Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 16, Number 8, 1 August 1999 — Trustees push amendments to federal housing bill [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Trustees push amendments to federal housing bill

0FFICE OF Hawaiian Affairs Board of Trustees Chairperson Rowena Akana, Trustee Clayton Hee, Trustee Mililani Trask and staff attorney Kali Watson traveled to Washington, D.C. July 13 for 10 days of meetings on a bill before the United States Congress that would address the housing needs of Native Hawaiians - needs that have been acknowledged as the

most desperate in the United States. The legislation could bring Hawaiians more than $200 million in federal housing assistance over the next five years. As originally drafted, the bill, designated S. 225, targeted Department of Hawaiian Home Lands lessees for block grants, infrastructure

funding and loan guarantees. But this raised doubts with the OHA board in that S. 225 could be the first federal measure that would restrict a general federal appropriations to a class of Hawaiians defined by blood quantum. "It's setting a dangerous precedent,"

said Trustee Trask. Also of eoneem was the arbitrary exclusion of impoverished Hawaiians living on kuleana lands such as those located in Maunalaha and Kahana Valley. Although many of these Hawaiians might have the requisite blood quantum, they would not qualify for assistance under the bill as originally drafted because their lots eome under the Department of See AMENDMENTS on pagc 9

I U P D A T E S

Papakolea homesteaders listen as OHA's Sebastian Aloot and DHHL's Ben Henderson explain the proposed amendments to federal bill S. 225.

AMENDMENTS AMENDMENTS from page 1

Land and Natural Resources rather than DHHL. At its June 17 meeting, the board decided to support amendments that would extend the bill's benefits to the broader Hawaiian eommunity so long as such amendments would not jeopardize passage of the bill or the outcome of Rice vs. Cayetano. The trustees voted to amend S. 225 as follows: • The "findings" section at the beginning of the bill would be modified to emphasize the relationship between the United States and the Kingdom of Hawai'i as well as the special trust obligations accepted by the U.S. in 1898, and to minimize any inference that the independent political status of Hawaiians flows from the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1921. • The reference to the 50 percent blood quantum set forth in the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act would be replaced with the modern, pre-contact definition. • The DHHL trust land limitation would be replaced by a definition that included all ceded lands on whieh either OHA or DHHL is authorized to provide low-ineome housing. • The agency to administer the federal funds would be defined as DHHL or OHA.

At its July 12 meeting, Hawaiian Homes Commission voted voted to support these OHA-initi-ated changes to S. 225 - provided that DHHL beneficiaries receive highest priority during negotiations over the bill and that OHA obtain permission from DHHL to apply for federal housing money. As part of the cooperative effort, Commission Chair Ray Soon and OHA Chair Akana signed a joint letter to the relevant congressional and executive offices proposing the amendments. "This should only be the first step in a mueh closer working relationship between these two important agencies," the Honolulu Advertiser commented in a July 15 editorial. In its original form, S. 225 recently cleared the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. At press time, it was being considered for "mark-up" by the members and staff of the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee who will decide whether to adopt any changes. "OHA trustees eonhnue to seek amendments to S. 225," said Chair Akana. " We will eonhnue to meet wi' the various departments in Washington, D and work toward inclusion of all Hawaiia' /