[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 83 (Tuesday, June 21, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6906-S6907]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             NATIVE HAWAIIAN GOVERNMENT REORGANIZATION ACT

  Mr. AKAKA. Mr. President, I rise today to talk about S. 147 the 
Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act of 2005. My colleague, 
the junior Senator from Arizona, for whom I have great respect, has 
inserted several documents written by outside sources into the 
Congressional Record over the past months, criticizing my legislation 
as a racebased measure. I vehemently disagree with his characterization 
of my bill as race-based.
  We will be debating S. 147 on the floor of the Senate in a few weeks 
and, at that time, we will have a full opportunity to talk about the 
legislation, which extends the Federal policy of selfgovernance and 
self-determination to Native Hawaiians, Hawaii's indigenous peoples, 
thereby establishing parity in Federal policy toward American Indians, 
Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians.
  S. 147 is widely supported in Hawaii. Governor Linda Lingle has 
testified twice in 4 years in support of this bill. The Hawaii State 
Legislature has passed resolutions in support of Federal recognition 
for Native Hawaiians in 2000, 2001, and 2005. Resolutions in support 
have also been passed by the

[[Page S6907]]

Alaska Federation of Natives and National Congress of American Indians. 
Finally, a substantial number of my constituents, Native Hawaiians and 
non-Native Hawaiians support this bill.
  In 1993, P.L. 103-150, the Apology Resolution, was enacted into law. 
The Act provides an apology to Native Hawaiians for the participation 
of U.S. agents in the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1893 and 
sets up a process of reconciliation between Native Hawaiians and the 
United States. My colleague from Arizona has submitted multiple 
articles criticizing the Apology Resolution and purporting to justify 
one of the most painful experiences in Hawaii's history, the overthrow 
of the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1893.
  I have worked on this bill for the past 6 years with the rest of my 
colleagues in Hawaii's Congressional delegation. This bill is a step in 
the right direction for all people of Hawaii because it provides a 
structured process that will allow us to finally resolve many of the 
longstanding issues resulting from the overthrow. It is disturbing that 
opponents to the bill rely so heavily on mischaracterizations of the 
legislation to advocate their position.
  I stand by Hawaii's history as enacted in P.L. 103-150. The facts as 
cited are well-documented by historians. It greatly saddens me that the 
opponents to my bill feel the need to rewrite Hawaii's history, as 
painful as it is for those of us who have lived it, in order to 
advocate their position on S. 147. It is one thing to oppose my bill. 
It is quite another, however, to trivialize the history of Hawaii.

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