Political Quotes

“This amendment, I would hope, would not be controversial. It has nothing to do with earmarks either, I'll let everybody know. But it would simply ensure that the equal protection clause, the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, applies to the Native Hawaiian governing authority established by this legislation. I just want to say how much I admire the gentleman from Hawaii (Mr. Abercrombie). I have worked with him for a number of years on a number of issues and I know that he brings to this debate a lot of hard work and a lot of care. I just want to commend him for that and for all that he does. I think that this amendment simply clarifies, I would hope, that this does not violate any portion of the Constitution. Now, it has been said here many times by the proponents of the legislation that it does not, but there are still a lot of questions out there. As has been noted, the Governor of Hawaii and the Attorney General do not support this substitute amendment to the bill, and they have repeatedly expressed concerns fearing that it would apply different rules to those under their jurisdiction. I think that if there is any question, that we ought to ensure, at least at a minimum, that we are complying with the 14th Amendment.”