Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We have been talking about NextGen for quite a while in this Committee, and I confess that just sometimes I get very confused as to what we are really talking about.

I commend Southwest and Alaska for taking the lead. I am wondering why it is that the other airlines such as United, American, Northwest, why they have not proceeded to implement RNP since it saves money, fuel, lowers carbon footprint, efficiency?

And are we meeting our job retention and creation goals with the Recovery Fund money?

We must ensure that the voices of Native Hawaiians are heard in Congress.

The Native Hawaiian people are an indigenous people this is not race-based legislation.

All of those kinds of issues, anything that would allow Native Hawaiians to not pay state taxes would have to be agreed to by the State of Hawaii.

This bill sets up a process whereby the United States can recognize a constituted Native Hawaiian governing entity.

Native Hawaiians, like American Indians and Alaska Natives, have an inherent sovereignty based on their status as indigenous native people.

Clearly, I supported the 1978 constitutional convention, which proposed the creation of OHA, which was ratified by the majority of the people of Hawaii.

Those of us who have addressed this issue, who have thought about it, who have read the various opinions, we have never viewed this as a race-based issue.

I would say that any kind of an argument that says that, that Native Hawaiians are not an indigenous people, is in my view very wrong.