By Derrick DePledge
Advertiser Government Writer

U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York said yesterday that if elected president she would sign a Native Hawaiian federal recognition bill, maintain military spending in the Islands, and support federal funding for a Honolulu mass transit project.

Clinton, in a telephone conference call with Hawai'i newspaper reporters, acknowledged that the Hawai'i Democratic caucuses on Tuesday will be a challenge. U.S. Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, her rival for the nomination, was born here and graduated from Punahou School.

"I know we face an uphill battle in the state, but we plan to run a vigorous and successful campaign," the New York Democrat said during a break from campaigning in Texas.

The Hawai'i caucuses usually go unnoticed nationally, but with the nomination still in doubt, both campaigns see value in the 20 delegates at stake here on Tuesday. Chelsea Clinton, Clinton's daughter, is expected to campaign for her mother in Hawai'i this weekend.

Clinton, like Obama, said she would sign a Native Hawaiian federal recognition bill that has been pending in Congress since 2000. The Akaka bill would recognize Native Hawaiians as an indigenous people with the right to self-government and create a process for Hawaiians to potentially have more authority over land and cultural issues. Clinton also said she supported the 1993 resolution signed by her husband, President Bill Clinton, apologizing for the U.S. role in the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawai'i.

"I think it remedies a long history of problems and gives recognition," she said of the bill.

Clinton said she would maintain military spending in the Islands and adequately fund the veterans' healthcare system. "I believe military spending will be maintained because we have to support our national defense priorities," she said.

Clinton said she would back federal spending for a Honolulu mass transit system to help reduce the state's dependence on oil, relieve traffic congestion, and create jobs in construction and other industries. "The federal government should be supportive of initiatives like that," she said. "It's one of the 21st century solutions that I'm promoting in my campaign."

FULL STORY: http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080214/NEWS01/802140354/1001/NEWS01