[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 56 (Monday, April 9, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1996-S1998]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Remembering Daniel Kahikina Akaka
Ms. HIRONO. Madam President, I rise today in remembrance of Senator
Daniel Kahikina Akaka. Senator Akaka, who served in the Senate for 23
years and sat at this desk, passed away on Friday morning, with his
wife of nearly 70 years, Millie, and his extended family at his side.
Since his passing, people across Hawaii have shared their memories of
and tributes to Senator Akaka. Each of their stories has a common
thread--Senator Akaka's dedication to living with ``aloha.'' Senator
Akaka embodied the ``aloha'' spirit. From meeting nearly every Hawaii
family who came to his office for a Capitol tour to serving as a
tireless advocate for veterans, the Native Hawaiian community, and
Hawaii families, Senator Akaka's care, empathy, and compassion were
evident to everyone who knew him.
When I was elected to the Senate, I requested Senator Akaka's desk to
be my desk. I did this because it represented continuity as Senator
Akaka's successor, and the desk is a symbol to me of his years of
service and the ``aloha'' he had for this body and the people of
Hawaii.
The last time I saw Senator Akaka was at last year's American
Logistics Association Hawaii conference. This gathering brings together
Hawaii businesses from across the State to market their products for
sale to military commissaries. Over 20 years ago, Senator Akaka worked
with small businesses and the military commissary network to create
this conference because he understood how much receiving a commissary
contract would mean to Hawaii's businesses, especially Hawaii's small
businesses.
The conference started with one small table with a few products and
grew to an entire ballroom full of local products and entrepreneurs.
Last year, the conference was named for Senator Akaka.
That is who Senator Akaka was. He brought people together to solve
problems and create opportunities. His legislative style wasn't flashy
or over the top. He put his head down and got to work, and he built
relationships with colleagues to get things done.
Senator Akaka's work on behalf of our Nation's veterans also
reflected his persistent, effective style. After serving in World War
II, Senator Akaka went to college under the GI bill and became an
educator. As chairman of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, he was
a strong advocate for expanding the GI bill for a new generation of
veterans. He authored the post-9/11 GI bill, which was signed into law
in 2011.
Senator Akaka also championed the cause of the Filipino veterans of
World War II in Congress. These veterans fought for the United States
but were denied the benefits and citizenship they were promised.
Senator Akaka introduced legislation that would restore these veterans'
benefits and, with his leadership, this bill passed the Senate.
Later he and Senator Inouye successfully included language in the
2009 stimulus bill that provided onetime payments for these Filipino
veterans through the newly created Filipino Veterans Equity
Compensation Fund.
Senator Akaka also introduced bipartisan legislation to allow these
veterans to reunite with their children and families in the United
States. While this bill did not pass, President Obama established
through executive order the Filipino World War II Veterans Parole
Program in 2016 to allow the children of these veterans to reunite with
their parents in the United States. Some of these veterans have been
waiting for decades to reunite with their children.
Although Senator Akaka had retired, his insistence on bipartisanship
helped to build broad support for President Obama's decision to issue
this Executive order.
Senator Akaka was also instrumental in building support to award the
Filipino Veterans of World War II the Congressional Gold Medal that
passed in 2016, after years of continued effort.
Senator Akaka was also a champion for America's Native people and
served as chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. As the first
Native Hawaiian to serve in the U.S. Senate, Senator Akaka fought to
expand funding for Native Hawaiian healthcare, education, and housing
programs.
In 1993, President Clinton signed into law Senator Akaka's apology
resolution, which acknowledged the Federal Government's role in the
overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1893. The resolution's unanimous
passage marked the 100th anniversary of the overthrow and was a
watershed moment for Native Hawaiians. It served as the first official
admission by the United States of the role it played in the overthrow
of the Hawaiian Kingdom.
Senator Akaka later worked on the Hawaiian Home Lands Recovery Act.
This law required the United States to make the Hawaiian homelands
whole by ensuring a repayment of lost use of lands originally set aside
by Congress but which were nevertheless transferred to or otherwise
acquired by the Federal Government.
The apology resolution and the Lands Recovery Act provided the
foundation for Senator Akaka's namesake legislation--the Native
Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act, often referred to as the Akaka
bill, to establish a process to secure Federal recognition for Native
Hawaiians to achieve parity with the Alaska Natives and American
Indians.
When I served in the House of Representatives, I introduced the House
companion to the Akaka bill and testified about the importance of
passing this legislation in both the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate.
Senator Akaka reintroduced the Akaka bill for more than 10 years, but
it did not pass before he retired.
[[Page S1997]]
A former longtime Akaka staff member reflected on the Senator's
commitment to the Native Hawaiian community. She said:
Senator Akaka worked tirelessly to address the longstanding
issues resulting from the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii.
He felt strongly that there needed to be a process to bring
all parties to the table because without such a process these
issues remained festering sources of emotional pain that
would stand in the way of Hawaii being able to move forward
as a state and for Native Hawaiians to move forward as
indigenous peoples.
Building on his work, in 2016, the Department of the Interior adopted
rules creating a process that could reestablish a government-to-
government relationship between the United States and Native Hawaiians.
While the Native Hawaiian community has differences on the issue of
Federal recognition, everyone can agree that Senator Akaka pushed for
the passage of the Akaka bill because he wanted equity and justice for
Native Hawaiian people.
Senator Akaka's advocacy for our country's Native people could best
be summarized in his own words during his farewell address to the
Senate, where he said:
The United States is a great country. One of the things
that makes us so great is that though we have made mistakes,
we change, we correct them, we right past wrongs. It is our
responsibility as a nation to do right by America's native
people, those who exercised sovereignty on lands that later
became part of the United States. While we can never change
the past, we have the power to change the future.
Many people also may not know that Senator Akaka was just as
committed to protecting Hawaii's land and water resources as he was to
improving the lives of Hawaii's people. In 1992, Senator Akaka
successfully passed his Tropical Forest Recovery Act into law, which
served as a basis for Federal conservation efforts that protect
Hawaii's plants and forests.
As with so many of his initiatives, the Senator was much ahead of his
time. This act provided a vision and blueprint for tomorrow's
conservation ethic, one that stressed the integration of ecology,
livelihoods, and culture; in short, an ethic that emphasized sacred
relationship between people and place, community and sustainably
managed resources.
Senator Akaka also leaves behind a demonstrated commitment to
bipartisanship. He was widely known for his faithful attendance at the
Senate Prayer Breakfast every week. Colleagues who attend that
breakfast regularly asked me about how he and Millie were doing.
During his farewell speech, Senator Akaka said:
In Congress and in our nation, we are truly all together,
in the same canoe. If we paddle together in unison, we can
travel great distances. If the two sides of the canoe paddle
in opposite directions, we will only go in circles.
Senator Akaka is deeply missed by all the people in Hawaii, and I
dare say he will be deeply missed by his colleagues in both the U.S.
House and the Senate. The maile lei is here to signify his devotion and
commitment to the people of Hawaii.
I yield the floor to my colleague Senator Brian Schatz.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Hawaii.
Mr. SCHATZ. Madam President, I thank Senator Hirono for her poignant
remarks, and I want to offer my condolences to the family.
Senator Daniel Kahikina Akaka died on Friday at the age of 93,
leaving behind a legacy of integrity, kindness, and service to Hawaii
and to the Nation.
In Washington, Senator Akaka was an ambassador of ``aloha.'' He
showed people kindness, respect, and hospitality rarely seen in this
town. He didn't just represent Hawaii's interests in the Congress; he
showed the world what Hawaii represents; in the words of President
Kennedy, ``all that we are and all that we hope to be.''
He started that service as a welder in the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers. He fought in World War II in the Pacific arena, traveling to
places like Tinian and Saipan. When World War II ended, he took
advantage of the GI bill to attend the University of Hawaii to become a
teacher--an occupation he never fully left behind.
Senator Akaka served for 36 years in Congress--14 years in the House
and 22 in the U.S. Senate. He was loved by colleagues in both parties
because he was kind to everyone. In fact, he never said a bad word
about anyone, not even in private. The foundation for his kindness came
from his faith, which he learned from his mother Annie.
He was a faithful attendee of the weekly Senate Prayer Breakfast,
where he would lead Members singing hymns. He always began with the
history of each song--a tradition he passed on to our own Chaplain,
Chaplain Black, who continues it today.
Danny Akaka was also very humble. There were times he didn't get
credit for the work he did here because he didn't care about the
credit. He cared about the work, about making a difference for people,
especially those whom he represented.
He was deeply convinced that the government could improve people's
lives because he had seen that in his own life as a beneficiary of the
GI bill. He would become the Senator who modernized that bill, bringing
it into the 21st century. He always fought hard for veterans--for their
benefits and their recognition, no matter the color of their skin or
their country of origin. When someone once challenged him on the cost
of benefits for veterans, he answered by saying: ``The price has
already been paid, many times over, by the service of the brave men and
women who wore our nation's uniform.''
Senator Akaka never forgot the costs of war on our country, and he
did everything he could to make sure his colleagues didn't either. He
voted against the Iraq war and advocated for peace and nuclear
nonproliferation throughout his career.
He was unrelenting when it came to the causes that were most
important to him. As the only Native Hawaiian to ever serve in the U.S.
Senate, he never stopped working to see Native Hawaiians recognized in
a government-to-government relationship with the United States.
In his years on the Indian Affairs Committee, including as the
chairman, he successfully sponsored the apology resolution, which
recognized that the overthrow of the Queen--the only monarch in the
United States--was illegal and facilitated by agents of our own Federal
Government.
This was the theme of Senator Akaka's career--to advocate for people
who did not have power and for people who were vulnerable. He was a
champion for the Federal Government employees who, to this day,
continue to be a punching bag for some. He sponsored the 2012
Whistleblower Protection Act, which ensures that Federal workers cannot
be retaliated against if they report waste, fraud, and abuse. That was
just one of the many things he did to make the Federal Government a
better employer.
Senator Akaka also fought for consumers. He helped people who were
trying to get out of credit card debt. He made sure investors had an
advocate at the Securities and Exchange Commission, and he protected
people who sent remittances around the world so they aren't swindled
out of their hard-earned money.
Every morning he would begin his day by meeting visitors from Hawaii.
Those connections to his constituents--to home--drove his work and kept
him focused on helping Hawaii.
Much of his work was possible because of the bipartisanship
relationships he built with other Senators. Some of his best friends in
the body--Senators Inhofe, Cochran, and Barrasso--were people with whom
he did not agree very often. Every Member of this body--those who knew
Senator Akaka and those who didn't--can learn from his legacy--a legacy
of quiet leadership, of treating others the way you want to be treated,
and focusing on the things that matter to the people we are here to
represent.
I want to end with a few words from Chaplain Black. This is what he
had to say about Senator Akaka:
There's something called ethical congruence--it refers to
when your actions back up your rhetoric. And most of us
struggle with that, because it's very easy to say something
but much more difficult to live it. There's a verse in
Scripture that says, we are living letters, so our lives
should be something that people should be able to read.
Francis of Assisi said: preach the gospel everywhere you go;
when necessary, use words. Senator Akaka preached the gospel
everywhere he went, and very rarely had to use words. That's
the kind of ethical congruence that he had.
[[Page S1998]]
The U.S. Senate and our country would be better off if there were
more leaders like Danny. He fought for the vulnerable, promoted peace,
and looked for common ground. Most of all, he embodied the ``aloha''
spirit and showed us all what it means to have a pure heart and be a
true public servant.
Our thoughts are with the family of Senator Akaka today, with Millie,
his children, his grandchildren, his great-grandchildren, and his
staff. He will be remembered and greatly missed.
I yield the floor.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Moran). Without objection, it is so
ordered.