”’Editor’s note: The Akaka Billl, named for U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, is scheduled for a vote in the U.S. Senate on Sept. 6, 2005. The bill will have to pass the Senate, House and the president’s desk before it can become law. Gov. Linda Lingle, who wants the bill to pass, recently received word of support from one U.S. Representative outside Hawaii for the passage of this legislation. Congressman Tom Cole, R-Oklahoma, issued a letter to Speaker Dennis Hastert and Majority Leader Tom Delay, encouraging his colleagues to “allow the timely consideration of this important, historic, and long-overdue piece of legislation.” Lingle met with Congressman Cole earlier this week in Washington. The letter below is from 21 Republican Congress members who are opposed to the bill and don’t want it to have a hearing in the House.”’
July 29, 2005
Dear Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, R-Illinois, and Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas:
We have serious concerns about the long-term implications S. 147 and H.R. 309, the Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act, would have on our Constitution and on our nation