[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 63 (Monday, May 7, 2012)]
[House]
[Pages H2292-H2295]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  AUTHORIZING USE OF EMANCIPATION HALL TO CELEBRATE BIRTHDAY OF KING 
                               KAMEHAMEHA

  Mr. HARPER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the 
concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 105) authorizing the use of 
Emancipation Hall in the Capitol Visitor Center for an event to 
celebrate the birthday of King Kamehameha.
  The Clerk read the title of the concurrent resolution.
  The text of the concurrent resolution is as follows:

                            H. Con. Res. 105

       Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring),

     SECTION 1. USE OF EMANCIPATION HALL FOR EVENT TO CELEBRATE 
                   BIRTHDAY OF KING KAMEHAMEHA.

       (a) Authorization.--Emancipation Hall in the Capitol 
     Visitor Center is authorized to be used for an event on June 
     24, 2012, to celebrate the birthday of King Kamehameha.
       (b) Preparations.--Physical preparations for the conduct of 
     the ceremony described in subsection (a) shall be carried out 
     in accordance with such conditions as may be prescribed by 
     the Architect of the Capitol.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Mississippi (Mr. Harper) and the gentlewoman from Hawaii (Ms. Hanabusa) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Mississippi.


                             General Leave

  Mr. HARPER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members

[[Page H2293]]

have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Mississippi.
  There was no objection.
  Mr. HARPER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I rise in support of House Concurrent Resolution 105, authorizing the 
use of Emancipation Hall on June 24 to celebrate the birthday of King 
Kamehameha, a legendary figure in Hawaiian history and culture.
  On June 11, the people of Hawaii will celebrate the 96th annual 
Kamehameha Day, commemorating the life of Kamehameha the Great, who 
between 1795 and 1810 unified the islands into the kingdom of Hawaii. 
Known for being a fierce warrior who fought for unity and independence, 
King Kamehameha was highly regarded for ruling with fairness and 
compassion. His law, known as the Law of the Splintered Paddle, 
specifically protected civilians in wartime and is today a model for 
human rights throughout the world.
  A statue of King Kamehameha graces the Capitol Visitor Center as part 
of the National Statuary Hall Collection. In adopting the resolution, 
we will authorize the use of this space for the celebration of his life 
and accomplishments.
  I thank the gentlewoman from Hawaii (Ms. Hanabusa) for introducing 
this concurrent resolution, and I urge my colleagues to support it.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. HANABUSA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, House Concurrent Resolution 105 authorizes the use of 
Emancipation Hall in the Capitol Visitor Center for a celebration on 
June 24, 2012. This will be the 43rd time that we have celebrated the 
birthday of King Kamehameha in the Nation's Capitol.
  Mr. Speaker, Hawaii has a unique history. We are, of course, the 50th 
State, and we are the only State that comes with a kingdom as part of 
our history. June 11 is the recognized State holiday. King Kamehameha 
was born around 1758, and he unified the eight Hawaiian Islands by 
1810. He is also known as King Kamehameha I. His birthday has been 
celebrated for about 140 years in my State, beginning in 1871 by his 
great-grandson King Kamehameha V.
  The statue that you see in the Capitol Visitor Center today has also 
a fascinating history. It was commissioned for the then-kingdom by 
Thomas Gould, and he finished it in 1880. It was made in Italy. He was 
an American sculptor. The ship actually sank that was bringing the 
first Kamehameha statue to Hawaii, and in 1883, the second statue made 
its way to Hawaii. What stands in Emancipation Hall today is molded 
from the second statue. That is the official statue that stands in 
front of what we call Ali'iolani Hale, which is the home of the Hawaii 
Supreme Court. The first statue was discovered and stands in the Big 
Island, which is the birthplace of King Kamehameha.
  As you look at the statue--and I invite everyone to do that--you will 
see that it stands approximately 8\1/2\ feet tall. He has a helmet and 
a feather cape, and they are made from very rare bird feathers. His 
left hand has a spear, and that was his statement that he was ready to 
defend his kingdom. But his right hand is open in a gesture, and that 
is to welcome people, and that is what we call the gesture of, of 
course, aloha.
  Lei draping is the customary celebration which will also happen on 
June 24 here, and what you see there is a tradition that has become 
almost uniquely Hawaii's. Lei is the way that we bond. And the lei 
draping is symbolic of the bonds that people have in Hawaii, and it is 
a very close and strong bond. The act of presenting a lei is something 
that many identify with Hawaii as they come to visit our beautiful 
islands.
  As we all know, the President was born in Hawaii, and on June 20, 
2010, he issued Proclamation 8534 in honor of the bicentennial of the 
uniting of the islands by King Kamehameha. This is what the President 
had to say in that proclamation:

       On this bicentennial King Kamehameha Day, we celebrate the 
     history and heritage of the Aloha State, which has 
     immeasurably enriched our national life and culture. The 
     Hawaiian narrative is one of both profound triumph and, 
     sadly, deep injustice. It is the story of Native Hawaiians 
     oppressed by crippling disease, aborted treaties, and the 
     eventual conquest of their sovereign kingdom. These grim 
     milestones remind us of an unjust time in our history, as 
     well as the many pitfalls in our Nation's long and difficult 
     journey to perfect itself. Yet, through the peaks and valleys 
     of our American story, Hawaii's steadfast sense of community 
     and mutual support shows the progress that results when we 
     are united in a spirit of limitless possibility.

  This particular celebration is also very special for the people of 
Hawaii, and I believe for Members of this House as well. Senator Daniel 
K. Akaka will be retiring at the end of his term, and as many of you 
are aware of, he served 14 years in this House and the last 22 in the 
United States Senate. He is the epitome of aloha. He is the epitome of 
everything that is good about Hawaii.
  In honor of him, I would like to read a portion of what he said in 
the June 2009 Kamehameha Lei Draping Ceremony here because I think he 
gave a different perspective of King Kamehameha that many of us do not 
know.

                              {time}  1610

  He said:

       As a military leader and statesman, Kamehameha was a 
     brilliant visionary who pursued opportunities for progress. 
     He pioneered military strategies that included unique 
     flanking tactics and the use of cannons on the bow of his 
     canoes. Those revolutionary concepts enabled Kamehameha to 
     succeed in battle and are principles recognized and taught to 
     this day at West Point. Beyond his military accolades, 
     Kamehameha understood that if his people were going to 
     thrive, they must be unified. Through governance, Kamehameha 
     brought Native Hawaiians together and established an 
     environment where they could perpetuate their heritage and 
     way of life. Under his leadership, the government 
     strengthened its autonomy and self-sufficiency. These actions 
     set the kingdom's framework for international commerce and 
     diplomacy that brought peace and prosperity to his people.

  As we all know, Senator Akaka is the only Native Hawaiian who serves 
in the Congress of the United States.
  It is very important for us to know that King Kamehameha was very 
thoughtful, even in the days that he was uniting the Hawaiian Islands. 
He is known in Hawaii for the Law of the Splintered Paddle, also called 
Kanawai Mamalahoe. What he basically said was that we have a 
responsibility to protect civilians at the time of war, that every 
human life was precious, and it was wrong for the powerful to mistreat 
the weak.
  The context of this story is also very moving. Someone who didn't 
know who he was actually hit him on the head with a paddle and, of 
course, it splintered. When they found out that they had hit him, they 
all thought that their lives would come to an end. But instead, he 
decreed the Law of the Splintered Paddle. This is the visionary who 
united the Hawaiian Islands.
  By this resolution, we honor this great person and also all that 
makes Hawaii special and unique.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HARPER. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. HANABUSA. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from American Samoa (Mr. Faleomavaega).
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of 
House Concurrent Resolution 105, to authorize the use of the 
Emancipation Hall in the Capitol Visitor Center for the Lei Draping 
Ceremony on June 24, 2012, to celebrate the birthday of the great 
warrior, King Kamehameha.
  I want to thank my colleagues, Ms. Hanabusa and Ms. Hirono, for their 
leadership, and to all the members of the Hawaiian congressional 
delegation for their support of this important legislation. I also want 
to take this opportunity to commend my good friend, Senator Daniel 
Akaka, for his stewardship on this and many other issues benefiting the 
people of Hawaii. Senator Akaka has been an integral part of the Lei 
Draping Ceremony for the past 36 years, and it is befitting that his 
outstanding service and dedication to the people of Hawaii will be 
recognized in next month's ceremony.
  Mr. Speaker, for more than 40 years, the Hawaiian congressional 
delegation and the Hawaii State Society of Washington, D.C., has hosted 
the Lei Draping Ceremony on or about the second week of June to 
coincide with the celebration of King Kamehameha Day in

[[Page H2294]]

the State of Hawaii. Because King Kamehameha's statue has been moved to 
the Emancipation Hall of the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center, it now 
requires the enactment of a congressional resolution to authorize this 
annual celebration; hence, House Concurrent Resolution 105 is being 
considered before the House today.
  Mr. Speaker, for some 2,000 years, the Hawaiian Islands existed under 
some tremendous rivalries among the Native Hawaiian warring chiefs. 
After almost 10 years of fighting, King Kamehameha brought all of the 
Hawaiian Islands under one rule, thus fulfilling an ancient prophecy 
that one day a high chief will be born and will defeat the chiefs of 
the other islands and thereby bring all the eight Hawaiian Islands 
under one rule.
  Mr. Speaker, King Kamehameha, while a mountain of a man--standing at 
6 feet, 8 inches tall and weighing about 300 pounds and a great warrior 
of many feats--perhaps is better known for his foresight and for the 
peace and stability he brought to the Hawaiian Islands. He was shrewd 
in building prosperity for his people by encouraging agricultural 
development and promoting commercial trade in Europe, and even with the 
United States.
  While he was open to new ideas, he was cautious and circumspect in 
the old ways. It was said that before the unification of the Hawaiian 
Islands in 1782, King Kamehameha, during a raid, came across two 
unarmed fishermen, and as he attempted to slay the fishermen, his foot 
was caught between two rocks. In defending themselves, the two 
fishermen immediately hit King Kamehameha on the head with a large 
paddle, broke it, and left him for dead. King Kamehameha survived, and 
some 12 years later, the fishermen were caught and brought before the 
King. Rather than seeking revenge on the fishermen, King Kamehameha set 
them free with gifts. From then on, King Kamehameha, declared what is 
known now today in Hawaiian history as the Law of the Splintered 
Paddle, or Mamalahoe, as known among the Hawaiian people. The Law of 
the Splintered Paddle has become the basis of many modern human rights 
laws regarding the treatment of unarmed men, women, and children and 
that they are not to be harmed when traveling along the roadside.
  In his time, King Kamehameha strived to maintain the sovereignty of 
his people. He created a unified legal system and did not allow non-
Hawaiians to own land. These efforts came at the height of colonialism 
in the Pacific region, when one after another Pacific island succumbed 
to the colonial powers.
  Mr. Speaker, I submit to you and to my colleagues and to the American 
people that the Native Hawaiian, King Kamehameha, was one of the 
greatest warrior chiefs who has ever lived among the Polynesian people. 
For anyone who has ever visited the Hawaiian Islands--now, proudly, the 
50th State of our Nation--just think that during the late 1700s, he, 
with a fleet of some 900 war canoes and with some 20,000 warriors, 
embarked upon one of the greatest feats in military history--to unite 
the Hawaiian Islands under Kamehameha's rule, which took almost 10 
years to achieve. And for some 100 years, King Kamehameha and his 
descendents ruled the Hawaiian Islands as an independent and sovereign 
nation.

  King Kamehameha, indeed, was a true warrior of the first order. He 
was a master of the ancient Hawaiian martial arts, known to the 
Hawaiians as lua. We Samoans call it limalama. He fulfilled another 
prophesy, whereby anyone who would move what was known as the Naha 
Stone, which weighed only 4,500 pounds--Kamehameha moved the stone, 
again, fulfilling another prophecy that whoever was able to move the 
Naha Stone would rule the Hawaiian Islands. Kamehameha fulfilled that 
prophesy.
  Of interest also, Mr. Speaker, King Kamehameha's military tactics are 
still being studied at our West Point Military Academy at New York.
  In sports, he was a master surfer. In those days, the surfboards 
weighed over a hundred pounds. Can you imagine a 6-foot, 8-inch man 
surfing with a board that is about a hundred pounds in weight?
  Another famous ancient Hawaiian sport was to jump off the high cliffs 
just to jump in the ocean. But one of the sports that King Kamehameha 
was very famous for--specialized in--was the idea that three spears 
would be thrown at you, and what he would do is let two spears pass 
you, then he would carry two spears, catch the other two spears, and 
bury the remaining two spears. Try that, Mr. Speaker, and see if you 
might be able to do this.
  The bottom line, Mr. Speaker, is I want to thank the gentlelady from 
Hawaii (Ms. Hanabusa) for her sponsorship of this legislation. Let's 
pass House Concurrent Resolution 105.
  And I thank my friend from Mississippi for his assistance in managing 
this bill.
  Mr. HARPER. Mr. Speaker, I do not have any further requests for time, 
and I am prepared to close.
  I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  Ms. HANABUSA. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time. 
However, I would like to, first of all, thank the gentleman from 
Mississippi for managing this legislation and bringing it to the floor; 
Speaker Boehner, Chairman Lungren, and Ranking Member Brady for 
allowing it to come forward as well; and the Architect of the Capitol, 
the Capitol Police, and all others who will assist in this matter. And, 
of course, the people of Hawaii.
  Mr. Speaker, I hope that we'll pass this measure, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  Ms. HIRONO. Mr. Speaker, Aloha. I rise today in support of H. Con. 
Res. 105, which authorizes the use of Emancipation Hall in the Capitol 
Visitor's Center for the annual Kamehameha Day Lei Draping on June 24, 
2012.
  The event has been held on or around June 11th to coincide with the 
celebration of Kamehameha Day, a state holiday in Hawaii. The 
Kamehameha Day Lei Draping has been hosted by the Hawaii Congressional 
delegation and the Hawaii State Society of Washington DC since 1969; it 
parallels the lei draping ceremonies taking place at the Kamehameha 
statues on the islands of Oahu and Hawaii.
  Commonly believed to be born in about 1758, Kamehameha came from a 
family of alii (chiefs) on the island of Hawaii and was raised to 
become a skilled warrior in the traditional ways of combat. In 1778, as 
a young man, Kamehameha met the world-renowned navigator, Captain James 
Cook, the first European to visit Hawaii. Kamehameha later led a 
successful campaign for control of his native island of Hawaii and 
subsequently conquered the islands of Maui, Molokai, Lanai, Kahoolawe, 
and Oahu. With the agreement by King Kaumualii of Kauai to accept 
Kamehameha's rule in 1810, the island chain became a united kingdom for 
the first time. The islands became known collectively as Hawaii from 
that point on.
  Under Kamehameha's reign, the islands became more involved in 
international commerce and a center for the sandalwood trade. As his 
kingdom opened up to the world and began adopting many western ways, 
Kamehameha remained an ardent defender of traditional Hawaiian culture 
and way of life, including restoring sacred sites. In the words of 
famed British explorer Captain George Vancouver, King Kamehameha was a 
man with ``an open, cheerful and sensible mind; combined with great 
generosity of disposition.'' Greatly mourned at the time of his passing 
in 1819, he continues to be revered in Hawaii and remains a respected 
historical figure today. A holiday in his honor was decreed by 
Kamehameha V, his great-grandson, in 1871.
  This year marks the 43rd year of the annual Kamehameha Lei Draping 
Ceremony, which brings together people from Hawaii from all over the 
Washington area. Many also travel from the islands to take part in this 
beautiful showcase of traditional Hawaiian culture, including hula 
performances, traditional Hawaiian music, and honorary chants.
  This yearly celebration would not be possible without the help and 
assistance of the outstanding staff of the Committee on House 
Administration, the Office of the Architect of the Capitol, and the 
Office of the Sergeant At Arms. We thank them again for their support 
this year.
  A concurrent resolution must be passed to authorize the use of the 
space for this event due to the Kamehameha statue location in 
Emancipation Hall.
  I urge my colleagues to support H. Con. Res. 105.

                              {time}  1620

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Harper) that the House suspend the 
rules and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res. 105.

[[Page H2295]]

  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Ms. HANABUSA. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this question will be postponed.

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