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.'…"