[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 2]
[House]
[Pages 1629-1632]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 2314, NATIVE HAWAIIAN GOVERNMENT 
                       REORGANIZATION ACT OF 2009

  Mr. POLIS. Madam Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I 
call up House Resolution 1083 and ask for its immediate consideration.
  The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:

                              H. Res. 1083

       Resolved, That upon the adoption of this resolution it 
     shall be in order to consider in the House the bill (H.R. 
     2314) to express the policy of the United States regarding 
     the United States relationship with Native Hawaiians and to 
     provide a process for the recognition by the United States of 
     the Native Hawaiian governing entity. All points of order 
     against consideration of the bill are

[[Page 1630]]

     waived except those arising under clause 9 or 10 of rule XXI. 
     The bill shall be considered as read. All points of order 
     against provisions of the bill are waived. The previous 
     question shall be considered as ordered on the bill and on 
     any amendment thereto to final passage without intervening 
     motion except: (1) one hour of debate equally divided and 
     controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the 
     Committee on Natural Resources; (2) the amendment in the 
     nature of a substitute printed in part A of the report of the 
     Committee on Rules accompanying this resolution, if offered 
     by Representative Abercrombie of Hawaii or his designee, 
     which shall be in order without intervention of any point of 
     order except those arising under clause 9 or 10 of rule XXI, 
     shall be considered as read, and shall be separately 
     debatable for 30 minutes equally divided and controlled by 
     the proponent and an opponent; (3) the amendments to the 
     amendment in the nature of a substitute printed in part B of 
     the report of the Committee on Rules, each of which may be 
     offered only by a Member designed in the report, shall be in 
     order without intervention of any point of order except those 
     arising under clause 10 of rule XXI, shall be considered as 
     read, and shall be separately debatable for 10 minutes 
     equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an 
     opponent; and (4) one motion to recommit with or without 
     instructions.
       Sec. 2.  During consideration of an amendment printed in 
     part B of the report of the Committee on Rules accompanying 
     this resolution, the Chair may postpone the question of 
     adoption as though under clause 8 of rule XX.

                              {time}  1615

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Colorado is recognized 
for 1 hour.
  Mr. POLIS. For the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 
minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Diaz-Balart). All time 
yielded during consideration of the rule is for debate only. I yield 
myself such time as I may consume.


                             General Leave

  Mr. POLIS. I also ask unanimous consent that all Members be given 5 
legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on House 
Resolution 1083.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Colorado?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. POLIS. Madam Speaker, House Resolution 1083 provides for 
consideration of H.R. 2314, the Native Hawaiian Government 
Reorganization Act of 2009, under a structured rule. The rule provides 
for 1 hour of debate in the House, controlled by the Committee on 
Natural Resources. The rule waives all points of order against 
consideration of the bill, except for clauses 9 and 10 of rule XXI. The 
rule makes in order an amendment in the nature of a substitute by 
Representative Abercrombie, which is debatable for 30 minutes. The rule 
also makes in order two second-degree amendments to the substitute. The 
amendments are to be offered by Representative Hastings of Washington 
and by Representative Flake of Arizona. The amendments are each 
debatable for 10 minutes. Finally, the rule provides one motion to 
recommit, with or without instructions.
  Madam Speaker, I want to thank Chairman Rahall and the hardworking 
staff of the Natural Resources Committee for their dedication to the 
health and welfare of the many native peoples of this country and 
particularly for their work on this important legislation.
  I also want to thank my colleagues from Hawaii, Congressman 
Abercrombie and Congresswoman Hirono, for bringing this legislation 
forward in the House, as well as the bill's original author, Senator 
Akaka, for his tireless work on behalf of the people of Hawaii in the 
Senate.
  Our diversity is not only what makes us great but also what makes us 
American. My home State of Colorado is a beautiful land with awe-
inspiring mountains and rugged landscapes, but the people are who make 
it truly beautiful. Colorado's rich history and diverse culture is 
interwoven with the Apache, Arapaho, Cheyenne, Pueblo, Shoshone, and 
Ute peoples, who helped found our State and who continue to play such 
an important role in our vibrant diversity today.
  While Hawaiians celebrate the sun and while Coloradans treasure the 
snow, the same connection between land and people can be found in the 
unique beauty of Hawaii.
  As we have seen in Colorado, with the Southern Ute and Ute Mountain 
Ute and across the country, the U.S. has a longstanding policy of 
providing its indigenous people--those who exercised sovereignty until 
the United States expanded its borders into their homeland--with an 
opportunity to organize, to protect and to perpetuate their cultures 
and traditions and to look out for their interests. It is only right 
that all indigenous people should have a right to determine how they 
should interact with our government. This bill merely brings about 
parity in the U.S. treatment of its indigenous people--American 
Indians, Alaska natives and Native Hawaiians.
  H.R. 2314 would establish a Native Hawaiian interim governing council 
to develop elements of the organic governing documents and other 
criteria for the Native Hawaiian governing entity. These documents 
would detail the powers and authorities of the governing entity, but 
they would also include membership criteria as well as requirements for 
the election of government officials.
  The Secretary of the Interior would be required to certify that the 
organic documents meet specified criteria and are consistent with 
applicable Federal law and our Constitution. After this certification, 
the government-to-government relationship with the Native Hawaiians 
should be reaffirmed.
  It is also worth mentioning that these were the conditions set 
forward by the United States and that Hawaii agreed to in Statehood. 
These conditions of Statehood were set forth in the Admissions Act, 
signed August 21, 1959, which posed that the State of Hawaii would 
assume administration of the congressionally established Hawaiian Homes 
Commission Act trust, as well as ensure that former Hawaiian Government 
public lands held in trust would be utilized for one of five purposes, 
including the betterment of the conditions of Native Hawaiians.
  Like American Indians, Native Hawaiians have no other homeland to 
keep their culture alive. Like American Indians, disenfranchisement has 
left Native Hawaiians at the bottom of national health, education and 
economic rankings. Through all of this, however, Native Hawaiians 
continue to maintain their cultural identity and dignity as a distinct 
native community.
  This bill would reaffirm the Federal delegation of authority to the 
State of Hawaii, found in the State's Admissions Act, and would provide 
Native Hawaiians with the tools and status needed to preserve their 
vibrant culture and unique heritage for future generations.
  Last year, Madam Speaker, Hawaii celebrated the 50th anniversary of 
its Statehood. It is long past time that Congress grants the same 
opportunity for self-determination to Native Hawaiians.
  In 2000, the Hawaii Congressional Delegation offered the first Native 
Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act. Since then, Congress has held 
six joint hearings of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs and of the 
House Natural Resources Committee, five of which were in Hawaii, with a 
total of 12 congressional hearings within the last 9 years on the 
issue. The House has passed this legislation twice, in the 106th and 
110th Congresses.
  While the bill has evolved over the years and has received input from 
many stakeholders, it has maintained true to its intent to extend the 
Federal policy of self-governance and self-determination to Native 
Hawaiians for the purposes of a federally recognized government-to-
government relationship. This has received broad support from 
organizations and people across the ideological spectrum and the State 
of Hawaii.
  As a Representative of Native Americans who live in Colorado's Second 
Congressional District, I urge my colleagues in Congress to join me in 
passing this rule to honor and respect, not just this generation, but 
future generations of Native Hawaiians and to promote the diversity of 
cultures everywhere that make our country so great.

[[Page 1631]]

I ask you to end half a century of neglect and to provide the Native 
Hawaiians with the same representation provided to other native peoples 
across the country.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. I would like to thank my friend, 
the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Polis) for the time, and I yield 
myself such time as I may consume.
  Last week, the Department of Labor, Madam Speaker, reported that 
Americans filed 473,000 jobless claims in the week ending February 13. 
That is an increase of 31,000 more claims than the previous week. It is 
truly unfortunate that the number of jobless claims continues to rise 1 
year after the passage of the massive so-called ``stimulus bill.'' 
Take, for example, the district that I am honored to represent. 
According to Recovery.gov, the administration's stimulus Web site, the 
stimulus bill spent $185 million to create 310 jobs. That was at a cost 
of $600,000 per job.
  Now, Madam Speaker, what worries me even more than the $1 trillion 
so-called ``stimulus bill'' is the fact that it continues the process 
of adding to our national debt at a time when we can least afford it. 
It is expected that the deficit, in large part due to the waste of 
money in the stimulus bill, is set to hit a record $1.6 trillion. The 
U.S. economy is dangerously close to the catastrophic precipice of 
uncontrollable debt. We must urgently alter Washington's fiscal course 
before the American middle class, as we know it, is relegated to the 
history books.
  Why do I mention the stimulus and the state of our economy? To point 
out that, while our economy continues to stumble and to stutter and as 
jobless claims rise, the majority has decided to pass legislation that 
would recognize Native Hawaiians as a sovereign governing entity. Now, 
just 2 months ago, the distinguished Speaker declared that her party 
should be judged on the issue of ``jobs, jobs, jobs.''
  How does the bill before us today have anything to do with job 
creation?
  I understand that this is the last week in Congress for my good 
friend, one of the most respected Members of this House, Representative 
Abercrombie. I know I join all Members of the House in thanking him for 
his great work as a Member of this House and also for his friendship. 
As I say, I have great respect for him.
  Last night, he testified before the Rules Committee about his work on 
the underlying legislation. He told us that he first began working on 
this issue when he was in the Hawaii legislature in 1974. It was very 
clear from his testimony that this is a very important issue for him, 
and I congratulate him for his hard work.
  Yet there is an undeniable issue here that I have made reference to 
that was pointed out in terms of its importance to the American people 
by a recent opinion research poll which found that 84 percent of 
Americans think that Congress has not done enough for the creation of 
jobs. I think what the majority is doing today will simply reinforce 
that belief by the American people.
  Madam Speaker, I thank the majority for their uncharacteristic 
generosity in allowing the House to debate both of the Republican 
amendments submitted to the Rules Committee for consideration. 
Unfortunately, over a year into this Congress, the purportedly most 
open and bipartisan Congress in history, the majority has yet to allow 
even one open rule. That's quite unfortunate, but yet it is business as 
usual for the majority to continue to claim bipartisanship while 
working to block full and open debate.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. POLIS. Madam Speaker, again, I would like to establish that there 
were exactly two amendments proposed to this piece of legislation, both 
by members of the Republican Party, and both will be allowed for floor 
consideration under this rule.
  With that, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Hawaii (Ms. 
Hirono).
  Ms. HIRONO. Thank you very much.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of the rule for H.R. 2314, the 
Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act.
  I appreciate the leadership of Chairwoman Slaughter, of Congressman 
Polis and of the work of the Rules Committee in crafting a fair rule. 
All amendments submitted to the Rules Committee were made in order, 
including two amendments from the minority.
  As coauthor of this bill, I am concerned about the impact and intent 
of the Hastings and Flake amendments. However, the openness and 
fairness of the rule is consistent with a bill that has been more than 
10 years in the making.
  There have been 12 congressional hearings on this bill, five of which 
were held in Hawaii. It has been marked up by committees in both 
Chambers. The House passed the bill twice--first in 2000 and again in 
2007.
  The rule also makes in order the Abercrombie substitute amendment, 
which reflects a compromise between the Hawaii Congressional 
Delegation, the State of Hawaii, the Obama administration, Indian 
Country, and the Native Hawaiian community.
  There have been many falsehoods and inaccurate statements made about 
this bill over the years. One of the many misrepresentations is that 
this bill is race-based legislation. Native Hawaiians are the native 
indigenous people of Hawaii. They were in Hawaii as long ago as 300 
B.C., long before Captain Cook's so-called ``discovery'' of the 
Sandwich Isles, as he named this chain of islands.
  The U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly held that legislation enacted 
to address the special needs and conditions of the native people of the 
United States does not constitute discrimination on the basis of race 
or ethnicity.
  The sovereign status of Indian tribes recognized by the Constitution 
was later extended to Alaska natives as indigenous people. On this same 
basis, Congress has enacted legislation for the aboriginal, indigenous 
people of Hawaii. The Constitution, including the Indian affairs 
powers, extends to the original and all subsequently acquired territory 
of the United States.
  For example, in the Louisiana Purchase Treaty of 1803, President 
Thomas Jefferson bound the United States to honor the treaties between 
Spain, which held Louisiana prior to France, and Indian tribes until 
such time as the United States entered into its own treaties with the 
tribes.
  In 1867, in the Treaty of Cession with Russia for what is now the 
State of Alaska, the United States agreed to pass laws for the benefit 
of Alaska natives just as it does for natives in the lower 48 States. 
The Supreme Court ruled in Sandoval v. United States that the Indian 
affairs power extends to all distinctly native communities within the 
borders of the United States.
  While Congress' authority is not without limit, it clearly can act on 
behalf of ``distinctly Indian''--which means ``native''--communities. 
Congress, so long as it is not arbitrary, may rationally act to benefit 
the native people. Native Hawaiians are distinctly native. They have 
their own sovereign nation. They have their own language, culture, 
religion, traditional economy. They are the aboriginal, indigenous 
people of Hawaii.
  I urge my colleagues to support the passage of this rule.
  Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Madam Speaker, I yield back the 
balance of my time.

                              {time}  1630

  Mr. POLIS. Madam Speaker, for more than 200 years, Congress, the 
executive branch, and the Supreme Court have recognized certain legal 
rights and protections for America's indigenous people. It's the moral 
and legal responsibility of Congress to reaffirm a political 
relationship with the native peoples of Hawaii, and H.R. 2314 will 
achieve this purpose.
  Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to pass this very fair rule that 
includes both Republican amendments that were filed and to allow for 
the further consideration of this bill on the floor of the House of 
Representatives.
  I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question 
on the resolution.

[[Page 1632]]

  The previous question was ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the resolution.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.
  Mr. POLIS. Madam 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, this 15-
minute vote on adopting House Resolution 1083 will be followed by 5-
minute votes on motions to suspend the rules with regard to:
  House Resolution 1066;
  House Resolution 1059;
  House Resolution 1039; and
  House Resolution 1046.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 238, 
nays 165, not voting 29, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 51]

                               YEAS--238

     Abercrombie
     Ackerman
     Adler (NJ)
     Altmire
     Arcuri
     Baca
     Baird
     Baldwin
     Barrow
     Bean
     Becerra
     Berkley
     Berman
     Berry
     Bishop (GA)
     Bishop (NY)
     Blumenauer
     Boccieri
     Boren
     Boswell
     Boucher
     Boyd
     Brady (PA)
     Braley (IA)
     Bright
     Brown, Corrine
     Butterfield
     Cao
     Capuano
     Cardoza
     Carney
     Carson (IN)
     Castor (FL)
     Chandler
     Childers
     Chu
     Clarke
     Clay
     Cleaver
     Clyburn
     Cohen
     Connolly (VA)
     Conyers
     Cooper
     Costa
     Courtney
     Crowley
     Cuellar
     Cummings
     Dahlkemper
     Davis (AL)
     Davis (CA)
     Davis (IL)
     Davis (TN)
     DeFazio
     DeGette
     Delahunt
     DeLauro
     Dicks
     Dingell
     Doggett
     Donnelly (IN)
     Doyle
     Driehaus
     Edwards (MD)
     Edwards (TX)
     Ellison
     Ellsworth
     Engel
     Eshoo
     Etheridge
     Farr
     Fattah
     Filner
     Foster
     Frank (MA)
     Fudge
     Giffords
     Gonzalez
     Gordon (TN)
     Grayson
     Green, Al
     Green, Gene
     Gutierrez
     Hall (NY)
     Halvorson
     Hare
     Harman
     Hastings (FL)
     Heinrich
     Herseth Sandlin
     Higgins
     Hill
     Hinchey
     Hirono
     Holden
     Holt
     Honda
     Hoyer
     Inslee
     Israel
     Jackson (IL)
     Jackson Lee (TX)
     Johnson, E. B.
     Kagen
     Kanjorski
     Kaptur
     Kennedy
     Kildee
     Kilpatrick (MI)
     Kilroy
     Kind
     Kirkpatrick (AZ)
     Kissell
     Klein (FL)
     Kosmas
     Kratovil
     Kucinich
     Langevin
     Larsen (WA)
     Larson (CT)
     Lee (CA)
     Levin
     Lewis (GA)
     Lipinski
     Loebsack
     Lofgren, Zoe
     Lowey
     Lujan
     Lynch
     Maffei
     Maloney
     Markey (CO)
     Markey (MA)
     Marshall
     Massa
     Matheson
     Matsui
     McCarthy (NY)
     McCollum
     McDermott
     McGovern
     McIntyre
     McMahon
     McNerney
     Meek (FL)
     Meeks (NY)
     Melancon
     Michaud
     Miller (NC)
     Miller, George
     Mitchell
     Mollohan
     Moore (KS)
     Moran (VA)
     Murphy (CT)
     Murphy (NY)
     Murphy, Patrick
     Nadler (NY)
     Napolitano
     Neal (MA)
     Nye
     Oberstar
     Obey
     Olver
     Ortiz
     Owens
     Pallone
     Pascrell
     Pastor (AZ)
     Perlmutter
     Perriello
     Peters
     Peterson
     Pingree (ME)
     Polis (CO)
     Pomeroy
     Price (NC)
     Quigley
     Rahall
     Rangel
     Reyes
     Richardson
     Rodriguez
     Ross
     Rothman (NJ)
     Roybal-Allard
     Ruppersberger
     Rush
     Salazar
     Sanchez, Linda T.
     Sanchez, Loretta
     Sarbanes
     Schakowsky
     Schauer
     Schiff
     Schrader
     Schwartz
     Scott (GA)
     Scott (VA)
     Serrano
     Sestak
     Shea-Porter
     Sherman
     Skelton
     Slaughter
     Smith (WA)
     Snyder
     Space
     Spratt
     Stupak
     Sutton
     Tanner
     Taylor
     Teague
     Thompson (CA)
     Thompson (MS)
     Tierney
     Titus
     Tonko
     Towns
     Tsongas
     Van Hollen
     Velazquez
     Visclosky
     Walz
     Wasserman Schultz
     Waters
     Watson
     Watt
     Waxman
     Weiner
     Welch
     Whitfield
     Woolsey
     Wu
     Yarmuth
     Young (AK)

                               NAYS--165

     Aderholt
     Akin
     Alexander
     Austria
     Bachmann
     Bachus
     Bartlett
     Barton (TX)
     Biggert
     Bilbray
     Bilirakis
     Bishop (UT)
     Blackburn
     Boehner
     Bonner
     Boozman
     Boustany
     Brady (TX)
     Broun (GA)
     Brown (SC)
     Brown-Waite, Ginny
     Buchanan
     Burgess
     Burton (IN)
     Buyer
     Calvert
     Camp
     Campbell
     Capito
     Carter
     Cassidy
     Castle
     Chaffetz
     Coble
     Coffman (CO)
     Cole
     Conaway
     Crenshaw
     Davis (KY)
     Deal (GA)
     Dent
     Diaz-Balart, L.
     Diaz-Balart, M.
     Dreier
     Duncan
     Ehlers
     Emerson
     Fallin
     Flake
     Fleming
     Forbes
     Fortenberry
     Foxx
     Franks (AZ)
     Frelinghuysen
     Gallegly
     Garrett (NJ)
     Gerlach
     Gingrey (GA)
     Gohmert
     Goodlatte
     Granger
     Graves
     Griffith
     Guthrie
     Hall (TX)
     Harper
     Hastings (WA)
     Heller
     Hensarling
     Herger
     Himes
     Hunter
     Inglis
     Issa
     Jenkins
     Johnson (IL)
     Johnson, Sam
     Jones
     Jordan (OH)
     King (IA)
     King (NY)
     Kingston
     Kirk
     Kline (MN)
     Lamborn
     Lance
     Latham
     LaTourette
     Latta
     Lee (NY)
     Lewis (CA)
     Linder
     LoBiondo
     Lucas
     Luetkemeyer
     Lummis
     Lungren, Daniel E.
     Manzullo
     Marchant
     McCarthy (CA)
     McCaul
     McClintock
     McCotter
     McHenry
     McKeon
     McMorris Rodgers
     Mica
     Miller (FL)
     Miller (MI)
     Miller, Gary
     Minnick
     Murphy, Tim
     Myrick
     Neugebauer
     Nunes
     Olson
     Paul
     Paulsen
     Pence
     Petri
     Pitts
     Platts
     Poe (TX)
     Posey
     Putnam
     Rehberg
     Roe (TN)
     Rogers (AL)
     Rogers (KY)
     Rogers (MI)
     Rohrabacher
     Rooney
     Roskam
     Royce
     Ryan (WI)
     Scalise
     Schmidt
     Schock
     Sensenbrenner
     Sessions
     Shadegg
     Shimkus
     Shuler
     Shuster
     Simpson
     Smith (NE)
     Smith (NJ)
     Smith (TX)
     Souder
     Stearns
     Sullivan
     Terry
     Thompson (PA)
     Thornberry
     Tiahrt
     Tiberi
     Turner
     Upton
     Walden
     Westmoreland
     Wilson (SC)
     Wittman
     Wolf
     Young (FL)

                             NOT VOTING--29

     Andrews
     Barrett (SC)
     Blunt
     Bono Mack
     Cantor
     Capps
     Carnahan
     Costello
     Culberson
     Garamendi
     Grijalva
     Hinojosa
     Hodes
     Hoekstra
     Johnson (GA)
     Mack
     Moore (WI)
     Moran (KS)
     Payne
     Price (GA)
     Radanovich
     Reichert
     Ros-Lehtinen
     Ryan (OH)
     Sires
     Speier
     Stark
     Wamp
     Wilson (OH)

                              {time}  1657

  Messrs. WILSON of South Carolina, SMITH of Nebraska, and NUNES 
changed their vote from ``yea'' to ``nay.''
  Mr. HEINRICH changed his vote from ``nay'' to ``yea.''
  So the resolution was agreed to.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________