Lingle Urges Senators To Pass AKaKa Bill
By Star-Advertiser Staff
POSTED: 02:00 p.m. HST, Jul 13, 2010
Members of the U.S. Senate will receive letters from Gov. Linda Lingle asking for their support of the Akaka Bill.
Lingle reached agreement last week with Sen. Daniel Akaka and Sen. Daniel Inouye on revised language to the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act, and the two senators want a vote on the bill this summer.
In her letter that went out today, the governor wrote, “The Akaka Bill is constitutional, is good public policy, is (in its to-be-amended form) supported by Hawaii’s citizens, is consistent with Congress’ approach to recognition of other native peoples of American, and is just and fair.”
The Governor also wrote that passage of the bill would, “put Hawaii on an equal footing with its forty-nine sister states, and will recognize Native Hawaiians just as America recognizes it other indigenous groups. It is fair and just – nothing more, nothing less.”
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