Hawai'i Bill
Gambling Stance Clarified
As reported by the Honolulu
Advertiser: "Hawai'i's senators and the Lingle
administration have agreed to several amendments
to a Native Hawaiian federal recognition bill in
the hopes of making it more palatable to the Bush
administration and Republicans who have blocked
the bill from moving in the U.S. Congress.
"The revisions are an attempt to satisfy issues
raised by the U.S. Department of Justice in July,
and would clarify that the bill would not sanction
gambling, interfere with the military, create any
new claims against the United States or exempt Native
Hawaiians from criminal or other laws.
"Gov. Linda Lingle and a spokeswoman for U.S.
Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawai'i, the bill's main sponsor,
said yesterday the Bush administration has supported
the amendments. The Republican governor also said
she doubted the administration, which has not taken
a position on the bill, would now oppose the bill
after it worked with the state and Hawai'i senators
on the changes.
"…The bill, which has been held for
five years because of Republican opposition, could
come up for a critical vote in the U.S. Senate in
early September. Akaka needs the votes of 60 of
the chamber's 100 senators to end procedural delays
and bring the bill to the floor for debate.
"…The exact language for the amendments
has not been released, but Lingle assured Republican
senators in a letter Tuesday that all parties had
agreed to the changes. On gambling, an issue raised
by senators in July, Lingle wrote that the language
would be 'definitive, plain and unambiguous.'…"
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