House Passes Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act
Congresswoman Hirono, Hawai‘i Delegation Work Together
to Gain Needed Support
WASHINGTON, D.C.— The U.S. House of Representatives today passed the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act (H.R. 505), by a wide margin of 261 to 153.
Congresswoman Mazie K. Hirono and Congressman Neil Abercrombie co-introduced the bill, which would enable Native Hawaiians to form a governing entity that could represent Native Hawaiian interests in negotiations with the U.S. federal government and Hawai‘i state government on issues including land transfers and assets and to work for the betterment of Native Hawaiian peoples.
The two worked to gain support to ensure its passage and spoke on the House floor on the importance of this legislation.
During debate on the bill, Congresswoman Hirono described how the U.S. helped overthrow the sovereign Native Hawaiian government and how the loss of Native Hawaiian lands led to the decline of Native Hawaiian culture and traditions, even the language and dances. She stated, "Our state motto, which is the same as that of the Kingdom of Hawai‘i, is ‘Ua mau ke ea o ka aina i ka pono,’ which means ‘the life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness.’ This is a historic vote and one that helps to perpetuate righteousness by righting a historic wrong." After today’s vote, Congresswoman Hirono added, "I hope that the passage of this bill by such a large margin in the House will add to the momentum for passage in the Senate."
The bill is commonly referred to as the Akaka bill, after its principal sponsor, Senator Daniel K. Akaka.
A video of Congresswoman Hirono’s speech in support of H.R. 505 can be viewed at http://hirono.house.gov/video/071024hr505.wmv
A copy of the text of her floor statement is available at http://hirono.house.gov/list/speech/hi02_hirono/hr505nativehawaiians.html
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