Nick Rahall: “This amendment proposes to require the Native Hawaiian governing authority to comply with the equal protection clause of…”

“This amendment proposes to require the Native Hawaiian governing authority to comply with the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. The Abercrombie substitute will correctly treat the Native Hawaiian governing entity the same as any other Native American government is treated. Specifically, the Abercrombie substitute mandates that the Native Hawaiian government's organic governing documents must provide for the protection of the civil rights of Native Hawaiian citizens. It requires that the Native Hawaiian government's organic governing documents must provide for the protection of the civil rights of all persons affected by an exercise of Native Hawaiian governmental powers and authorities. And the Abercrombie substitute subjects the Native Hawaiian governing entity to the Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968, which prohibits, among other things, a denial of the equal protection of any person. There is no reason for this amendment, and I would urge its defeat.”