[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 68 (Thursday, April 26, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S2475]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         REMEMBERING DAN AKAKA

  Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, I would like to take a moment to 
recognize the life and achievements of Dan Akaka, a veteran, educator, 
U.S. Senator, and most importantly, a dear friend of mine. Dan passed 
away recently after 93 years of life imbued with the aloha spirit, and 
I have been reflecting on his legacy of quiet but effective work in the 
Senate.
  Dan Akaka was a tireless advocate for indigenous people. As I was 
working on the 2013 reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, 
his cooperation and persistence as chairman of the Indian Affairs 
Committee helped include important provisions to protect Native-
American women from violence. He also worked hard to support vital 
programs that provided education, healthcare, housing, and other basic 
services for Tribes across the country.
  A World War II veteran himself, Dan was a strong supporter of the 
National Guard. He was one the first cosponsors to support my National 
Guard Empowerment Act and give the Guard the representation that it 
deserved. He will also be remembered for fighting to have the valor and 
sacrifice of Asian-American soldiers in World War II recognized, 
sponsoring legislation that awarded long overdue Medals of Honor to 
those who had been discriminated against because of their race.
  Hawaiians were lucky to have him as a champion in the Senate, and I 
was lucky to have him as a friend.
  I ask unanimous consent that the New York Times article ``Daniel 
Akaka, Former Democratic Senator From Hawaii, Dies At 93'' be printed 
in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                [From the New York Times, Apr. 6, 2018]

    Daniel Akaka, Former Democratic Senator From Hawaii, Dies at 93

                            (By Adam Clymer)

       Former Senator Daniel K. Akaka, a Democrat who represented 
     Hawaii for 36 years in Congress and successfully fought for 
     the belated recognition of Asians and Asian-Americans who had 
     fought for the United States in World War II, died on Friday 
     in Honolulu. He was 93.
       Jon Yoshimura, the senator's former communications 
     director, confirmed the death, saying Mr. Akaka had been 
     hospitalized for several months, The Associated Press 
     reported.
       A World War II veteran, Mr. Akaka sponsored legislation in 
     1996 that led to a re-evaluation of the service records of 
     Asian-Americans who had fought in the 442nd Regimental Combat 
     Team and the 100th Infantry Battalion during the war.
       As a result, almost two dozen Medals of Honor, the 
     military's highest award, were ultimately bestowed belatedly, 
     some posthumously, on Asian-American veterans, most of them 
     of Japanese heritage. Only one had been awarded during the 
     war itself.
       After a White House awards-presentation ceremony led by 
     President Bill Clinton in 2000, Senator Akaka said the medals 
     had dispelled apparent wartime discrimination against Asian-
     American military personnel.
       The most prominent recipient was Senator Daniel K. Inouye, 
     Mr. Akaka's much better-known colleague--and Hawaii's senior 
     senator--for 22 years in the Senate. Mr. Inouye, who died in 
     2012, had lost his right arm while serving with the 442nd in 
     Europe.
       Senator Akaka also successfully pursued legislation that 
     provided onetime compensation for members of the Phillipine 
     Scouts, an American-led unit of mostly Filipino and Filipino-
     American recruits who fought alongside United States troops 
     but did not qualify for Veterans Administration benefits.
       And he secured a formal apology for the United States's 
     role in the overthrow of Queen Lili'uokalani of Hawaii in 
     1893 as well as a transfer of land that the federal 
     government had taken.
       But he failed in repeated legislative efforts to have 
     native Hawaiians recognized as an indigenous people so that 
     they might receive federal benefits similar to those provided 
     to American Indians and natives of Alaska.
       During his Senate years Mr. Akaka had stints as chairman of 
     its Committee on Veterans Affairs and of its Committee on 
     Indian Affairs.
       Mr. Akaka was an outspoken critic of the war in Iraq. On 
     March 17, 2003, three days before the United States attacked 
     that country, he warned the Senate:
       ``If we pursue our current path, we will have a war lacking 
     in many things essential to achieving complete success. It 
     will be a war without broad international support, without 
     sufficient planning for post-conflict reconstruction and 
     stability, without a definite exit time and strategy, and 
     without a firm price tag.
       ``Moreover,'' he continued, ``it will be a war with serious 
     ramifications for our long-term readiness capabilities for 
     homeland security and for managing other crises.''
       A steadfast liberal on most issues, he was known as a 
     champion of federal workers, complaining that his Senate 
     colleagues too often denigrated them and cheerfully froze 
     their pay.
       He chaired a Senate subcommittee on the federal work force 
     and was the chief sponsor of the 2012 Whistleblower 
     Protection Act, which provided safeguards against retaliation 
     to federal workers who report waste, fraud and abuse.
       Daniel Kahikina Akaka was born in Honolulu on Sept. 11, 
     1924, the youngest of eight children. His father was of 
     Chinese and Hawaiian descent; his mother was Hawaiian. He 
     attended public schools.
       After service with the Army Corps of Engineers, he 
     graduated from the University of Hawaii in 1952 with a degree 
     in education and taught music, social studies and math in 
     elementary, middle and high schools. He later became a school 
     principal and earned a master's degree.
       After Hawaii was admitted into the union in 1959, he was an 
     official in the state's Department of Education and was named 
     director of the Hawaii Office of Economic Opportunity, an 
     antipoverty program.
       Mr. Akaka was first elected to the House in 1976 and easily 
     re-elected afterward. In 1990 he was appointed to fill a 
     Senate vacancy caused by the death of Spark Matsunaga. He was 
     elected that fall and re-elected in 1994, 2000 and 2006. He 
     announced in March 2011 that he would not run again in 2012.
       Mr. Akaka, who lived in Honolulu, is survived by his wife, 
     Mary Mildred Chong, whom he married in 1948; a daughter, 
     Millannie Akaka Mattson; four sons, Daniel Jr., Gerard, Alan 
     and Nicholas; and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
       While he was never known as a key lawmaker, Mr. Akaka was 
     familiar to watchers of C-Span: his name came first whenever 
     the Senate roll was called and, in his early years, he 
     relished presiding over that body, a duty many of his 
     colleagues regarded as tedious.
       In 1992, the Senate presented him with its Golden Gavel 
     Award for presiding for at least 100 hours.
       ``I really was proud of being able to chair the Senate 
     floor over the years and really looked forward to it,'' he 
     said in a 2011 interview for this obituary.
       Even in his final years, he left instructions with the 
     Democratic cloakroom that he would preside in a pinch, 
     saying, ``Any time you can't find somebody, call me.''

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