Mike Enzi: “I, too, wish to thank Senator Akaka for bringing this to our attention. That is one of the reasons we have 100 people in…”

“I, too, wish to thank Senator Akaka for bringing this to our attention. That is one of the reasons we have 100 people in the Senate and 435 people on the House side, so that we bring all these various backgrounds together, so that something which may have been overlooked can be corrected, and the amendment process is one of the places where we correct that. As Senator Akaka has said, this amendment would provide Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders with eligibility for the Ronald McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program, and that is a program which provides assistance to disadvantaged students who are pursuing doctoral degrees. The students in the McNair Program get research opportunities, they get seminars, they get summer internships, they get tutoring and academic counseling, and they get assistance in securing graduate admission and financial aid mentoring. Those are all things, of course, which increase the probability and the possibility that a person will get their doctoral degree. I am sure it wasn't anyone's intention to leave these groups out, so this amendment, of course, would include the Native Hawaiians to the list of students eligible for this program.”