Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Daniel K. Akaka announced that a bill to create a memorial at Kalaupapa passed a key hurdle today. The Kalaupapa Memorial Act of 2007 (H.R. 3332/S. 2502) was favorably reported by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources by a unanimous voice vote, advancing the bill to the full Senate. Akaka is Chairman of the Subcommittee on National Parks, where he held a hearing on the bill on April 9, and he supported the bill in today's meeting of the full committee.
The bill would establish a memorial within Kalaupapa National Historical Park on Molokai, to honor and perpetuate the memory of those individuals who were forcibly relocated to the Kalaupapa Peninsula from 1866 to 1969. Ka `Ohana O Kalaupapa, a nonprofit organization consisting of patient-residents and friends, would establish the memorial. The bill was introduced in the Senate by Akaka and Senator Daniel K. Inouye, and in the House by Representatives Mazie Hirono and Neil Abercrombie.
Akaka said: "The experience of the more than 8,000 Hansen's disease patients sent to Kalaupapa is a painful part of Hawaii's history, one our country should never forget. Mothers were taken from their children, husbands from their wives, and children from their parents. The bill will help our nation honor the people of Kalaupapa and recognize their struggle in the face of adversity. I look forward to working with Senator Inouye and the majority leadership toward Senate passage."
Inouye said: "This monument ensures that Kalaupapa's legacy of tragedy and isolation, of hope and service, and of Father Damien's caring spirit, will be remembered by future generations. It also serves as a tribute to those patients remaining at Kalaupapa, and especially those who are no longer with us." Inouye, a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, has regularly secured funding for the medical care and treatment of people suffering from Hansen's disease in hospitals and clinics at Kalaupapa and Honolulu.
Hirono said: "I want to thank Senator Akaka for moving the Kalaupapa Memorial Act through his committee so quickly after it passed the House on February 12th. A memorial listing the names of all those who were forcibly relocated to Kalaupapa and Kalawao is the least we can do to honor their lives and sacrifices. I am hopeful that we will see this bill become law before the end of the 110th Congress."
Abercrombie said: "Kalaupapa is certainly not the happiest chapter in Hawaii's long and unique history, but it shaped the lives of 8,000 people who lived there, and their families. The Kalaupapa Memorial will preserve their legacy and honor their lives. It is an important story that inspires us and teaches timeless lessons about sacrifice, and the strength and dignity of the human spirit."
Akaka's Senate floor statement introducing the bill on December 18, 2007: http://akaka.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Speeches.Home&month=12&year=2007&release_id=2184
Akaka's statement supporting the bill at the National Parks subcommittee hearing on April 9: http://akaka.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Speeches.Home&month=4&year=2008&release_id=2182
National Parks Service website on Kalaupapa National Historical Park: http://www.nps.gov/kala/
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