[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.