The Senate Indian Affairs Committee and House Resources Committee announce modifications in the Congressional hearings scheduled for next week pertaining to S. 2899 and H.R. 4904, legislation to clarify the political relationship between Native Hawaiians and the United States. Initially scheduled to be held on the each of the major islands in the state, the hearings will now be held on Oahu only. Individuals who have signed up to testify on neighbor islands are being invited to testify on Oahu or to submit their testimony in writing. All testimony – oral and written – will be part of the hearing record. The hearings will be held at the Neal Blaisdell Center, Pikake Room, 777 Ward Avenue, Honolulu, Hawaii, from 8:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m, Monday through Friday, August 28 - September 1, 2000.

Senator Daniel K. Akaka, chair of the Task Force on Native Hawaiian Issues, continues his successful recovery from hip replacement surgery on August 3, 2000. He is completing a prescribed schedule of physical therapy. Senator Akaka's physicians have not yet cleared him for air travel. The Committees feel strongly about Senator Akaka's presence at the hearings and have decided to hold the hearings on Oahu in lieu of canceling or postponing the hearings altogether. The Committees believe it is important to complete the hearings and to return to Washington where the House of Representatives and Senate will reconvene on Wednesday, September 6, 2000.