AKAKA BILL HITS WALL IN WASHINGTON
July 9, 2009 - Honolulu Advertiser
WASHINGTON — A House panel has postponed a key vote on legislation known as the Akaka bill, which would create a process for Native Hawaiian self-governance....
...The vote postponement follows some written criticisms of the bill by prominent members of the Native Hawaiian legal community.
In a four-page analysis of the legislation sent to the Natural Resources Committee, the Native Hawaiian Bar Association voiced concern that some provisions would grant the federal government too much immunity against potential claims by Native Hawaiians, especially for land....
...At stake ultimately — in addition to the political future of the Native Hawaiians — is control over some 1.8 million acres of land that many Native Hawaiians believe was taken illegally in the United States' annexation of Hawai`i in 1898.
Approval of the Akaka bill in the Natural Resources Committee would send the bill to the full House for a vote. The Senate has not acted on the bill yet....
