By Dennis Camire
Advertiser Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON - For Hawai'i lawmakers, completing unfinished legislative business, such as bills creating a future Native Hawaiian government and improving state-funded pre-kindergarten education through federal grants, is a top priority in the congressional session that starts Tuesday in the House.
Some of it, such as the Akaka bill and a bill to apply criminal penalties to war profiteering in Iraq, cleared the House only to be stalled in the Senate by Republican opposition or a crowded legislative schedule.
Other delegation legislation, including a bill authorizing a memorial to Hansen's disease victims on Moloka'i and another reinstating federal benefits for Micronesian immigrants, never really got off the ground as Congress engaged in partisan battles over Iraq war funding, children's healthcare and other issues.
But Rep. Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawai'i, said one of the first items Congress should tackle is finding a way to overcome President Bush's veto of the defense policy bill, which authorizes more than $78 million in federal funding for military programs in Hawai'i this year. Bush vetoed the bill over a provision that allows damage lawsuits against the Iraqi government stemming from the Saddam Hussein era.
"I urge the Democratic leadership to schedule a vote to override the president's veto as early as (this) week," Abercrombie said.
After the Senate opens its new session Jan. 22, Sen. Dan Akaka, D-Hawai'i, hopes to bring at least three major bills to the floor for debate and vote, which Republican opposition has stalled.
One would create a process to form a future Native Hawaiian government and put it on a path for federal recognition. Republicans believe the measure is race-based and therefore unconstitutional.
The House approved a similar bill in October.
"I am working with the Senate majority leaders to bring my Hawaiian federal recognition bill to the floor, building upon momentum from the House passage of the bill," Akaka said.
Akaka, chairman of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, also has two major veterans healthcare and benefits bills that have stalled.
Republicans blocked the veterans benefits bill because it includes a disputed provision to give pension benefits to Filipino veterans who fought for the U.S. Army in World War II.
They object to the healthcare bill because the Veterans Affairs Department would be required to reopen healthcare enrollment to veterans with moderate incomes who do not have illnesses related to their military service.
Akaka said he has asked the Senate Democratic leadership to force votes on the veterans bills despite the objections.
LISTING PRIORITIES
Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, D-Hawai'i, said his priorities for this year include continuing Saddle Road construction on the Big Island and upgrading Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, which will receive $30 million this year to improve dry-dock services for ships undergoing maintenance.
Other priorities include completing the purchase of land for the James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge on O'ahu and the Honouliuli Preserve in the Wai'anae Mountains, said Inouye, a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
On a national level, Inouye said one of his top priorities is to complete legislation to strengthen the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which has come under fire for allowing toys with lead paint and tainted pet food to find their way to consumers.
On the House side, Rep. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawai'i, a member of the House Education and Labor Committee, said she wants to finish work on reauthorizing the No Child Left Behind Act. The proposed reauthorization contains her legislation to create a five-year, $5 billion grant program so states can improve their pre-kindergarten programs with more teachers and longer days
"If we can't move the No Child Left Behind reauthorization quickly enough, then I would like the pre-kindergarten legislation considered as a separate bill," she said.
Another top priority for Hirono is her bill to authorize a memorial for victims of Hansen's disease, also known as leprosy, in honor of those who were forcibly relocated to the Kalaupapa peninsula from 1866 to 1969.
"I have been talking with the various chairmen about it, and I'm hoping we will be able to get it passed (this) year," she said. "There are only about 30 survivors left."
Abercrombie said his top national priority was pushing to restore the readiness of the military services, especially the Army and the Marine Corps. That includes replacing equipment destroyed and worn out in fighting the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
"We need to move from the discussion of readiness to the practical implementation of what it will take to restore the military," he said.
Abercrombie also will work to get Senate action on his bill to crack down on U.S. contractors convicted of war profiteering in Iraq. The bill, which the House approved 375-3, was needed after courts ruled that U.S. laws did not apply in Iraq, he said.
Abercrombie also wants to continue the redevelopment of Ford Island, including the USS Arizona and USS Missouri memorials and the Pacific Aviation Museum.
"I think it will be one of the leading venues in the country, not just from the point of view of visitors, but in terms of preservation of the history of the World War II era," he said.
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