In the Senate, Appropriations Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye, D-Hawai`i, backed by Democratic leaders, has fashioned an omnibus spending measure — providing almost $20 billion more than the House bill — that he wants to substitute for the measure being passed across the Capitol.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., opposes Inouye's move, but GOP members of the Appropriations Committee, such as Senators Thad Cochran of Mississippi and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, are open to the idea.
Wednesday, September 08, 2010
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In politics it appears that timing is everything, except when it's not.
Hawai`i's senior Sen. Dan Inouye knows the legislative calendar better than most. So last year when he started saying now was the time to move the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act—dubbed the Akaka Bill after its sponsor, Sen. Dan Akaka—people were wise to start circling dates on the 2010 calendar.
It now appears that it is time to pull out the White-Out because those circled dates are passing.
The fumbling started when Senate Democrats lost an assured 60-vote majority when Massachusetts voters put Republican Scott Brown in the U.S. Senate.
Even arithmetically challenged reporters know there are 100 senators and a simple majority is 51, so the question is, why does it takes 60 votes to pass most bills in the Senate?
The reason that sloths and glaciers move faster than the U.S. Senate is because any senator can stop any piece of legislation by putting a "hold" on it. To end debate and force a vote, 60 senators must sign on. In its 10-year history, the Akaka Bill has had so many holds placed on it, it must have grown handles by now.
Part of common Hawai`i political folklore is that Dan Akaka is the nation's most beloved senator. Next to him in the pantheon of Hawai`i senators is Inouye, rippling with legislative might as chairman of the Appropriations Committee and bulked up with more seniority than any of the other 99. Regardless, neither has ever been able to get 60 votes to push the bill for a floor vote.
The Akaka Bill is rapidly becoming like the famous Norwegian Blue parrot in the Monty Python comedy sketch.
"He's a stiff! Bereft of life, he's resting in peace ... His metabolic processes are now history! He's off the twig! He's kicked the bucket, he's shuffled off his mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin' choir invisible!" says John Cleese.
"No, no, he's not dead, he's, he's resting! Remarkable bird, the Norwegian Blue ..." argues Michael Palin.
Today the Senate is inching toward its August recess. All this year Inouye has predicted the Akaka bill cannot be taken up in the fall because there is too much to do before the November elections.
Now the Senate GOP minority may still be able to block the bill. If Akaka and Inouye try to delay the vote until next year, things will be more difficult because there will likely be more Republicans in both chambers after the election.
Although the Akaka bill would fundamentally change Hawai`i, it is on no one's Washington radar. Only on slow days will conservative alarmists such as Michelle Malkin give it a toss; for the rest, it is a matter of whether Inouye and Akaka can find 60 votes and time in the next two weeks to conclude a decade-long debate.
The Senate is looking at starting the August recess either Aug. 6 or 13. If the bill has not cleared the Senate by then and moved back to the House for a second vote, this exercise may be pau.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
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"4 MORE TO IMPLORE"
We Told You Last Week Dan Inouye Plans To Speak With Four Republicans About His Akaka Bill Plans.
Well Now There’s More To Thwart - Four Others He’s Trying To Court.
But That’s Where You Come In So The Akaka Bill Won’t Win.
Help stop the Akaka bill today by submitting testimony to the US Senate Indian Affairs Committee.
Cut and paste the example below. Email to the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs - comments@indian.senate.gov testimony@indian.senate.gov
Here's The Sample Letter To Use -
August 2009
Committee on Indian Affairs U.S. Senate 838 Hart Office Building Washington, DC 20510
RE - OPPOSITION TO S.1011 - Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act of 2009
Dear Senators Dorgan, Barrasso and Members of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs,
I thank you for allowing me to submit this testimony in OPPOSITION to S.1011, which seeks to express the policy of the United States regarding the United States relationship with Native Hawaiians and to provide a process of the recognition by the United States of the Native Hawaiian governing entity.
I OPPOSE S.1011: Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act of 2009 because -
Lack of hearings held in Hawai`i that would allow the Hawaiian people to present testimony on the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act.
In 2000, only two (2) days of hearings were held on O`ahu Island. All other hearings were cancelled.
The current and past bills addressing the United States relationship with Native Hawaiians to provide a process of the recognition by the United States of the Native Hawaiian governing entity were subsequently redrafted and amendments were added with no input or testimony from the Hawaiian people.
Therefore no hearings have ever been held in Hawai`i on the current legislation before the 2009 Congress.
The Hawaiian people seek the right to a fair and democratic process that includes hearings on S.1011 throughout the islands that comprise the state of Hawai`i.
For 9 years, Hawaiians have requested that the island wide hearings be rescheduled so that the hundreds of Hawaiians who want to testify can be included and their concerns heard.
The effort being pursued in the US Congress violates the most fundamental principles of democracy and human rights. I call for the Congressional Committee to hold hearings on the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act in Hawai`i to provide the Hawaiian peoples their right to participate in the process and to seek amendments to the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act.
Therefore, I strongly urge you to OPPOSE S.1011 until Congressional hearings are scheduled and held in Hawai`i on all islands, and in all States on the US continent where a significant population of Hawaiians reside, in order to provide the Hawaiian peoples their right to a democratic fair, free, and impartial process of self-determination and to empower them with the ability to determine the culturally appropriate mechanism for their own self-governance.
Mahalo nui loa,
Your Name Address
Then Email Your Letter To All Committee Members - Just Click On The Names For the Links
