Among the most-treasured natural wonders of Hawaii is Volcanoes National Park, which attracts some 2.5 million visitors per year to gaze at Kilauea, the world’s most active volcano. But now many more eyes may be drawn to pending legislation in the Senate called the “Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act,” the passage of which could trigger a lava-hot political eruption across the Hawaiian Islands as well as the nation.
Championed by Hawaii’s U.S. Senator Daniel Akaka (D), the proposal would create a race-based governing entity for the “tribe” of “Native Hawaiians” with roles and responsibilities similar to those held by American Indian and Alaskan Native tribes.
In effect, the Akaka bill would use taxpayer money to condone the creation of divisive racial preferences in a state known for its harmonious blend of various cultures and traditions. Indeed, during 1950s statehood debates, Congress reached a consensus that Native Hawaiians would not be treated as a separate race. Knowledge of the Jim Crow laws of the South led many statehood activists to trumpet Hawaii as a post-racial “melting pot . . . which has produced a common nationality.” Why the sudden turnabout on this principle? Bigger government may be one motivation.
By most reasonable interpretations of federal rules - such as demonstrating a separate and distinct geographical and cultural community with preexisting, intact political structures - Native Hawaiians would not seem to qualify for official recognition as a “tribe.” Although the certification process has been criticized for inconsistency, the current language before Congress places no bets on being able to game the system. Instead, the bill brazenly turns to race, by defining a “Native Hawaiian” as a direct, lineal descendant of the indigenous people who resided and exercised sovereignty in the Hawaiian archipelago before January 1, 1893. A nine-member commission would be responsible for creating and certifying a roll of adult Hawaiians based on these race classifications.
Under such definitions, the “Native Hawaiian Tribe” could represent a total of 400,000 people, covering about 20 percent of Hawaiian residents in addition to members living in the remaining 49 states. Were every eligible individual to sign up for membership, the Native Hawaiians could constitute the largest Indian tribe in the nation.
Yet race-based governments have not withstood the test of time. In 2000, the Supreme Court ruled in Rice v. Cayetano that efforts to create such odious structures violated the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and that enlightened legal systems should strive toward color-blind justice and treatment.
Nonetheless, if the Akaka bill were passed into law, the new native government would be recognized by the U.S. as “the representative governing body of the Hawaiian people” and among other activities would take control of state and federal social services that spend money collected from taxpayers nationwide.
Granted, the administrative expenditures from the U.S. Treasury associated with this legislation are modest – nearly $1 million annually in fiscal years 2006-2008 and less than $500,000 in each subsequent year to establish and fund bureaucracies like the United States Office for Native Hawaiian Relations and the Native Hawaiian Interagency Coordinating Group. However, in addition to maintaining support for existing programs, both the federal government and the State of Hawaii may be expected to turn significant land holdings over to the new entity pending further negotiations.
Yet another form of taxpayer liability would be the exceedingly long 20-year statute of limitations contained in the bill for new legal claims brought by “Native Hawaiians” against the federal government. Burgeoning legal disputes over land or treatment could further drain government coffers.
Meanwhile, Hawaiian citizens could face seriously higher tax bills owing to the cash-hungry gaggle of local bureaucracies that will surely hatch from the creation of a new, inefficient government structure.
Ironically, Hawaii’s taxes are already among the worst in the nation. The Census Bureau reports that state-level taxes per capita in Hawaii were the highest of all 50 states last year, while the Tax Foundation ranks the Aloha State third for the heaviest state and local tax load as a percentage of income. Both Native and non-native Hawaiians would be best served by public policies that reduce rather than expand the size and number of government burdens in the Islands.
Furthermore, the Hawaiians impacted by the bill will have no opportunity to vote on this sweeping change. This is especially concerning since a recent survey released by the non-profit Grassroots Institute of Hawaii pointed to strong opposition (67%) among Hawaiian residents toward the proposed legislation, even as Hawaiian political elites continue to ram the bill through the Senate.
Thankfully, the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act faces more of a challenge among Members of the House of Representatives, who do not want to codify race-based discrimination into law. A recent joint letter to House lawmakers, signed by Representative Steve King (R-IA) and 21 of his colleagues, expressed “serious concerns” that the bill’s “result would be contrary to fundamental American values and would set a dangerous precedent for our nation.”
Their words could not ring truer at a time when a rumbling mountain of misguided legislation threatens to spew a fiscally-noxious cloud not only over Hawaii, but over America’s taxpaying heartland too.
