Neil Abercrombie: “It is imperative, from the point of view of Representative Hirono and myself, that we regard this bill as nonpartisan in…”

“It is imperative, from the point of view of Representative Hirono and myself, that we regard this bill as nonpartisan in nature. And it was considered that way in committee, and I am grateful for it. The bill was passed overwhelmingly last week 262-162. Of those 162 Republicans who voted ``no'' last week, 39 of them cosponsored the bill to create the Native Hawaiian Housing Title in the 106th Congress, including our good friend, Mr. Bachus, and minority leader John Boehner. This reauthorization and improvements were requested by Hawaii's Republican Governor, Linda Lingle. I bring these things up, Mr. Speaker, to emphasize that never have we ever considered this bill to be a partisan bill, a Republican or Democratic bill.”