On the recordDecember 8, 2014
reserving the right to object, I prepared an amendment which is at the desk. The amendment I would like to offer would strike just one provision of this bill which is the reauthorization of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act from this large reauthorization bill. The Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, in my view, is unconstitutional. It conditions benefits to certain residents of the State of Hawaii on their ancestry; that is, on what race they belong to, like the U.S. Supreme Court, which invalidated similar laws, making membership of a racial group an explicit qualification for certain benefits. I believe this act violates the constitutional guarantee of equal protection. I, therefore, cannot support the reauthorization without an amendment striking that same language. Accordingly, I respectfully request that my distinguished colleague, the senior Senator from Montana, modify his request to adopt my amendment which is at the desk and which would strike section 503. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Will the Senator so modify his request?
