Hawaii Senators decry Civil Rights Commission's report
on Hawaiian recognition bill

Hawaii's U.S. Senators have both issued statements strongly criticizing as biased a recent report by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights urging that Congress reject the pending Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act, which would extend formal U.S. recognition of Native Hawaiians as an indigenous people, similar to the status held by Native American and Alaska Native groups.

Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii), the bill’s primary sponsor and namesake, noted that the commission had not even consulted its own advisory committee in Hawaii before issuing the recommendation. “Not once was the advisory committee informed of the briefing or allowed to contribute to the Commission's report,” he said.

Citing objections to the report's conclusions by dissenting Commissioners Arlen Melendez and Michael Yaki, Akaka said he was "concerned about the lack of objectivity of the Commission's review .... It saddens me greatly when an independent commission begins to act in a politically motivated manner."

Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) said in a release that he was "dismayed to learn that the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights voted today to adopt a seriously flawed report that unfairly characterizes the Akaka Bill as race-based and discriminatory."

“From what I have learned, not only does the report have significant errors of fact and history, but the process in which the Commission considered the report was also highly suspect .... Given those factors, how can anyone give any credence to its report? I remain committed to the Akaka Bill, and will continue to work vigorously for its passage.”