Grassroot Institute - August 6, 2014
A group of US Senators has sent a letter to the Secretary of the Department of the Interior (DOI), criticizing the recent Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) that explored the creation of a government-to-government relationship with the Native Hawaiian community.
The letter, signed by Senators Jeff Flake (R-AZ), Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Tom Coburn (R-OK), and Mike Lee (R-UT), objects strongly to the Department's ANPRM on legal as well as prudential grounds.
In the letter, the Senators reiterate the concerns about the constitutionality of a race-based government.
They then go on to question the DOI's authority to act in this matter and raise the issue of whether this is more properly the domain of the US Congress -
"Even if you disagree that the reestablishment of a Native Hawaiian Government would be patently unconstitutional, Congress has not enacted legislation authorizing the Department of the Interior ("the Department") to engage in such a rulemaking. In fact, Congress has repeatedly refused to adopt legislation that would recognize a Native Hawaiian government or reestablish an administrative path for doing so. As such, any unilateral efforts by the Department to move forward administratively are unlawful."
