program areas: Financial
    education services and community lending. Both drive the
    organization's comprehensive approach to achieving its mission.
        Our financial education services program include homebuyer
    and financial education workshops, individualized housing
    counseling, including foreclosure prevention services, and
    training and technical assistance to help community-based
    organizations develop and implement culturally-appropriate
    financial education using our Kahua Waiwai: Building a
    Foundation of Wealth curricula.
        Our community lending program, known as Hawaii Community
    Lending, has experience originating mortgages on and off
    Hawaiian Home Lands, and currently provides loan packaging
    services, micro-loan products, and matched savings accounts to
    assist Native families secure and sustain permanent housing.
        We have submitted a Homebuyer and Financial Education
    Program Report with our testimony that highlights our fiscal
    years of 2007 through 2011. It's made possible in part by
    NAHASDA funding.
        I would like to take this opportunity to just highlight
    some key pieces of this report. With NAHASDA funding, HCA has
    provided services as a HUD approved housing counseling agency
    and Native CDFI for more than six years under grants and
    contracts with the state Department of Hawaiian Homelands and
    as sub-recipient, under DHHL, of HUD Native Hawaiian Block
    Grant funds made possible through the Native American Housing
    Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996.
        NAHASDA funding has assisted HCA to establish itself as the
    largest provider of homebuyer and financial education services
    and products for Native Hawaiian families statewide. We have
    been able to leverage funding from both local, state, and
    national sources to enhance community development of Hawaiian
    Home Lands, primarily for homeownership. We have been able to
    secure partnerships to increase the rate of homeownership for
    Hawaiian Home Lands Lessees. And we have been able to enhance
    our capacity to create a continuum of service in the realm of
    housing counseling with the goal of providing Native Hawaiian
    families with the necessary education and tools to move from
    the beach to the biggest investment in their lifetime, a home.
        In particular, since 2006, HCA has assisted Native Hawaiian
    family under the Home Ownership Assistance Program with
    becoming financially qualified to purchase homes and access
    mortgage financing in the following Hawaiian Home Lands
    Developments: Lanai, Kekaha, the Villages of Lealii, Kaupea
    Phases I, II and III, Waiehu Kou IV, Hoolehua, Kanehili Phases
    I and II.
        HCA has leveraged funding for its work in providing
    financial education services and for other products from two of
    the largest national rural community development organizations,
    Rural Community Assistance Corporation, and Rural LISC, as well
    as Federal Administration for Native Americans to expand
    mortgage origination services and establish a youth financial
    education program that has served more than 930 Hawaii youth
    residing in low income communities with age and culturally-
    appropriate financial training.
        In 2008 HCA formed an exciting new partnership between HCL
    and Bank2 Native American Bank to increase access to mortgage
    capital for beneficiaries of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act.
    The partnership allowed HCL to utilize NAHASDA funding to
    originate the Section 184A Native Hawaiian Housing Loan
    Guarantee program; a mortgage product specifically designed for
    Native Hawaiians on Hawaiian Home Lands. The partnership and
    implementation of the new 184A loan program resulted in HCL
    seeing a 367 percent increase in mortgage financing available
    to Native Hawaiian homeowners from fiscal year 2009 to 2010.
    This actually has been the highest volume of financing made
    available by HCL in a single year since its inception.
        NAHASDA funding has been a primary source of building the
    capacity of HCA to expand its services to address the diverse
    housing needs of our Native Hawaiian families including
    homeless families living in transitional shelters, low income
    buyers, homeowners at risk of foreclose, and families engaging
    in financial education services.
        The following key outcomes of HCA's continual education
    Homebuyer Financial Program would not have been possible
    without NAHASDA funding. We have now 3,465 individuals that
    graduated homebuyer and financial education workshops; 2,282
    individuals that received credit counseling. These individuals
    who completed at least eight hours of homebuyer education
    training and received counseling of over an 18-24 month period,
    improved their credit scores by 100 points, decreased their
    debt by over $5,000, and increased their savings by over
    $7,000.
        Twenty-eight Native Hawaiian families collectively saved
    $69,000 toward a down payment and closing costs in the
    Homestead Individual Development Account Program; and $123
    million in mortgage loans have been made to serve Native
    Hawaiian families through Hawaii Community Lending.
        NAHASDA funding has been instrumental in helping our Native
    Hawaiian families achieve economic self-sufficiency through
    homeownership. With the ongoing economic and housing crisis
    that we have encountered, we see an extraordinary opportunity
    to dedicate these funds to address the diverse housing needs of
    our families and promote self-determination through the
    establishment of a comprehensive work plan, to not only assist
    first time homebuyers, but also the hard working families
    forced to live on the beach, multi-generational households
    renting together to offset extremely high housing costs, and
    beneficiaries aspiring to building a foundation for wealth
    through aquaculture, agriculture, ranching and business
    development.
        With this goal in mind, we see potential opportunities for
    NAHASDA funding for development of affordable transitional,
    rental, rent-to-own, multi-family, and self-help housing units
    to structure a broad pathway for our families to achieve and
    sustain the dream of homeownership that is in-line with our
    cultural values and traditions.
        Opportunities for NAHASDA funding increases opportunities
    for Native Hawaiian youth, their families and their
    grandparents to achieve and sustain economic self-sufficiency
    through homeownership on aquaculture, agriculture, and pastoral
    lots located on Hawaiian Home Lands.
        Implementation of loan products by CDFIs to further assist
    Native Hawaiian families overcome barriers to accessing credit
    necessary to become financially qualified to secure and sustain
    permanent housing and obtain financing for home purchase.
    Opportunities for NAHASDA funding, as far as leveraging local,
    state and federal resources dedicated to increasing and
    sustaining homeownership while simultaneously promoting self-
    determination through implementation of local food and energy
    initiatives.
        As you can see, and we can feel, NAHASDA funding has helped
    change habits, improve lives, and better our people so we can
    build healthy communities for our future generations. With the
    reauthorization of NAHASDA through Senate Bill 65 we will have
    that opportunity to do even more with our people to ensure that
    we fulfill the vision of our Prince Jonah Kuhio as carried
    forth by you, Senator Akaka and Senator Inouye, and to the rest
    of our congressional delegation there.
        Mahalo nui loa for the opportunity to share my mana'o on
    behalf of Hawaii Community Assets, but moreover the thousands
    of Native Hawaiian families we have served over the years.
        On behalf of my own ohana, aloha nui, mahalo piha for being
    in Washington DC for us. Senator Akaka, we rejoice in your
    homecoming and we pine for those left in DC.
        They will miss that senator whose name began with the
    letter A and ends with the letter A, who because he comes from
    Hawaii I've been told, ``ah, you're from Hawaii. Your senator
    is Mr. Aloha.''
        So until we can replace your pono in Congress, the absence
    of your aura of aloha certainly will be missed. Mahalo.
        [The prepared statement of Mr. Filimoeatu follows:]

    Prepared Statement of Kehaulani Filimoeatu, Board President/Co-Founder,
                        Hawaiian Community Assets, Inc.
        Aloha Honorable Senator Akaka, Senator Inouye, and Staff:
        My name is Kehaulani Filimoeatu. I am Board President and co-
    founder of Hawaiian Community Assets, Inc. a nonprofit HUD approved
    housing counseling agency and emerging Native CDFI that assists low-
    and moderate-income communities secure and sustain permanent housing
    with a particular focus on Native Hawaiians.
        I speak with you today to share my manao about the need to
    reauthorize NAHASDA through S. 65, which will ensure equal access by
    all indigenous peoples of the United States to funding for the purposes
    of financing affordable housing activities and housing related
    community development activity as consistent with the purposes of the
    Act. NAHASDA funding has played a key role in our organization's
    history, but more importantly it has enriched the lives of thousands of
    Native Hawaiian families who have received our services, achieved the
    dream of homeownership, and continue to work toward self-determination.
    Organization History
        Hawaiian Community Assets, Inc was founded in 2000, on the island
    of Maui, with the charge to create a community development financial
    institution that would address the housing needs of Native Hawaiian
    individuals and families. Our mission is to increase the capacity of
    low- and moderate-income communities to achieve and sustain economic
    self-sufficiency, with a particular focus on Native Hawaiians. HCA
    supports permanent housing, culturally-relevant financial education,
    and asset building programs to achieve its mission.
        Our particular focus on home ownership stems from a philosophy
    which roots itself within the organization and every aspect of our
    work. This philosophy, known as, Kahua Waiwai espouses the basic
    philosophy of ``A Sense of Place.'' The home is viewed as a foundation
    (Kahua). Upon this foundation is built the family's spiritual values,
    teachings, and cultural traditions (Waiwai). It is the spiritual value
    of the home and its surroundings that provides stability and the
    opportunity for families to build a secure future. Opportunities that
    help stabilize family life help to create a more stable community.
    Thus, it can be said that home ownership encompasses more than just the
    purchase of a house--it is an investment in the future. A strong
    foundation, if built properly, will serve generations to come.
    Program Areas
        HCA has two long-standing program areas--financial education
    services and community lending--that drive the organization's
    comprehensive approach to achieving its mission.
        Our financial education services program include homebuyer and
    financial education workshops, individualized housing counseling,
    including foreclosure prevention services, and training and technical
    assistance to help community-based organizations develop and implement
    culturallyappropriate financial education using our Kahua Waiwai:
    Building a Foundation of Wealth curricula.
        Our community lending program, known as Hawaii Community Lending,
    has experience originating mortgage loans on and off Hawaiian Home
    Lands and currently provides loan packaging services, micro-loan
    products, and matched savings accounts to assist Native Hawaiian
    families secure and sustain permanent housing.
        We have submitted a Homebuyer and Financial Education Program
    Report with our testimony that highlights the impacts of the
    organization's homebuyer and financial education program during the
    Fiscal Years of 2007 through 2011 made possible, in part, by NAHASDA
    funding; however I would like to take the opportunity to highlight key
    pieces of this Report.
    NAHASDA Funding
        HCA has provided services as a HUD approved housing counseling
    agency and Native CDFI for more than six years under grants and
    contracts with the State Department of Hawaiian Homelands and as a sub-
    recipient (under DHHL) of HUD Native Hawaiian Block Grant (NHBG) funds
    made possible through the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-
    Determination Act (NAHASDA) of 1996.
        NAHASDA funding has assisted HCA to:

            (1)  Establish itself as the largest provider of homebuyer and
            financial education services and products for Native Hawaiian
            families statewide;

            (2)  Leverage funding from local, state, and national sources
            to enhance community development of Hawaiian Home Lands,
            primarily for homeownership;

            (3)  Secure partnerships to increase the rate of homeownership
            for Hawaiian Home Lands Lessees; and

            (4)  Enhance its capacity to create a continuum of service in
            the realm of housing counseling with the goal of providing
            Native Hawaiian families with the necessary education and tools
            to move from the beach to the biggest investment in their
            lifetime--a home.

        In particular, since 2006 HCA has assisted Native Hawaiian families
    under the Home Ownership Assistance Program with becoming financially
    qualified to purchase homes and access mortgage financing in the
    following Hawaiian Home Lands Developments:

       Lanai
       Kekaha
       Villages of Lealii
       Kaupea Phaes I, II, and III
       Waiehu Kou IV
       Hoolehua
       Kanehili Phases I and II

        HCA has leveraged funding for its work in providing financial
    education services and products from two of the largest national rural
    community development organizations- Rural Community Assistance
    Corporation and Rural LISC as well as the Federal Administration for
    Native Americans to expand its mortgage origination services and
    establish a youth financial education program that has served more than
    930 Hawaii youth residing in low-income communities with age- and
    culturally-appropriate financial training.
        In 2008 HCA formed an exciting new partnership between HCL and
    Bank2 Native American Bank to increase access to mortgage capital for
    beneficiaries of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act. The partnership
    allowed HCL to utilize NAHASDA funding to originate the section 184A
    Native Hawaiian Housing Loan Guarantee program; a mortgage product
    specifically designed for Native Hawaiians on Hawaiian Home Lands. The
    partnership and implementation of the new 184A loan program resulted in
    HCL seeing a 367 percent increase in mortgage financing available to
    Native Hawaiian homeowners from FY 2009 to FY 2010 and the highest
    volume of financing made available by HCL in a single year since its
    inception.
        NAHASDA funding has allowed HCA the opportunity to work with
    families in a variety of contexts, including through self-help and
    private developers, county housing agencies, DHHL, and special
    populations such as the Kalapana community displaced by Kilauea lava
    flows and Niihau immigrants on Kauai.
        NAHASDA funding has been a primary source of building the capacity
    of HCA to expand its services to address the diverse housing needs of
    our Native Hawaiian families including homeless families living in
    transitional shelters, low-income homebuyers, homeowners at-risk of
    foreclosure, and families engaging in financial education activities
    together.
    Program Outcomes
        The following key outcomes of HCA's Homebuyer and Financial
    Education Program would not have been possible without NAHASDA funding
    as a foundational piece of implementing the organization's Homebuyer
    and Financial Education Program:

       3,465 individuals graduated homebuyer and financial
            education workshops;

       2,282 individuals received credit counseling;

       Individuals who completed at least 8 hours of homebuyer
            education training and received counseling over a 18-24 month
            period

          --Improved their credit scores by 101 points from 540 to 641;
          --Decreased their debt by $5,012; and
          --Increased their savings by $7,003;

       28 Native Hawaiian families collectively saved $68,677.35
            toward down payment and closing costs in the Homestead
            Individual Development Account Program; and

       $123 million in mortgage loans have been made to serve
            Native Hawaiian families through Hawaii Community Lending.

    Potential Opportunities
        NAHASDA funding has been instrumental in helping our Native
    Hawaiian families achieve economic self-sufficiency through
    homeownership. With the ongoing economic and housing crises, we have an
    extraordinary opportunity to dedicate these funds to the address the
    diverse housing needs of our families and promote self-determination
    through the establishment of a comprehensive work plan to not only
    assist our first-time homebuyers, but also the hard working families
    forced to live on the beach, multi-generational households renting
    together to offset extremely high housing costs, and Beneficiaries
    aspiring to build a foundation for wealth through aquaculture,
    agriculture, ranching, and business development.
        With this goal in mind, potential opportunities for NAHASDA funding
    may include:

       Development of affordable transitional, rental, rent-to-own,
            multi-family, and self-help housing units to structure a broad
            pathway for our families to achieve and sustain the dream of
            homeownership that is in-line with our cultural values and
            traditions;

       Increasing opportunities for Native Hawaiian youth, their
            families, and their grandparents to achieve and sustain
            economic self-sufficiency through homeownership on aquaculture,
            agriculture, and pastoral lots located on Hawaiian Home Lands;

       Implementation of loan products by local CDFIs to further
            assist Native Hawaiian families overcome barriers to accessing
            credit necessary to become financially qualified to secure and
            sustain permanent housing and obtain financing for home
            purchase; and

       Leveraging of Local, State, and Federal Resources dedicated
            to increasing and sustaining homeownership while simultaneously
            promoting self-determination through implementation of local
            food and energy initiatives.

        As you can see, NAHASDA funding has helped change habits, improve
    lives, and better our people so we can build healthy communities for
    our future generations. With the reauthorization of NAHASDA through
    S.65 we will have the opportunity to do even more with our people to
    ensure we fulfill the vision of the late Prince Jonah Kuhio carried
    forward by you, Honorable Senators Akaka and Inouye.
        Mahalo nui loa for the opportunity to share my manao on behalf of
    Hawaiian Community Assets and the thousands of Native Hawaiian families
    we have served over the years.
        Malama Pono.
        Attachment

    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        The Chairman. Mahalo nui, Kehau, for your testimony and for
    your support as well of the bill, S. 65.
        And for all of you, your commendation and the need of
    NAHASDA, and how important NAHASDA is to the Hawaiian Home
    Lands programs. So mahalo nui loa for that.
        First, Kali, I want to ask you. You served as Chairman for
    the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, as you mentioned,
    before NAHASDA was enacted.
        In your view, how important is Title VIII of NAHASDA, and
    accessibility of Section 184A loans to the Department's ability
    to meet the federal mandate to return Native Hawaiians back to
    the land?
        Mr. Watson. Senator, thank you for the question.
        I think without a doubt, the ability to obtain financing,
    especially as you relate it to some of the other loan products
    like the HUD 247, some of the others, as well as the cost of
    those, versus the process used under the NAHASDA approach is
    very critical, because just those few dollars that you can save
    by using one loan product versus the other, and then what made
    or broke the ability of that family to get a loan, to get a
    house, to have a place for their family, I think that without a
    doubt all these loan products are important.
        We need to continue the use of this particular loan package
    as provided under NAHASDA. I would say that the refinancing
    portion, which allows the families to get better, I guess,
    monthly payments as a result is also critical, because it frees
    up funds for other things that the families might need to do,
    such as get an education, support the kids, feed the family.
        So without a doubt, Senator, I think that with the
    continuation of this loan product, as well as its
    reauthorization, it will make an impact, a good impact. Thank
    you.
        The Chairman. Thank you very much, Kali.
        Robin, does the council have any additional policy or
    recommendations that would strengthen Native Hawaiian
    communities, or enhance the state Department of Hawaiian Home
    Lands' ability to carry out the purpose of the Hawaiian Home
    Lands Commission Act?
        Ms. Danner. Thank you for the question.
        Absolutely, Senator. You know I'm never at a loss for any
    policy recommendations.
        Two things come to mind when you say how do we advance
    forward. The first decade, Department of Hawaiian Home Lands
    and the beneficiary community has spent our time figuring out
    what is this NAHASDA. First decade in terms of reporting, and
    getting to know HUD. Getting to know a whole new division at
    HUD called ONAP, that most beneficiaries and most officials at
    DDHL didn't know existed.
        So it's been a good decade for learning for the Department,
    and engaging with HUD, and then implementing consultation
    policies.
        So I would hope that the next decade, and with the
    influence of the Committee to encourage that beyond the current
    administration HUD and DHHL, we have an awesome Deputy
    Assistant Rodger Boyd who gets us. He fully embraces the parity
    issues that we face.
        We have an awesome Deputy Director at Hawaiian Home Lands
    that for ten years has worked with us. So we have really
    knowledgeable officials right now have in the Obama
    Administration and the Abercrombie Administration.
        What I would like to see solidified beyond those
    administrations, the focus on empowerment and capacity building
    being squarely invested in the people, that the next ten years
    be spent implementing that self-determination in the homestead
    leaders and the organizations beyond the state government
    officials and employees.
        So that what we have known over the last ten or 15 years, I
    think I'm on my eighth chairman of Hawaiian Homes, Kali, you
    were my first. The administrations will come and go, but it's
    the land and the people that end up remaining.
        And so I think my advice would be for the next decade for
    state government, for Federal Government to join together to
    now implement stronger the self-determination policies of
    NAHASDA, so that the beneficiary leaders can come to the table,
    join and bring their awesome solutions and we can move more
    quickly to catch up on the 80 years that we have not had
    resources.
        And then my second and last policy recommendation, Mr.
    Chairman, I know it has a small budgetary impact, but perhaps
    for the record I would like to say it. I hope that we can work
    together to get parity with HUD 184 in one more step, the final
    parity issue would be to extend the same language that Indian
    Country has for their 184 program, which is the allowance of
    that mortgage product on or near trust lands. That would be an
    extraordinary parity issue that would not only enhance Hawaiian
    Home Lands, but truly enhance the State of Hawaii across the
    state fee simple and non-fee simple land.
        So I put that in answer, Mr. Chairman, for the record,
    perhaps at a future time that we can work on that policy issue.
        The Chairman. Thank you very much, Robin, for your mana'o
    and your response.
        Kehau, first, I want to commend HCA for its commitment to
    financial literacy, as well as credit counseling that you do.
    Financial literacy is key, really key to empowering our
    committees to lifting themselves out of poverty.
        I notice in your testimony that people have completed your
    training and participated in your counseling services on
    average moved their credit scores over 100 points from 540 to
    641. That's tremendous.
        Now, can you give me concrete examples of what moving a
    credit score from 540 to 641 means to the average individual in
    terms of expanded options?
        Ms. Filimoeatu. To many of those people it meant that you
    now could afford to get that home. And for many of our people
    that we have worked with, it was something that they did not
    really quite understand. And we realize for our people to
    understand finances, we had to take it to a different degree.
        We knew that Hawaiians historically knew how to handle and
    take care of everything. You know, we used, one of our topics
    was the baby luau that everybody knew came one year, oh, you
    going have big luau. And that no matter how poor or rich you
    were, you always had the necessary components to get there.
        They thought that having to save money up for that was
    going to be a hard thing to do. And part of what we needed to
    let them know that saving was all about how you spend. And that
    you know how we all get together and everybody go and gather
    little by little. You don't go get all the opihi one time, but
    you go month after month, so that by the time it came one year
    old, you had enough for everyone.
        When our people could address those kinds of issues at a
    more familiar level, that, oh, the light went on, and they knew
    how to follow through. We found that very prevalent as well
    with youth people that we had NAHASDA funding to come up with
    our youth curriculum now. I think that is going to be very
    pivotal for our people in getting their dealings to become more
    self-sufficient and self-determining.
        I think we have been able to use these fundings to teach,
    or to at least make them aware of how very akamai they were in
    the beginning. It's just the context and how we speak and how
    we talk and the terms we use about financing. A lot of
    Hawaiians they kind of go with that, but if you can bring them
    forward and give them the tools, they certainly can make good
    use of that.
        So we mahalo you and we mahalo the Native Americans for
    this act that they started, and we have been now able to take
    advantage of.
        The Chairman. Mahalo, thank you for your mana'o.
        Now I would like to ask Congresswoman Hanabusa for any
    comments or questions she may have.
        Ms. Hanabusa. Thank you, Senator.
        Let's begin with you, Kali. The example you gave was very
    moving and you said that it was using NAHASDA funding.
        Were you Director at that time? Because you predate the
    year 2000 when it was originally Title VIII that was
    authorized.
        Mr. Watson. No, I wasn't the Director at that time. After I
    left, I went over to OHA and worked on the ceded land
    settlement. That was way back.
        Ms. Hanabusa. I remember.
        Mr. Watson. It was very frustrating, but I'm so happy to
    see the thing has finally been settled. After that one-year
    stint there, which was an interesting experience, but in any
    event, we started a non-profit, and we got some money from the
    Federal Home Loan Bank to fund this replacement home project
    involving 25. And it is one of the most challenging projects
    I've ever worked on in my life. It's also one of the most
    rewarding. We've had some really interesting experiences.
        I remember one instance where I was talking on the phone
    with this homesteader from Papakolea who was standing in her
    garage. And she started screaming because her house fell down.
        You know, a lot of the other homesteaders we work with,
    their houses had either collapsed or in terrible disrepair.
        When I was a Director we did a survey and we found over
    four to 500 houses throughout the homestead areas needing that
    kind of replacement, not just repairs but replacements. So
    fortunately the Department was willing to work with our non-
    profit, provided us funding through the NAHASDA funding, which
    we used to replace these homes. We partnered up with a lot of
    other organizations, but that was a real good example, I think,
    where like I'm saying, NAHASDA is not just about money, it's
    about people. And I think that has to be kept in mind when you
    think or talk about and try to justify this particular funding
    source.
        Ms. Hanabusa. Thank you. I just want to say, Kali, as
    somebody that was there when you were negotiating the
    settlement, that I thought you had a very good settlement. Too
    bad it didn't go through, but people should know the hard work
    and the work that you put into that.
        Robin, you know, as always, we are looking at very similar
    parts of the bill. And I was also intrigued by the self-
    determination aspect of it. But as you know, in that NAHASDA
    statute, the reference in the Congressional finding basically
    talks about self-determination in terms of federal assistance
    to meet these responsibilities be provided in a manner that
    recognizes the right of Indian self-determination and Tribal
    self-governance, by making such assistance available directly
    to the Indian Tribes, the Tribally-designated entity that the
    authority similar to those accorded Indian Tribes.
        In addition to that, as you know, under Section subtitle B
    of the Section 2 of the NAHASDA statute talks about self-
    determine housing activities for Tribal communities. And it
    goes on in how it determines that self-determination. Self-
    determination is such a term of art for us over all of these
    years, especially with Senator Akaka's bill, that it takes on
    different nuances.
        So when you reference the self-determination portion that
    you would like to see incorporated and applied to Native
    Hawaiians, are you looking at it in terms of being in line with
    like the preamble statement, including Native Hawaiians, and
    subtitle B, which begins in Section 201 of the NAHASDA statute?
        Ms. Danner. Thank you, Congresswoman. I have been
    privileged in 1995, 1994 during those years, I was the
    equivalent of the DHHL chairman for a large multi-Tribal
    housing authority. And so I had the privilege of working with
    Jackie Johnson and other leaders around the country in putting
    together the original 1996 NAHASDA.
        Self-determination was the starting point of our
    conceptualizing that legislation in making sure that it was
    self-governing by the people. So for Hawaiians, my
    interpretation of that is that we have a very unique
    relationship in that we have a double government layer, Federal
    Government and state government that passes through NAHASDA, we
    named DHHL when we did the amendment in 2000 and TDHE, Tribally
    Designated Housing Entity, because it was the most efficient
    and proper thing to do given the historical relationship for
    the state government to have to facilitate and administer.
        Then you can do sub-recipients. So the comparables to the
    1996 NAHASDA for Indian Country and Alaska Natives, is the
    homestead associations. They're long-time organizations that
    are democratically elected. That is what I'm talking about in
    terms of the application of self-determination policy, the
    federal policies, capacity building of empowerment. We need to
    take our next ten years of investing in those homestead
    associations, those homestead leaders so that they become the
    sub-recipient TDHE's and doing the types of housing that Kali
    is talking about, and that Kehau is working on, but more
    importantly so that the homestead leadership does not go away,
    has the opportunity to gain incredible networking and insight
    through their native counterparts on the continent by engaging
    in the Native American Housing Coalition on the continent, and
    working with Indian Country directly.
        My view is that the state government had to spend the first
    decade figuring out compliance and what is this NAHASDA. And
    now, like HUD, the state and the homestead associations to
    spend the next ten years implementing the big SD in NAHASDA,
    and investing in the actual collective people themselves.
        I am absolutely not uncomfortable comparing the homestead
    association to TDHE that is a pueblo that might be in New
    Mexico or one of the colonials in California, because the
    homestead associations, some of them are 30 years old. These
    are not pop-up, start-up, self-governing organizations. They
    have long tradition and protocols. And they are laser-beam
    focused. No matter what's going on around them or in the state,
    they are laser-beamed focused on their homestead areas, just as
    a pueblo or a Tribe is laser-beam focused.
        So, yes, I am suggesting that the next ten years we get our
    arms around, our heads around together state government,
    Federal Government and the community based organizations and
    homesteads start to get our arms around how and what the
    federal policies of self-determination are intended for.
        Ms. Hanabusa. I don't see former Representative Mike
    Kahikina here, but when Mike was in the House, we actually
    passed, it ended up being a Senate bill I introduced, which
    basically afforded the self-determination--well, actually a
    role more for homestead communities. And it went up as an
    amendment to the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act. As you know, it
    fell into a black hole somewhere and never went any further.
        It seems like, that if it's amended into the NAHASDA, it
    would accomplish exactly what, sort of along the same lines
    that we're looking at to try and give the homestead communities
    a more sense of self-determination, and that's one of the
    reasons why I wanted to clarify. But I understand clearly what
    you're saying, and I appreciate it, because I do believe that
    that is exactly where we must go.
        Kehau, you do amazing work, and I don't really have a
    question other than to tell you that I know that the major
    success is in the refocusing, and I love the baby luau analogy,
    because that's exactly what has always tripped up our families.
    And that's another reason why I think the provision of this
    bill, the refinancing aspect of it is also so critical, and a
    major component.
        But I would just like to end by saying that as you are all
    aware, because Senator has been there and Senator Inouye has
    also been able to--they have both been able to massage the
    budget, that though we lost authorization in 2004, that it has
    been able to continue. And in 2011 it was a clear example of
    what can happen without the authorization. And that is that I
    could not amend the appropriation measure to put in, back in
    the funding for Native Hawaiians under NAHASDA, and the reason
    being very simply because the way it works up there, our rules
    prohibit it if we don't have the authorization. So until then,
    you're at the mercy of the appropriators.
        I hope that as part of this record, the real significance
    of the authorization is felt by everyone here and whoever you
    may know or whatever letters you can get out there, it is
    absolutely critical, because they don't have to do it.
        I share your thoughts, Kehau. Senator Akaka has been such
    an amazing advocate, and as he retires and you folks get him
    home, assuming I don't come home with him, because it depends,
    it's really very important. So thank you all, very much.
        I'll turn this back to the Senator.
        The Chairman. Mahalo nui, Colleen.
        My last question to the panel is you discuss at length the
    federal trust responsibility to Native Hawaiians. As community
    advocates and service providers, what more needs to be done to
    better meet the federal trust responsibility and advance the
    federal policy of self-determination and self-governance where
    Native Hawaiian people are concerned, looking at the history
    that we have until now in Congress, self-governance seems to be
    one of the final steps in bringing the Native Hawaiians
    indigenous people together from Prince Kuhio's time of getting
    them homes. Many organizations coming together to try to bring
    them together in spirit. And the last thing that need to be
    done is government-to-government relationships. And that's what
    we're seeking to do.
        My question to the panel is what I just asked. Comments,
    Robin?
        Ms. Danner. Senator and Congresswoman, as a member of the
    Native Hawaiian Roll Commission that was passed by the Hawaii
    Legislature, Act 195, I think what that portion has been done,
    a step forward for the state to embrace and to say to the world
    and especially to Congress to the State of Hawaii it fully
    embraces a government-to-government relationship. I think there
    are three things that are next on the next generation that you
    pass the torch to, and that first and foremost is for this year
    to pass the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act, even
    in a streamlined version, especially due to the collaboration
    with our Hawaii State Legislators.
        So passage of government-to-government recognition, as you
    have taught us, we are federally recognized people, 150
    statutes are based on our Native status. But the unfinished
    business to advance the trust relationship is for the Federal
    Government to once and for all deal with us and address us in a
    government-to-government fashion.
        The second area that I think is not as difficult to do on
    an administrative level would be to have our Hawaii
    Congressional delegation help and encourage the Obama
    Administration and officials to give flexibility to terrific
    officials like Deputy Assistant Secretary Rodger Boyd to have a
    more direct federal relationship with the people versus having
    a federal-to-state relationship. That has been small time, but
    necessary, but now we need to advance the federal relationship
    between HUD, between Department of Energy, Department of
    Interior, Office of Native Hawaiian Relations needs to come
    directly and start to engage so that we can learn about the
    federal trust relationship and that they, in their agencies,
    can learn, so that we don't have this federal-to-state
    relationship get ingrained.
        Third, I think that one of the most powerful ways that our
    Hawaii Congressional delegation in partnership with Alaska and
    New Mexico and the other 35 states that have Native peoples is
    to continue doing, as Director Tuell has encouraged us to do
    over the last year, is to remind those legislators that we are
    the third Native peoples, and when there is an Indian energy
    bill, or when there is an education bill, that means Native
    energy, that means Native education. Just as your staff worked
    on the Native Class Act, and had Native Hawaiians included in
    it. We have got to keep educating and continuing that mantra
    that with trust lands, our Native solutions are very similar,
    if not exactly the same, and so to extend parity I think,
    Senator, you hit it on the head that word parity is a lifelong
    journey that the next generation of Hawaiian advocates, we will
    teach them to come up and to continue that story.
        The Chairman. Kali.
        Mr. Watson. Senator, I think I'm more of a developer
    mentality. There's no doubt about the need for the recognition
    of government-to-government between the groups. But I think
    from a pragmatic standpoint, in developments, I think some of
    the difficulties have been because of the limitation on
    funding, limitation and changes that are coming about, and the
    different federal departments.
        For example, rural development, with the changes in the
    populations, for example, Kapolei, they're going to lose their
    designation as rural area that would qualify for a lot of
    different funding that is available through that agency.
        So I think we need to change the laws at the federal level
    whereby instead of designating a rural area, rather designate
    it as trust lands that are available through these different
    departments.
        Similarly, with respect to the rural utilities under RD,
    it's been very difficult in the existing structure to access
    some of the funding or loan products. For example, the ones
    that Anahola is using in partnership with KIUC to develop a ten
    and 12 megawatts PV farm. To try and access that fund, if you
    are not a rural utility entity versus a homestead association,
    it's almost impossible. So I think there needs to be an
    analysis of the existing legislation or laws to make changes
    that provide that accessibility, so that our people, through
    their homestead associations or other types of entities, can
    access the fundings to do the developments, the economic
    engines that will allow them to not only build and start
    businesses, but more importantly educate our own people. It's
    very, very critical.
        I can go on and on about all the different federal laws
    that can be changed to help our people, but I think NAHASDA is
    a step. So we truly support and appreciate the work that you've
    done in the past and look forward to seeing you at home.
        The Chairman. Aloha.
        Kehau, do you have any comments on this question?
        Ms. Filimoeatu. I would agree with everything they have
    said so far, including na'i, we should take back the land
    maybe.
        [Laughter.]
        Ms. Filimoeatu. I'm not sure how much we can leverage with
    that. But I know you're doing wonderful, and our wahine over
    there, mahalo.
        The Chairman. Mahalo for your mana'o. It has been really
    great to hear from you. What you said for the record will be
    very, very important to what we're doing in Congress. So I want
    to thank you folks, mahalo nui loa for all of this.
        I want to say thank you to the third panel, and extend
    mahalo to everyone for participating in today's hearing. Your
    mana'o helps building the record on the importance of U.S.
    Senate Bill 65, and demonstrates how it is an effective and
    necessary piece of meeting that trust responsibility to Native
    Hawaiian people.
        Finally, I want to say a few words about my top legislative
    priority, U.S. Senate Bill 675, the Native Hawaiian Government
    Reorganization Act. I want to again thank the Hawaii
    delegation, because this bill has been important to all of us,
    and to Hawaii, and we continue to work together to move it
    forward. Native Hawaiians was mentioned the only federally
    recognized Native people without a government-to-government
    relationship with the United States. And we want to bring that
    parity forward. And my bill provides the Native Hawaiian people
    the same mechanisms of self-government, self-determination that
    other Native peoples currently enjoy under existing federal
    law. Its passage is long overdue, governmental parity for
    Native Hawaiians, American Indians and Alaska Natives, all of
    the first nations of the United States is pono, it's the right
    thing, and we'll bring that about with your support.
        I will continue to work to ensure that the Native Hawaiian
    people have their right to self-governance honored.
        So this is what we look forward to. I want to commend
    NAHASDA and HUD for your work in helping the country, and the
    people of our country out, and also the Native Hawaiians as
    well. And as you've heard from all of our witnesses, NAHASDA is
    very, very important to our future here in Hawaii.
        I also want to thank my staff from the American Affairs,
    Indiana Affairs group here, both our Loretta Tuell and also our
    minority side, also mahalo for coming; and for the staff of
    Senator Inouye, Hanabusa, also Hirono for helping out with this
    hearing today from my staff as well.
        I am happy at what has happened, and to tell you that in
    our Committee of Indian Affairs we've had good relationships
    with the minority side, and Rhonda Harjo has been a Deputy
    Staff Director and is here representing that side as well for
    Senator Barrasso from Wyoming who is a Vice Chair of this
    Committee.
        And my staff, I think you should know the names of them,
    Loretta Tuell, Lenna Aoki, Jade Danner and Christine Cardoza.
    And from my staff here in Hawaii Joan Ohashi, and Jesse and
    Keone and Daphne. And so to all of them, mahalo nui loa for
    your work in bringing this about.
        But this has been an important area, and you've really
    helped us with the record, and that's important to us and our
    work in Congress.
        And finally I want to say mahalo nui loa for the support
    you've given me in all of the years, and it has been a real
    privilege and an honor to represent you and the people of
    Hawaii of the United States of America, and really the rest of
    the world. And I thank God and ask for his blessings upon all
    of you, your families, your organizations, our great state and
    the governments here of council as well, and the United States
    of America.
        We are so grateful for the opportunities we have had. So
    mahalo nui loa.
        This hearing is adjourned.
        [Whereupon, at 12:48 p.m., the hearing was adjourned.]
                                A P P E N D I X

    Prepared Statement of Cheryl A. Causley, Chairwoman, National American
                             Indian Housing Council
    Introduction
        Dear Chairman Akaka, Vice Chairman Barrasso, and distinguished
    members of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. I am submitting this
    written statement in support of S. 65, the Hawaiian Homeownership
    Opportunity Act of 2011, on behalf of the National American Indian
    Housing Council (NAIHC). My name is Cheryl A. Causley and I am the
    Chairwoman of NAIHC, the only national, tribally-established non-profit
    organization dedicated to advancing housing, physical infrastructure,
    and economic and community development in Native American communities
    throughout the United States. I am also an enrolled member of the Bay
    Mills Indian Community in Brimley, Michigan, and the Executive Director
    of the Bay Mills Indian Housing Authority. I want to thank the
    Committee for the opportunity to submit written testimony in support of
    Hawaiian Homeownership Opportunity Act of 2011.
    Background on the National American Indian Housing Council (NAIHC)
        The NAIHC was founded in 1974 and has, for 38 years, served its
    members by: providing invaluable training and technical assistance (T/
    TA) to all Native Americans and their housing entities; providing
    information to Congress regarding the issues and challenges that Native
    American communities face in terms of housing, infrastructure, and
    community and economic development; and through working with key
    Federal agencies to address these important and, at times, vexing
    issues, and to help meet the challenges.
        The membership of NAIHC is expansive, comprised of 271 members
    representing 463 \1\ tribes and tribal housing organizations and, since
    May 2008, the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands. (DHHL), the sole
    recipient of the Native Hawaiian Housing Block Grant (NHHBG) program
    and the entity responsible for carrying out affordable housing
    activities for low-income native Hawaiian families who are eligible to
    reside on the Hawaiian home lands. The primary goal of NAIHC is to
    support Native housing entities in their efforts to provide safe,
    decent, affordable, culturally appropriate housing for Native people,
    including native Hawaiians.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ There are approximately 566 federally-recognized Indian tribes
    and Alaska Native villages in the United States, all of which are
    eligible for membership in NAIHC. Other NAIHC members include state-
    recognized tribes eligible for housing assistance under the 1937
    Housing Act and grandfathered in to the Native American Housing
    Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996, and the Department of
    Hawaiian Home Lands that administers the Native Hawaiian Housing Block
    grant.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Brief Summary of the Problems Regarding Housing in native Hawaiian
            Communities
        As this Committee knows, and as the Chairman is keenly aware, the
    Hawaiian home lands are located in various geographic areas of the
    islands, usually in rural areas, and a significant portion of the home
    lands contain topography that is problematic and costly for housing
    development. Like the remote locations of many Indian reservations on
    the mainland and in Alaska Native villages, there is a lack of basic
    infrastructure and economic development opportunities are difficult to
    identify and pursue on the native Hawaiian home lands.
        The poverty rate in Indian country is exceedingly high at 25.3
    percent. \2\ These same conditions exist on the native Hawaiian home
    lands. The employment and economic development challenges exacerbate
    the housing situation just as they do in Indian Country. Native
    Hawaiians face some of the worst housing and living conditions in the
    country and the availability of affordable, adequate, safe housing
    falls far below that of the general U.S. population. In Hawaii,
    according the Census, 17.4 percent of native Hawaiians are below the
    poverty rate compared to 9.4 percent of the total population in Hawaii.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \2\  US Census Bureau, American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage
    Month: November 2011. See http://www.census.gov.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        To further compound this problem, the cost of housing in Hawaii is
    inordinate. Hawaii ranks first in the United States for median home
    value at $560,200, compared to the national average of $197,600
    according to data from the Census for 2008. In 1996, HUD issued a
    report indicating that native Hawaiians have the highest percentage of
    housing problems (49 percent) of any group in the United States. It is
    not an overstatement that native Hawaiians experience the worst housing
    conditions of any group in the State of Hawaii. They also make up
    approximately 30 percent of Hawaii's homeless population.
        According the Department of Housing and Urban Development, 68
    percent of low-income native Hawaiian households have a housing
    obstacle that includes such things as affordability, overcrowding,
    structural quality, and availability, or any combination of these
    housing issues. For very low-income native Hawaiian households (those
    whose income does not exceed 50 percent of area median income), the
    needs are more severe, with 75 percent of households in this category
    facing at least one of the housing obstacles identified above.
    Conclusion and Recommendations
        It is against this backdrop that the passage of S. 65, the Hawaiian
    Home Ownership Opportunity Act becomes so critically important. The
    Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996
    (NAHASDA) was amended in 2000 by the Hawaiian Homelands Homeownership
    Act of 2000. A new title was added to NAHASDA, Title VIII, Housing
    Assistance for Native Hawaiians, that authorized the Native Hawaiian
    Housing Block Grant (NHHBG) program to provide affordable housing
    opportunities and activities for low-income native Hawaiians eligible
    to reside on the Hawaiian home lands. S. 65 would amend Section 824 of
    NAHASDA to authorize appropriations for the NHHBG program through
    fiscal year (FY) 2015. NAIHC unequivocally supports this Section of S.
    65.
        NAHASDA was enacted to provide Native American communities with new
    and creative tools necessary to develop culturally appropriate, safe,
    decent, and affordable housing. One such tool is the Section 184A Loan
    Guarantees for Native Hawaiian Housing program, known as Section 184A.
    The Section 184A program was established by Section 514 of the American
    Homeownership and Economic Opportunity Act of 2000 (P.L. 106-569,
    approved December 27, 2000), amended the Housing and Community
    Development Act of 1992 (12 U.S.C. 1715z-13b). This program provides a
    100 percent guarantee to lenders that make housing loans to native
    Hawaiian borrowers eligible to reside on the Hawaiian home lands.
        Native Hawaiians eligible to reside on the Hawaiian home lands have
    historically had limited access to private mortgage capital, due in
    large measure because lenders were understandably reluctant to do
    business on land that cannot be encumbered or alienated, such as the
    home lands. The Hawaiian home lands are held in trust. This program
    offers lenders a 100 percent guarantee in the event of a default. This
    guarantee makes private financing of home mortgages by private
    financial institutions possible, which would otherwise not be feasible
    because of the unique legal status of Hawaiian home lands. Through this
    program, eligible native Hawaiians can obtain a mortgage with a market
    rate of interest to purchase and rehabilitate, or to construct a single
    family home on the Hawaiian home lands.
        Section 3 of S. 65 would authorize this program through FY 2015 and
    make the program more flexible by including refinancing as a permanent
    eligible use of the guaranteed funds.
        The 100 percent guarantee provides the incentive for private
    lenders to market loans to this traditionally underserved population.
    Private financing is used to cover construction or acquisition costs,
    while Federal dollars are used only to guarantee payment in the event
    of a default. Individual native Hawaiian families who are eligible to
    reside on the Hawaiian home lands, the (state) Department of Hawaiian
    Home Lands (DHHL), the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, or private nonprofit
    organizations experienced in the planning and development of affordable
    housing for native Hawaiians are all eligible Section 184A borrowers.
    NAIHC enthusiastically supports this amendment to the Housing and
    Community Development Act of 1992.
        Section 4 of S. 65, would amend Title VI and Title VIII of NAHASDA
    to include the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands as an eligible entity
    to participate in the Federal guarantees for financing housing
    activities programs that tribes and tribal housing entities have
    participated in since NAHASDA was passed in 1996. Historically, as has
    been noted, private lenders and investors have been reluctant to do
    business in Indian Country or on native Hawaiian home lands for a
    variety of reasons, including remote locations, cumbersome procedures
    related to trust lands, and a simple lack of experience lending to this
    population.
        Under the Title VI program, HUD can guarantee 95 percent of
    outstanding principal and interest on a loan made by a private lender
    to an IHBG recipient for affordable housing activities. Borrowers
    pledge a portion of their current and future IHBG funds as security for
    the repayment of the federally guaranteed financial obligation. The 95
    percent guarantee has proven to be an incentive for lenders to get
    involved in the development of tribal housing. Section 4 of S. 65 would
    authorize the DHHL to secure a 95 percent guarantee loan based on a
    portion of the NHHBG to pursue eligible housing activities under the
    NHHBG program. Section 4 would also authorize the Title VI Federal
    Guarantees for Financing Tribal and Native Hawaiian Housing Activities
    programs through FY 2015. Including the NHHBG program activities as
    eligible under the native Hawaiian Housing programs is an important
    amendment to NAHASDA and NAIHC supports this measure without
    hesitation.
        I wish to conclude this written testimony by thanking Chairman
    Akaka, Vice Chairman Barrasso, and all members of the Senate Committee
    on Indian Affairs, for letting us express our views and our
    aspirations. The path to a self-sustaining economy is not achievable
    without a robust housing sector and Native American housing conditions
    will not be improved without the necessary tools. NAIHC and its
    membership believe that S. 65, the Hawaiian Homeownership Opportunity
    Act, is an important tool to provide culturally relevant affordable
    housing for native Hawaiians. Native American housing programs are not
    just about constructing houses, they are about building sustainable
    Native American communities--communities where health and safety are a
    top priority and where education can thrive. Together, we can continue
    the important work of building vibrant Native American communities
    throughout this great country.
                                     ______

    Prepared Statement of Craig ``Bo'' Kahui, Executive Director, La'i'opua
                                      2020

    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

                                     ______

     Prepared Statement of Hon. Don Young, U.S. Representative from Alaska
        Dear Chairman Akaka and Vice Chairman Barrasso,
        Thank you for organizing the Legislative Field Hearing on S. 65/
    H.R. 2648, the Hawaiian Homeownership Act. I would like to submit the
    following letter in support of this legislation.
        Homeownership is central to the American dream and one that has not
    been easily realized for many Native Americans. Because Native
    Hawaiians have an even more unique historical relationship with the
    State of Hawaii and Congress. This bill will help Native Hawaiian
    families and future generations become homeowners by reauthorizing
    critical federal programs.
        In 1921 , Congress passed the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act (HHCA),
    which set aside land in trust throughout the state for Hawaiian
    individuals with at least 50 percent Native blood. The HHCA also
    created the Hawaiian Homes Commission, a federal entity to administer
    the trust.
        When Hawaii became a state, it was given title to these lands. The
    Federal Government delegated administration to the state but retained
    the ability to enforce the trust and oversee the administration through
    reporting requirements and enforcement of HHCA. Because of this new
    responsibility the state created the Department of Hawaiian Homelands
    (DHHL) an agency that was created to replace the federal Hawaiian Homes
    Commission.
        To assist with the mandate of HHCA, Title VIII of the Native
    American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act (NAHASDA) was
    enacted. Title VIII authorizes a housing program for low-income
    residents of Hawaiian Home Lands. DHHL housing projects are focused on
    homeownership rather than rental properties. Unfortunately, Title VIII
    funds do not provide adequate funding which is why the Hawaiian
    Homeownership Opportunity Act is necessary.
        The Hawaiian Homeownership Opportunity Act would reauthorize
    programs within the Department of Housing and Urban Development that
    would provide loans for Native Hawaiians. Such loans would be used to
    construct, acquire, refinance, or rehabilitate homes located on
    Hawaiian Home lands.
        On July 26, 2011 Representative Hirano, Representative Hanabusa,
    and I introduced H.R. 2648 the companion bill to S. 65 the Hawaiian
    Homeowner Opportunity Act. It is clear that this bi-partisan bill
    acknowledges the importance of enabling Hawaiian homeownership. I
    strongly support the passage of S. 65 and will continue to reach out to
    the Hawaiian delegation and other Members of Congress to see this bill
    advance.
                                     ______

           Prepared Statement of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA)
        Aloha Committee Members. The Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA)
    thanks you for taking the time to conduct a legislative field hearing
    on April 13, 2012 on S. 65, The Hawaiian Homeownership Act of 2011. OHA
    is a unique, quasi-independent state agency established by the Hawai'i
    State Constitution and state statutes to better the conditions of
    Native Hawaiians (Hawai'i's indigenous people). Guided by nine trustees
    elected by the voters of Hawai'i, OHA advances the interests of Native
    Hawaiians and serves as a fiduciary for Native Hawaiian public trust
    funds and other resources.
        One of the ten strategic results identified in OHA's strategic plan
    is to increase stability in housing for Native Hawaiians. Accordingly,
    OHA offers the following testimony in support of the Hawaiian
    Homeownership Act of 2011.
    Native Hawaiians and Instability in Housing
        Limited resources required Native Hawaiians to develop careful land
    and resource management practices to support individuals and society,
    as well as to maximize available resources. Houses were developed with
    great consideration for their purpose to both the individual and the
    community. During the period of the Mahele in the 19th century, land
    use and resource management dramatically changed the economic,
    political, and social landscape of Hawai'i. In less than fifty years,
    development that was focused on economic profits from commercial
    agriculture operations diminished Native Hawaiian control of lands.
    Traditional Native Hawaiian building practices, land use, and ownership
    were virtually eliminated. These changes fostered the displacement of
    Native Hawaiians from ancestral lands and contributed to the breakdown
    of traditional kauhale or social housing communities.
        This legacy continues today. Over the past five years, Native
    Hawaiians have struggled with an unprecedented housing crisis. Growing
    numbers of homeless, limited affordable housing options, and difficult
    economic conditions are all contributing factors to housing
    instability.
        Census data alone does not reveal the entire story when it comes to
    housing instability and Native Hawaiians. Census tracts that cover
    homestead parcels show only the successful homeowners that have been
    able to qualify for and obtain leases. However, the remaining
    beneficiaries who are not able to qualify for leases, and Native
    Hawaiians who are not eligible for homesteads, have a need for housing
    as well.
        The definition of housing instability varies, but the term
    typically encompasses individuals who have difficulty paying rent,
    spend more than 50 percent of household income on housing, move
    frequently, live in overcrowded conditions, or ``double up'' with
    friends and relatives. Housing instability can be a risk factor for
    homelessness. (Cohen & Wardip, 2011.)
        Limited affordable housing stock and insufficient income are key
    underlying causes of housing instability for Native Hawaiians. Honolulu
    is considered the most expensive metro area in the nation for renters,
    and the median income for Native Hawaiians does not keep pace with the
    median Fair Market Rent for Hawai'i. (National Low Income Housing
    Coalition, 2010.) The lack of affordable housing options and rising
    housing costs may push Native Hawaiians into a state of housing
    instability.
        To support housing stability for Native Hawaiians, efforts must be
    made to raise Native Hawaiian income levels in order to enable Native
    Hawaiians to afford median home prices and rents. New affordable
    housing stock must also be created to meet the needs of the growing
    Native Hawaiian population. It is important to remember that stable,
    affordable housing has positive impacts on a myriad of quality of life
    indicators such as health, public safety, and family cohesion.
        Significantly, Native Hawaiians are overrepresented in both the
    unsheltered and sheltered homeless populations of the State of Hawai'i.
    Over 2,000 people, or 29 percent of shelter services recipients, were
    Native Hawaiian. Of those who utilize outreach services, including
    persons living unsheltered in cars, parks or other public places, 27
    percent identified themselves as Native Hawaiian or part Hawaiian. When
    heads of households were asked to identify the cause of their
    homelessness, more than half stated that they were unable to afford
    their rent. (University of Hawai'i Center on the Family, 2010.)
    The Office of Hawaiian Affairs' Role
        To promote systemic change in housing, OHA's strategic plan
    identifies as a strategic result the increase in housing stability for
    Native Hawaiians. OHA is accomplishing this goal by providing resources
    to housing and shelter projects and services such as financial literacy
    and homeowner education.
        OHA has been a strong funding partner in a variety of areas that
    affect housing. Since 2004, OHA has provided over $8.5 million for
    housing and related services through its grants program, including:

       $3 million annually for 30 years to the Department of
            Hawaiian Home Lands as debt service for bond financing to help
            20,950 Native Hawaiian applicants access affordable housing
            throughout the state;

       $1.5 million to establish a statewide revolving home loan
            with Habitat for Humanity to serve Native Hawaiians eligible
            for housing services;

       $3 million for the Governor's Homeless Initiative, a shelter
            on the leeward coast, and programs provided by partners
            including Catholic Charities Hawai'i, Family Promise of
            Hawai'i, and the United States Veterans Initiative; and

       Funding for financial skill building and for renovations and
            repairs with partners such as Hawaiian Community Assets,
            Nanakuli Housing Corporation, and Hale Kipa.

    The Hawaiian Homeownership Act of 2011
        The programs that will be extended by the passage of the Hawaiian
    Homeownership Act of 2011 play a crucial role in Hawai'i housing
    because they provide beneficiaries of the Department of Hawaiian Home
    Lands with access to mortgage products, housing development and related
    projects.
        Significantly, passage of the Act would also effect a beneficial
    expansion of the 184A loan guarantee program to include refinancing.
    Most homeowners with a mortgage take refinancing for granted. However,
    mortgages for homesteaders are largely limited to the 184A program, and
    as the economy has worsened, many homesteaders have found themselves in
    an unforeseen gap because they do not have the ability to refinance.
    Passage of the Act rectifies this needless disparity between
    homesteaders and other homeowners.
        Passage of the Act gives the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands
    access to the Title VI program, which allows the Department to leverage
    future block grant funds to finance affordable housing development.
    Affordable housing development in Hawai'i requires multiple financial
    partnerships to overcome the high cost of production. With limited
    access to state funding, the Title VI program gives Department of
    Hawaiian Home Lands an important tool to create stability in housing
    and be an attractive partner for the limited affordable housing
    development dollars in our state.
        Given the block grant program, Hawai'i's share of Hawaiian
    Homeownership Act funds has consistently been the minimum amount
    available, despite the high level of need and cost of housing in
    Hawai'i. As the national economy recovers, we look forward to continued
    stability and an increase in the availability of Hawaiian Homeownership
    Act funds to Native Hawaiians beyond those that qualify for Department
    of Hawaiian Homelands products.
        OHA supports S.65, The Hawaiian Homeownership Act of 2011, and its
    reaffirmation of the continuing trust relationship between the United
    States of America and Native Hawaiians. Thank you for the opportunity
    to comment.
                                     ______

      Prepared Statement of Paul P. Richards, President of the Waimanalo
                       Hawaiian Homes Association (WHHA)
        Honorable Senators Daniel K. Akaka, Sr. and Committee Member Daniel
    K. Inouye and Members of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, Aloha
    kakou!
        Mahalo nui loa for the opportunity to submit written testimony
    regarding S.65 Hawaiian Homeownership Act of 2011 as a follow up to the
    previous legislative field hearing held here on O'ahu, Hawai`i.
        My name is Paul P. Richards, President of the Waimanalo Hawaiian
    Homes Association (WHHA) a Native Hawaiian Organization (NHO) and a
    federally recognized IRS 501c-3 non-profit entity representing 644
    homestead household lessees and 81 na kupuna residing at Kulana Kauhale
    Maluhia O Na Kupuna located in Waimanalo.
        The residents of the Waimanalo Hawaiian Homes Association (WHHA)
    sincerely appreciate your thoughtfulness and determination in amending
    the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act
    (NAHASDA) as identified in S. 65 which authorizes the appropriations
    for housing assistance, loan guarantees for Native Hawaiian housing and
    eligibility of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) for Title
    VI Loan Guarantees. These amendments will certainly open the
    opportunity for our Native Hawaiian population in preparing for
    homeownership and by taking advantage of programs offered through the
    Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
        Our Association has taken positive steps towards financial literacy
    and ``practices'' within out homestead `ohana to ensure preparedness
    for homeownership begins within the ``four walls of their existing
    homes.'' Furthermore, ``education'' is the focal and primary pursuit we
    have instilled within our membership and residents ensuring the future
    successes are and have been measured by the increase and level of
    skills, techniques and critical thinking progression. For this reason,
    we have seen an increasing multitude of our recent generation prepared
    for homeownership through the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands and
    others through private venues.
        We strongly support S. 65, the intent and purposes proposed and
    hopefully the extension of these programs will continue beyond fiscal
    year 2015 or at minimum reauthorized for every five or ten fiscal
    years.
        We may not agree with some of the testimonies given during the
    field hearing and was confused with respect to those which did not or
    were not familiar with the intent of this U.S. Congressional
    legislation.
        However, we do believe there are independent, fully credentialed
    organizations and individuals besides those who were invited to testify
    that morning. Within our great state of Hawai`i, WHHA has continued to
    partnership and collaborate with these exceptional entities which have
    provided the highest quality of financial literacy, homeownership,
    individual and organization capacity building, debt and financial
    management services such organizations as HANO, HACBED, Office of
    Hawaiian Affairs (OHA)--Hiilei Aloha, NeighborWorks America and Hawaii
    Homeownership Center offering their programs and services, including
    independent contractors like Ms. Helen Wai, and Ms. Christine Vallez.
    We have included services provided by Alu Like, Inc. and Hawaii
    Technology Institute (HTI) whose community outreach and instructions
    helped to improve the level of employability of our homestead residents
    while increasing their potential towards homeownership.
        Please ensure within the legislation of S. 65 an inclusion and
    support for such organizations and businesses such as these are readily
    accessible and given equal opportunity to extend and continue its
    outreach in the Native Hawaiian communities. Their records within our
    community has blessed multitudes of young progressive and education
    Native Hawaiians the occasion to pre-qualify for homeownership loans
    and the elimination or control of debt accumulation.
        We ``strongly support'' S. 65 and extend our appreciation and
    ``mahalo nui'' to our Senators Akaka and Inouye for the thoughtfulness,
    inclusion and forethought for our Native Hawaiian population.
        Our blessings and always best wishes for good fortune, health and
    prosperity be with you both along with your `ohana, and fellow Senators
    of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs (SCIA), staff and supporters.
                                     ______

       Prepared Statement of Samson L. Brown, President, Aupuni O Hawai'i
        Aloha Mr. Chairman and members of the Committee. Thank you for the
    opportunity to offer testimony on the subject matter on S. 65 and/or
    its predecessor S. 710 for the betterment of the native Hawaiians. I am
    a indigenous man, National Hawaiian, and a native Hawaiian. I am please
    to share our understanding in this litigation and exploration in the
    role of Congress in resolving this subject matter for the native
    Hawaiians. We are Aupuni O Hawai'i, a native Hawaiian organization
    whose narrative is for the betterment of native Hawaiians as ascribed
    in Public no. 34--67th congress, 42 STAT 108, Hawaiian Home Commission
    Act 1920, a statue at large of the United States of America, hence the
    law of the land under Admiralty Jurisdiction (HHCA).
        The Homeownership Act of 2011 (S. 65) purports funding from the
    Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act (NAHASDA)
    under 25 U.S.C. 4191 et seq. to include the insertion of ``or
    Department'' after ``tribe'' for the taking of benefits from the tribes
    of Native Americans with the misclassification of a set mandate for the
    native Hawaiians Title 2, sec. 202 (7), HHCA to include in this bill. I
    am testifying before this committe on behalf of native Hawaiians whom
    receive unceasing marginalization for the basic fundamental subsistence
    by the State and U.S. Congressional Senators for the representation of
    the state of Hawai'i.
        My testimony today makes a number of points: (1) A classification
    of tribe for the native Hawaiians and with the intention of
    ``department'' leaves one to believe that we are American Indians and
    we are a non-governmental institute with a compact trust (P.L. 86-3,
    Hawaii state admission act, sec. 4) that is operating in disarray. (2)
    The inability to constitute finances by this measure is inaccurate and
    incongruous in the marginalization of said compact. (3) The define
    classification of native Hawaiians and Native Hawaiians is an ongoing
    distinction for the state of Hawaii to articulate its purpose in the
    state of Hawaii and I will discuss these points in more detail.
    1. A Classification of Tribe for the Native Hawaiians
        The treaty of the Hawaiian Kingdom and the United States is still
    in existence in the HHCA for this committee to ignore is to be
    blatantly arrogate and capricious in its ongoing managerial duty,
    furthermore to be noted as a tribe is to change an established distinct
    cultural recognized by an international compact for the conditions of
    our indigenous culture, I object with the intent/insertion of ``or
    Department'' after ``tribe'' in this bill to change our compact (HHCA)
    in the marginalization of our benefits to coffers vs the native
    Hawaiians. Furthermore the deception of
    2. The financial Marginalization of Our Compact
        HHCA, Title 2, sec. 204 and 207, in conjunction with section 4 of
    the admission act and article 12 of the Hawaii State Constitution, we
    the native Hawaiians continue to see the benefits disseminated by
    coffers like (CHNA) for the exclusion of receiving the full amount
    versus paltry amounts of funding. We conclude that sec. 4 of the
    admission act (P.L. 86-3) on proceeds received by this section should
    be given to the native Hawaiians funds under the Hawaiian Home
    Commission ACT as ascribed in sec. 4 of the admission act (P.L. 86-3)
    3. To Define a Class
        HHCA, Title 2, sec. 201 (7) defines the term ``Native Hawaiian''
    means any descendant of not less than one-half part of the blood of the
    races inhabiting the Hawaiian islands previous to 1778, whereas sec.
    206 restricts the ability of the state's governor to manage and/or
    operate authority in respect to Hawaiian home lands. We also assert
    that within HHCA that holds Title 3, the Nationals of the Kingdom of
    Hawai'i is placated without Title 2, sec. 201 (7) in HHCA, therefore we
    are not apples in a grove orchard of oranges for we are the soil,
    minerals, and the bloodline to life for this quasi-state (oranges).
    Conclusion
        This measure will cause an increase in poverty for the
    dissemination of our race by means of filtered our sovereign rights and
    to input egregious mandates to circumvent the betterment of the
    condition of native Hawaiians on our land by an open door policy to all
    non-Native Hawaiians onto our federal compact with the continuation of
    filtering monies from NAHASDA to coffers of the state of Hawai'i to
    services away for the native Hawaiians. We can only conclude that a
    remedy of sort is by the court of your peers and on the reelection
    circuit should the true native voices is not heeded by this committee
    and congress. And like Wounded Knee, we will prevail by means of
    intersession with the organizations of communities (not S. 2212) and
    the U.S. Congress for the betterment of native Hawaiians. Thank you for
    the opportunity to submit this testimony on behalf of all native
    Hawaiians-at-large before this Committee.
                                     ______

        Prepared Statement of Scottina Malia Ruis, Resource Management
                 Specialist, Department of Hawaiian Home Lands
        Aloha mai kakou,
        My name is Scottina Malia Ruis. I've spent the last 15 years
    serving Native Hawaiians through two Native Hawaiian Trusts: the Queen
    Lili'uokalani Children's Center and the Department of Hawaiian Home
    Lands. My expertise and comments below come from this service to my
    people and my continued commitment to the betterment of Native
    Hawaiians' socio-economic status, educational attainment and other
    elements of well being, to include improved living conditions, which
    will ultimately strengthen the Native Hawaiian people as a whole.
        Prince Jonah Kuhio never intended to divide the Native Hawaiian
    people into the ``haves'' and ``have-nots'' when he initiated and
    ultimately got the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act (HHCA) passed through
    Congress in 1920. Yet, this critical piece of legislation does just
    that. In addition, the HHCA is the foundation upon which Native
    Hawaiians of a specified blood quantum, as defined by Congress and not
    by the Hawaiian people, are allotted/awarded homeownership
    opportunities through the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL)--a
    State governed entity whose leadership changes far too frequently for
    any long term impacts to reach but a few Native Hawaiians. This further
    divides the ``haves'' from the ``have-nots'' with under 8,000 actual
    homes on Hawaiian Home Lands as of December 2010 and over 20,000
    eligible Native Hawaiians (as defined by the HHCA) on the DHHL wait
    list as of the same period. At this rate, in 100 years (by 2020) only a
    mere 30 percent or less of eligible Native Hawaiians will have been
    provided with said homeownership opportunities. Needless to say there
    are another 50,000 DHHL eligible Native Hawaiians that are NOT on the
    DHHL wait list and at least another 100,000 Native Hawaiians who are
    not ``Hawaiian enough'' to be served by DHHL and who some purport to be
    served by the Office Of Hawaiian Affairs--another State entity that has
    historically leaned toward advocacy vs. programs. Clearly, the need for
    adequate, affordable, homeownership opportunities for all Native
    Hawaiians is far from being met.
        With specific regard to NAHASDA, as authorized by Congress in 1996
    and amended in 2000 to include Native Hawaiians--all I can say is--
    ''Its about time''. However, the fact that NAHASDA Title VIII (with
    specific regard to Native Hawaiians) has yet to be reauthorized since
    the original is a poor reflection on the original intent of the
    legislation. All other thoughts aside, I strongly urge the Senate
    Committee on Indian Affairs to do what ever is necessary to reauthorize
    Title VIII of NAHASDA and ensure a federal funding commitment to those
    eligible Native Hawaiians as defined by NAHASDA.
        With specific regard to the reauthorization of 184A--the most
    critical elements that need to be considered are as follows:

       The use of the 184A for Refinancing of existing eligible
            homes, and
       The use of the 184A for Construction financing with NO
            interest due and NO payment required until the home is
            completed--realistically, it is impossible for a LOW-INCOME
            family to pay for rent AND mortgage simultaneously.

        While there are elements of NAHASDA, HCCA, and services provided by
    DHHL and/or OHA that could be improved to better reach more Native
    Hawaiians and afford more Native Hawaiians the opportunity of
    homeownership, the most important thing at this juncture is the
    reauthorization of funding for NAHASDA Title VIII and the
    aforementioned inclusions to the language of 184A.
        Thank you for the opportunity to submit this testimony. I am
    available for further discussion should the need arise.
        O wau me ka ha'aha'a,
                                     ______

      Response to Written Questions Submitted by Hon. Daniel K. Akaka to
                                 Rodger J. Boyd

    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]