It also may be their last chance for many years.
Democrats are expected to lose seats in both the U.S. House and Senate this fall, making it even more difficult to scrape up the votes to pass the bill in the next Congress. Republican support is necessary, even now, to pass the bill.
The Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act — aka the Akaka bill — would establish a process for Native Hawaiians to gain U.S. recognition similar to Indian tribes.
The Democratic-controlled House passed the measure in February, and Hawaii's senior senators —Daniel Akaka, for whom the bill is named, and Daniel K. Inouye, both Democrats — have said this year that passage in the Democratic-controlled Senate is likely.
That can happen only if the Akaka bill gets a floor vote, though. As of mid-June, none had been scheduled.
And there's no promise from the Senate Majority Leader's Office that one will be. There's also a dwindling number of Senate session days remaining.
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