Daniel Akaka, U.S. Senator from Hawaii

Accomplishments

NATIONAL DEFENSE
Senator Akaka is committed to enhancing the readiness of our Armed Forces and ensuring services and benefits for those who serve in the defense of the country. Since joining the Senate Armed Services Committee in 2000, Senator Akaka has worked to add over $296 million for Hawaii-specific projects to the Department of Defense authorization and appropriations measures.

As the ranking member on the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support, Senator Akaka has championed efforts to ensure that soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines receive the training and equipment necessary to successfully accomplish their missions around the world. In an effort to remain current with military operations, Senator Akaka routinely meets with military and civilian leadership from the Department of Defense. Senator Akaka authored legislation to establish the Office of Corrosion and Oversight in an effort to prevent and mitigate the adverse impacts of corrosion within the Department of Defense. Senator Akaka is one of the leading advocates of improving the accountability of the Department of Defense to account for its spending.

Senator Akaka has been a strong supporter of the military housing privatization programs which improve the quality of life for military members and their families. Senator Akaka has worked to address issues of encroachment between military installations and training ranges and surrounding communities and has repeatedly stressed the importance of open and direct communication between military leaders and community members. Senator Akaka has worked to ensure that an appropriate balance is struck between preserving natural and cultural resources, including marine mammals and endangered species, and providing troops with appropriate training can be achieved. Senator Akaka has worked with the Department of the Navy to address matters pertaining to the cleanup of unexploded ordnance on the island of Kahoolawe and is working with the Department of the Army to address the cleanup of unexploded ordnance at Waikoloa on the Big Island.

Senator Akaka is one of the founders of the Senate Army Caucus which routinely meets with Army leadership to discuss issues of importance to soldiers and their dependents. Senator Akaka was awarded the Outstanding Legislator of the Year award for 2002 by the Association of the United States Army. Senator Akaka has traveled around the world, including visits to Afghanistan and Iraq, to meet with soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines working to defend the United States.

HOMELAND SECURITY Top of Page
Prior to the events of September 11, 2001, Senator Akaka had begun the debate over the appropriate means to ensure homeland security. In the first session of the 107th Congress, he examined the role of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s disaster preparedness and mitigation efforts and reviewed the role of satellite imagery in assisting domestic agencies of the federal government to aid local and state officials in disaster relief.

In July 2001, Senator Akaka, as chairman of the International Security, Proliferation, and Federal Services Subcommittee (ISPFS), conducted the first hearing on the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s role in managing bioterrorism attacks. Senator Akaka examined how the federal government could assist state and local governments with the consequences of domestic terrorism and chemical, biological, and nuclear disasters.

Senator Akaka understands the need to protect America's and Hawaii’s transportation infrastructure from terrorist attacks and has worked to ensure that adequate resources are made available to the states. As such, he has reached out to the federal entities responsible for protecting the nation’s airports and seaports to conduct oversight and ensure that Americans are safe from harm.

Senator Akaka believes that the most important factor in protecting the country is having an effective and efficient federal workforce. To meet this end, Senator Akaka has worked to ensure that (1) the federal government has the right people, with the right skills, in the right place; (2) federal employees have adequate rights and protections to feel secure in their jobs; (3) federal employees are secure with the knowledge that they can report government waste, fraud, and abuse without suffering retaliation; and (4) that federal agencies have the flexibility required to recruit and retain the best people. Senator Akaka worked with Senator George Voinovich on an amendment to the Homeland Security Act (P.L. 107-296) that extends certain flexibilities government-wide that streamlines hiring and provides new workforce shaping tools. He sought to strengthen government management by clarifying that the rights of federal employees are not mutually exclusive of the ability of federal agencies to carry out new homeland security missions and the creation of a department. He worked to ensure agencies have the resources and people required to meet challenges in recruiting, retention, training and management.

Senator Akaka led several initiatives to combat bioterrorism domestically and to stem the proliferation of bioweapons abroad. The Subcommittee released a report in cooperation with the Veterans' Affairs Committee which addressed the many sides of the bioterrorism threat: international proliferation, domestic preparedness, and agriculture security. Several recommendations made in the report were incorporated in the bipartisan comprehensive bioterrorism legislation. He has brought attention to the complex federal interagency process governing preparation for bioterrorism and naturally occurring health crises. He is also committed to ensuring the “all-hazards” approach to homeland security and that bioterrorism initiatives do not come at the expense of public health efforts.

Along with all his efforts on domestic bioterrorism preparedness, Senator Akaka is aware that the first line of defense against a weapons of mass destruction terrorist attack on American soil is with international non-proliferation programs and export controls.

In the area of agriculture protection and security, he has worked to raise awareness of the importance of agriculture to our way of life and the dangers that an infectious animal or plant disease could pose to human health, rural America, and our nation’s economy. Senator Akaka introduced two bills, S. 427, the Agriculture Security Assistance Act, and S. 430, the Agriculture Security Preparedness Act, to increase the federal, state, and local government coordination in confronting the threat to America’s agriculture and provide the necessary resources.

Senator Akaka is concerned about the availability of radioactive materials in the United States. He introduced S. 1045, the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Act, to strengthen the United States’ capabilities to safely and securely dispose of all greater-than-Class C low-level radioactive waste and prevent a “dirty bomb” attack on the homeland. At Senator Akaka's request, the Government Accountability Office has prepared a series of reports on the control and disposal of these radioactive sources. Along with all his efforts on domestic bioterrorism preparedness, Senator Akaka is aware that the first line of defense against a weapons of mass destruction terrorist attack on American soil is with international non-proliferation programs and export controls.

Senator Akaka continues to play an active role in the oversight of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). When the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was being organized, Senator Akaka worked with DHS to elevate the Honolulu field office of ICE to a Special Agent-in-Charge (SAC) office from an Associate SAC office. This ensures the direct communication with ICE Headquarters on issues of importance to homeland security for Hawaii and areas in the Pacific.

FOOD SAFETY
Senator Akaka is a leader in the national effort to ensure food safety. For decades, he has been on the forefront in urging Congress to address the safety of our food supply. Over a decade ago he introduced legislation, the Downed Animal Protection Act, to protect human health and shield the U.S. livestock industry from economic distress by setting uniform nationwide standards to euthanize downed animals and remove them from the processing line for animal products consumed by humans. Non-ambulatory livestock or downed animals, many of which are dying from infectious diseases, should not enter our food chain.

Recent studies have found that mad cow disease is present in a higher percentage of downed livestock than in the general cattle population. In 2003, before a case of mad cow disease, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), was discovered in Washington state, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) was aware that downed animals are one of the most significant potential pathways that have not been addressed in previous efforts to reduce risks from mad cow disease. After the discovery of BSE in December 2003, USDA implemented most of the recommendations contained in Senator Akaka's legislation through regulation. While Senator Akaka is pleased that many of his recommendations on protecting our food chain from non-ambulatory livestock have been implemented by the USDA through regulations, he is committed to the expansion and codification of these regulations.

INTELLIGENCE REFORM Top of Page
Senator Akaka supported S. 2845, the National Intelligence Reform Act of 2004, which would unify and strengthen the national security institutions of the United States. As the ranking member of the Financial Management, the Budget, and International Security Subcommittee, Senator Akaka offered several amendments that were included in the measure that is hailed as the most far reaching reorganization of the nation’s intelligence community. Throughout the debate on how to best implement the recommendations of the 9-11 Commission Senator Akaka pointed to the human capital crisis in the federal government, especially the need to develop the next generation of public servants.

The Act includes provisions similar to those in S. 589, the Homeland Security Federal Workforce Act, which he introduced, that will establish a program awarding scholarships to students in exchange for government service in the intelligence community and require a rotational program for employees in the intelligence community to break down cultural and artificial barriers to intelligence sharing. The final legislation also includes language offered by Senator Akaka requiring the head of the new intelligence agency to review existing programs to increase the number of personnel with science, math, and foreign language skills and report back to Congress on proposals to improve the education of these individuals.

The Intelligence Reform Act also includes an amendment offered by Senator Akaka and Senator Wayne Allard creating an Office of Geospatial Management in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). This provision is identical to S. 1230, the Homeland Security Geographic Information Act, as amended by Senator Akaka. The provision will help to better coordinate the procurement and management of geospatial information within DHS and centralize activities within one office.

NATIVE HAWAIIAN AFFAIRS
Throughout his career in Congress, Senator Akaka has worked to address a number of issues of importance to Hawaii’s indigenous peoples, Native Hawaiians. As a member of the House of Representatives, Senator Akaka worked to enact an amendment to the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act which allowed beneficiaries to transfer leases to descendants who meet a 25 percent blood quantum.

Senator Akaka authored compensation legislation, the Hawaiian Home Lands Recovery Act, to restore Hawaiian home lands that were wrongfully taken by the federal government during Hawaii’s territorial period. As a result of this legislation, the federal government is in the process of transferring land valued at $90 million to the Hawaiian Homes Commission.

Senator Akaka authored P.L. 103-150, which acknowledges U.S. participation in the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii and officially apologizes to Native Hawaiians on behalf of the United States. In accordance with P.L. 103-150, Senator Akaka worked with officials at the Departments of the Interior and Justice to begin the reconciliation process, a continuing dialogue between Native Hawaiians and the United States to address longstanding issues of concern to Native Hawaiians. In 2000, reconciliation discussions began in Hawaii, resulting in the publication of a report in October 2000, entitled, “From Mauka to Makai: The Rivers of Justice Must Flow Freely.” Senator Akaka continues to work with Administration officials to continue the reconciliation process.

For the past five years, Senator Akaka has worked with the members of Hawaii’s Congressional delegation to enact legislation to extend the federal policy of self-governance and self-determination to Native Hawaiians. The Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act, which has been favorably reported by the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs and the House Committee on Resources for the past three Congresses, would authorize a process for the reorganization of the Native Hawaiian governing entity. The bill establishes a new paradigm by providing that following federal recognition, the Native Hawaiian governing entity will negotiate its powers and authorities with the federal and state governments. This structured process provides an opportunity for the people of Hawaii to begin to resolve longstanding issues resulting from the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii. Senator Akaka has secured commitment from the Senate leadership that the bill will be scheduled for debate and a roll call vote no later than August 5, 2005.

Senator Akaka has also worked closely with his colleagues in Hawaii’s Congressional delegation to ensure appropriate funding for programs and services to benefit Native Hawaiians in the areas of employment, education, housing, and health. In 1997, Senator Akaka was successful in his efforts to reclassify Native Hawaiians in a separate category under federal guidelines governing civil rights compliance and data collection based on racial and ethnic classifications, resulting in more accurate data collection for Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders.

NATURAL RESOURCES Top of Page
Senator Akaka believes that strong stewardship for our nation’s public lands and natural resources, including our marine resources, is critical to ensure that the planet's beauty and bounty are conserved for future generations. Senator Akaka has worked with his colleagues in the Senate to bring home over $40 million for national parks, wildlife refuges, and forest conservation and restoration in Hawaii. He authored legislation for the expansion of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Pu`uhonua National Historical Park, and Kaloko Honokohau National Historical Park (P.L. 108-142). The Senator worked closely with the Hawaii Congressional delegation, conservation organizations, state and county officials, and residents to enact these bills and expand the parks by adding Kahuku Ranch to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park in 2004 and Ki`ilae Village to Pu`uhonua National Historical Park in 2005. Senator Akaka authored legislation that resulted in the dedication of the Ala Kahakai Trail on the island of Hawaii (P.L. 106-509), incorporating it into the National Trails System. As Ranking Member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks, Senator Akaka is working to help the National Park Service address the challenges it faces to protect park ecology, address maintenance needs, and meet the growing demands of increasing numbers of park units and visitors.

Senator Akaka authored the Hawaii Water Resources Act of 2004 to authorize three critical water reclamation projects in the State of Hawaii, which passed the Senate in 2003. Senator Akaka also worked with Senator Daniel Inouye to increase the amount of funding available for water reclamation projects in Hawaii from $300,000 to $2.0 million (P.L. 108-137).

The displacement and loss of habitat for Hawaii’s native species is a growing environmental problem in the islands. Senator Akaka is working to ensure that endangered species have the geographic areas and assistance they need to reestablish sustainable populations, and has targeted invasive species as a major threat to Hawaii’s species and ecosystems. Senator Akaka has introduced legislation and worked for funds to help states combat invasive species and their effects on habitat and local economies. Senator Akaka worked with Hawaii’s Congressional delegation to enact P.L. 108-384, to provide for a better-coordinated federal approach and more robust funding for the control of brown tree snakes in Guam, Hawaii, and in other Pacific islands.

PACIFIC ISLANDS AND TERRITORIES
Senator Akaka has established himself as the lead in the United States Senate for issues dealing with the Freely Associated States (FAS) and Pacific U.S. Territories. He has worked closely with the national governments, state governments, atoll governments, embassies, delegates, and representatives to address issues of concern to the Pacific Islands and FAS. Senator Akaka worked very closely with Hawaii’s Congressional delegation, Governor Linda Lingle and her cabinet, and the Bush Administration on legislation to codify the negotiations concerning Title II of the Compact of Free Association between the United States and the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) and the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM).

Senator Akaka worked to include an additional $15 million to add to the annual amount of mandatory funding for Compact Impact which is shared by the affected jurisdictions of Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). Senator Akaka was instrumental in ensuring that the Compact of Free Association Amendments Act of 2003 (P.L. 108-188) includes language authorizing reimbursements to health care institutions in the affected jurisdictions for costs associated with the migration of FAS citizens. Senator Akaka also worked to include provisions which enable referrals of FAS citizens to Department of Defense medical facilities on a space available and reimbursable basis; make Hawaii eligible for grants to address communicable diseases such as cholera, tuberculosis, and Hansen's disease; maintain federal funding for Pell Grants and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) [eligibility for all other educational programs is converted to a cash grant and the Senate resolution mandates that those discretionary funds be added to the education sector grants]; retain eligibility for Job Corps; provide for a full inflation adjustment after 2015 for grants and the trust funds; and provide mandatory payments to Enewetak and Rongelap, two communities affected by U.S. nuclear weapons tests, to operate programs to import food and thus reduce the radiation dose from eating foods grown locally.

Senator Akaka continues to work closely with Senators Jeff Bingaman and Pete Domenici in addressing the Changed Circumstances Petition submitted by the Republic of the Marshall Islands. Senator Akaka joined Senators Frank Murkowski and Bingaman in requesting that the Bush Administration review the petition. In December 2003, Senator Akaka joined Senators Domenici and Bingaman in requesting that the Bush Administration respond to the request for a review of the Changed Circumstances petition. Senator Akaka has been working with his colleagues, the RMI, and medical experts in Hawaii to examine the medical programs established by section 177 of the Compact to provide medical care to RMI citizens affected by nuclear testing conducted by the United States in the RMI.

ENERGY
As a senior member of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Senator Akaka is a leader in renewable and alternative energy sources. His energy initiatives focus on using cleaner and more efficient sources of fuel for the future to alleviate America's and Hawaii's dependence on foreign oil. He is an advocate for dealing with the consequences of greenhouse gas and carbon dioxide accumulation, and has consistently supported the exploration and identification of methane hydrates, a natural gas, as alternative source of fuel.

Senator Akaka introduced the Hydrogen Future Act, and he is committed to pursuing hydrogen legislation to reauthorize programs that will help the nation move away from dependence on foreign oil. Senator Akaka is a founding member of the Senate Hydrogen Caucus, formed in 2004, dedicated to increasing the visibility and knowledge of the hydrogen economy.

Senator Akaka believes that renewable fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel will be beneficial in reducing noxious emissions and demand for petroleum-based fuels. Senator Akaka has worked to ensure that Hawaii can take advantage of ethanol as an alternative fuel. He is committed to ensuring that the biofuels industry receive tax credits and fiscal incentives necessary to mobilize capital and worked to ensure that tax credits were renewed and extended in 2004.

EDUCATION Top of Page
Anticipating far-reaching impacts of sweeping elementary and secondary education reform resulting from the enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act (P.L. 107-110), Senator Akaka in 2003 launched a series of visits to elementary, middle, and high schools in Hawaii to gather feedback about the new law from students, teachers, and school administrators. He also met with U.S. Department of Education officials to open up the dialogue between the federal agency enforcing the law and those working to implement the law in Hawaii, as well as directly transmit to the agency the feedback he received through his site visits and personal meetings.

He continues to work with all parties involved and his colleagues in the Senate and House of Representatives to attain additional flexibilities needed by the Hawaii Department of Education and Hawaii’s schools that are facing serious challenges to full compliance with the No Child Left Behind Act. Some of the specific issues involved include “highly qualified” requirements for teachers and paraprofessionals, high-stakes assessments and calculation of Adequate Yearly Progress, and additional flexibilities for groups of students with Limited English Proficiency such as migrants from the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, and Republic of Palau.

ECONOMIC & FINANCIAL LITERACY
Senator Akaka successfully obtained $1.5 million annually in FY 2004 and FY 2005 appropriations to fund the Excellence in Economic Education Act (EEE Act), which he authored and included in the No Child Left Behind Act (P.L. 107-110). The EEE Act awards a competitive grant to a national nonprofit educational organization that exists primarily to improve student understanding about economic and financial literacy through the classroom. The National Council on Economic Education, with which the Hawaii Council on Economic Education is affiliated, is the first EEE grantee.

The Act requires the national grantee to distribute 75 percent of funds to state and local partnerships for teacher training, assistance to school districts desiring to incorporate economics and personal finance into curricula, evaluations of the impact of economic and financial literacy education on students, related research, and school-based student activities.

In order to bring more visibility to the need for financial literacy in this country, Senator Akaka introduced and the Senate passed a resolution (S.Res. 48) to establish April 2003 as Financial Literacy for Youth Month. The House of Representatives passed a companion resolution in April 2003. The Hawaii State Legislature and Governor Linda Lingle followed suit with a measure and declaration for the month’s designation in Hawaii.

In 2004, Senator Akaka introduced and the Senate passed S.Res. 316 by unanimous consent to designate April 2004 as Financial Literacy Month, broadening the focus to include all age groups, not just youth. The House later passed a companion resolution, which the House accepted by a unanimous vote. Also in 2004, the Hawaii State Legislature passed HB1898 to perpetually establish April as Financial Literacy for Youth Month in Hawaii. The Legislature may seek to align the name of the month with that of the federally-designated month in the 2005 session.

In August 2003, Senator Akaka cosponsored Hawaii’s first annual Economic and Financial Literacy Conference with the Hawaii Council on Economic Education. The event was viewed as a success by many parties due to the level of participation by representatives from several communities and industries including education, business, banking, and Federal and state government, which signaled a common understanding that coordinated efforts to combat economic and financial illiteracy need to be made on several fronts in order to be effective.

The more than 200 people at the conference heard the results of a survey of adults in Hawaii’s workforce – beneficiaries of Hawaii’s education system. Although those taking the survey correctly answered an average of 13 in 20 questions, many did not have a clear understanding of basic concepts such as what constitutes a budget deficit and what is the significance of the stock market. The conference helped identify and understand challenges that lay ahead and suggested solutions to increase financial and economic literacy for children and adults.

Senator Akaka cosponsored the second annual Economic and Financial Literacy Conference with the Hawaii Council on Economic Education and University of Hawaii at Manoa Department of Economics on November 4, 2004.

Senator Akaka worked with his colleagues to pass as a part of Fair Credit Reporting Act reauthorizing legislation (P.L. 108-159) a measure to create the Financial Literacy and Education Commission. The Commission, which first convened in January 2004, is an intergovernmental coordinating body whose goal is to improve the financial decision making of all Americans by strengthening education to raise financial literacy levels. Chaired by the Secretary of the Treasury, the Commission is based in the Department of the Treasury's Office of Financial Education and includes participants from the federal agencies that are engaged in financial literacy and education efforts.

MENTORING Top of Page
Senator Akaka is a leading advocate for mentoring programs in the U.S. Senate. He has worked with the National Mentoring Partnership and Senators George Allen, E. Ben Nelson, and Appropriations Committee members to obtain $50 million for the Mentoring Children of Prisoners in the Department of Health and Human Services and $50 million for Mentoring programs in the U.S. Department of Education in the omnibus appropriations bill for FY 2004. For FY 2005, Senator Akaka secured $50 million for the Children of Prisoners mentoring program and $49.7 million for the Department of Education mentoring programs.

Senator Akaka has also worked to ensure that mentoring resources serve the needs of Hawaii’s families. He has worked with a coalition organized by the Hawaii Youth Services Network, which in FY 2004 received a grant in the amount of $165,000. Senator Akaka has also toured Hawaii’s schools to ascertain mentoring needs in various communities and see firsthand the impacts of current mentoring efforts on Hawaii’s keiki.

JUSTICE
Senator Akaka was successful in securing federal funding for improvements to Hawaii’s Juvenile Justice Information System, an information database managed by the State of Hawaii, currently used by police officers, probation officers, prosecutors, correctional officers and judges to determine the history of juvenile offenders and cases within the Hawaii's judicial system. Information in the JJIS includes juveniles' first exposure to the justice system and extends through prosecution, adjudication, and incarceration. This central repository of data also provides information on missing children and juvenile programs. These improvements to JJIS will greatly enhance Hawaii's efforts to address juvenile criminal behavior through a comprehensive approach involving coordination and collaboration between all child-serving agencies in the State of Hawaii.

BANKING AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
In response to the abuses found in the mutual fund industry, Senator Akaka introduced the first mutual fund reform bill in the Senate, S. 1822, the Mutual Fund Transparency Act of 2003. The legislation mandated that a confirmation notice be provided to mutual fund investors by brokers, brokerage commissions be counted as an expense, and mutual fund governance be strengthened. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has promulgated rules that mirror provisions included in S. 1822. These include requiring fund boards of directors to be led by an independent chairman, increasing the proportion of fund directors that must be independent from one-half to three-fourths, and establishing a mutual fund confirmation notice.

HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES Top of Page
Senator Akaka continues his efforts to strengthen the Medicare and Medicaid programs to ensure that beneficiaries have access to needed medical care. After previously supporting legislation to establish a comprehensive Medicare prescription drug benefit, Senator Akaka opposed the 2003 Medicare Prescription Drug and Modernization Act because it is a false promise to our seniors. The prescription drug benefits will not provide sufficient drug coverage and many seniors will be worse off under the law. For example, seniors who get their medications through Hawaii's Medicaid program will be charged more for medication than they currently are through Medicaid.

Senator Akaka is committed to making substantial improvements in the Medicare prescription drug benefits so that seniors are able to afford their essential medication. He worked with Senator Max Baucus to protect $21.6 billion intended for Medicaid and the Earned Income Tax Credit benefits from being diverted for additional tax cuts during consideration of the FY 2005 Budget Resolution.

Senator Akaka sponsored legislation to increase the Medicare reimbursement rate for Pap smear laboratory tests to ensure that the test remains available and reasonably priced for all women (P.L. 106-103). He successfully amended the Welfare-to-Work program to increase the number of welfare recipients and non-custodial parents eligible for job training, search, creation and retention services to foster self-sufficiency (P.L. 106-113).

HOUSING
Senator Akaka has worked to increase resources for the Section 8 housing program and the flexibility of the program to increase utilization of the housing vouchers. Senator Akaka opposes efforts by the Bush Administration to turn the Section 8 voucher program into a block grant, which would shift the financial burden to States and reduce the number of families served by the program.

TRANSPORTATION Top of Page
Senator Akaka works closely with the other members of the Hawaii Congressional Delegation, the Senate authorization committees, and appropriators to obtain resources for essential road projects and transit programs to help meet the transportation needs of Hawaii.

Senator Akaka authored legislation to create a medical demonstration program to ensure that renal failure patients are able to access dialysis services. The pilot program was included in the Senate-passed surface transportation reauthorization, S. 1072.

VETERANS' AFFAIRS
At the start of the 109th Congress, Senator Daniel K. Akaka was tapped to serve as the Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs. In this role, he leads the Democrats in the Senate with regard to policy and services for our nation’s 25 million veterans.

A strong and vocal advocate for veterans, Senator Akaka has served on the Committee on Veterans Affairs each year of his tenure since his arrival to the Senate in 1990.

As Ranking Member of the Committee, Senator Akaka is currently fighting to increase funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care system and to reduce the claims backlog VA is facing. On January 14, 2005, Senator Akaka and 32 of his colleagues sent the President a letter urging him to increase VA’s funding in the Administration’s 2006 budget request. Veterans are seeking care at VA hospitals and clinics as never before, and Senator Akaka is working to ensure funding keeps pace with demand. In addition to health care issues, Senator Akaka is committed to assuring that VA strikes a more balanced approach between timeliness and accuracy of claims' decisions.

Major achievements and activities on behalf of veterans include:

On January 24, 2005, Senator Akaka introduced S. 13, the Fulfilling Our Duty to America’s Veterans Act of 2005. This legislation would make sweeping changes to the way VA delivers health care and benefits to our nation’s veterans by, among other things, guaranteeing full funding for VA health care, providing for full concurrent receipt, enhancing mental health care services, and easing the transition from military service to civilian life.

In the 108th Congress, Senator Akaka was instrumental in seeing two major pieces of veterans legislation through to final passage. Public Law 108-422, the “Veterans Health Programs Improvement Act of 2004", will help VA provide valuable services to veterans requiring long-term care, sexual trauma counseling, and hospice care. This legislation will also assist VA in transitioning wounded servicemembers from Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom out of military hospitals and into VA’s top-quality rehabilitation programs.

Senator Akaka also worked to see that the “Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel Act of 2004" (now Public Law 108-445) was signed into law. The bill makes sweeping changes to the compensation system for VA physicians and dentists. Because of this vital legislation, VA clinics in Hawaii will now be able to recruit and retain more experienced and renowned primary and specialty care doctors to serve the tens of thousands of veterans enrolled in the VA Pacific Islands Health Care System.

At the start of the war with Iraq in 2003, Senator Akaka helped secure $155 million in the Senate-passed Emergency Supplemental Appropriations bill to provide health care for servicemembers -- including members of the National Guard and Reservists -- as they return from Iraq.

During the107th Congress, Senator Akaka sponsored legislation to permanently reauthorize the Native American Veterans Housing Loan Program. Congress acted to extend the program for five years as part of an omnibus veterans bill, and it was signed into law on December 27, 2001 (P.L. 107-103). As part of that same veterans bill, Senator Akaka worked closely with his colleagues to address the negative impact that a funding cap instituted in the 2003 Omnibus Appropriations bill had on the Native American Veterans Home Loan Program. He was able to get an increase for the cap, which allowed many Hawaii families to resume construction on their homes.

In 1995, Senator Akaka authored legislation to enable military intelligence, Asian American, and Native American Pacific Islander veterans to receive military awards for which they may have been overlooked (Sections 523 and 526 of P.L. 104-106). That same bill contained another of Senator Akaka’s provisions, which directed the Army and Navy to review the service records of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders who received the Distinguished Service Cross during World War II to determine whether the award should be upgraded to the Medal of Honor (Section 524 of P.L. 104-106). As a result, on June 21, 2000, President Clinton awarded 21 Asian Pacific American World War II veterans the Medal of Honor, the Nation's highest award for Valor.

GOVERNMENT MANAGEMENT Top of Page
Following the disclosure of the lack of privacy protections in the Terrorism Information Awareness System (TIA), which uses data mining to reveal patterns in terrorism activity, Senator Akaka became concerned with other government programs using data mining and personal information and requested two reports from Government Accountability Office (GAO) to examine the use of data mining activities by the federal government as a tool to help detect terrorist threats and an instrument to improve government efficiency. The first GAO report found that of the 199 data mining activities in the federal government, 122 activities involve the use of personal information. The personal information used in these data mining activities includes credit reports, credit card transactions, student loan application data, bank account numbers, and tax- payer identification numbers. The second GAO report will provide greater detail on federal data mining activities which use personal information in order to gain further understanding of the privacy implications for this activity. Senator Akaka strongly believes that there must be policies and safeguards in place to ensure that the privacy rights of Americans’ are not being eroded.

CIVIL SERVICE
As the ranking member of Financial Management, the Budget, and International Security Subcommittee which has jurisdiction over federal employee benefits, rights, and protections, Senator Akaka believes federal agencies should have flexibility in workforce shaping to attract new employees and to motivate and retain current workers. He is working to providing agencies with the tools to help with strategic workforce planning and skills assessments. He joined with colleagues to designate Chief Human Capital Officers within agencies and established a Chief Human Capital Officers Council to determine best practices, eliminate internal red tape, and utilize the flexibilities best suited to agencies’ needs. Senator Akaka believes that a cooperative environment must be fostered to reduce inefficiencies and reform the federal hiring process so that the federal government can be on par with the private sector in its ability to recruit, hire, retain, and manage a skilled workforce.

Senator Akaka introduced legislation with Senator Collins (S. 2479) that eliminates open seasons for federal employees participating in the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), the federal employee retirement program. Identical legislation introduced in the House (H.R. 4324), which includes an Akaka provision requiring the development of financial and retirement literacy programs for federal employees, has been cleared for the President’s signature. The bill builds on past legislation authored by Senator Akaka that provides federal employees over the age of 50 with the ability to make additional contributions to their TSP accounts.

Senator Collins and Senator Akaka successfully moved S. 2657 to provide affordable dental and vision care through a supplemental insurance program that will be open to federal employees, retirees, and their dependants. That measure cleared both houses in the final days of the 108th Congress. Ultimately Senator Akaka would like to see an employer contribution, but he understands that an employer contribution must be weighed against the tremendous fiscal constraints facing the federal government at this time.

Senator Akaka forged a bipartisan compromise that led to the introduction of S. 2628, the Federal Employee Protection of Disclosure Act, which is cosponsored by the chairmen and ranking members of the full Governmental Affairs Committee and its three subcommittees. The bill would strengthen the rights and protections of federal employees who come forward to disclose government waste, fraud, and abuse.

Senator Akaka successfully led the Senate to adopt the Homeland Security Federal Workforce Act (S. 589) to strengthen the federal government’s recruitment and retention efforts in the areas of science, mathematics, engineering, and foreign language where there is a growing absence of qualified personnel. This legislation proposes several steps to ensure that government preserves its expertise in matters of national security. Similar language to establish scholarship for government service programs and rotational assignments was included into the conference report to S. 2845, the National Intelligence Reform Act of 2004. Furthering his efforts to improve foreign language education and government recruitment and retention of individuals possessing critical language skills, Senator Akaka successfully added an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act of 2005 for the Department of Defense to report to Congress on ways to improve its efforts to attract and retain skilled linguists. An amendment to the Intelligence Reform Act offered by Senator Akaka and others requiring the National Intelligence Director to report on the existing language education programs, their sufficiency and recommend new programs to increase the number of individuals with language skills was also included in the final measure.

As a leading advocate for pay parity, Senator Akaka successfully added an amendment (S.Amdt. 174) to the Fiscal Year 2003 Omnibus Appropriations Act that for the first time called for pay parity among military and all federal civilian workers, including blue-collar employees. The amendment was included in the conference report and has been used as the model for subsequent pay parity legislation.

As part of his efforts to ensure that agencies have the flexibility needed to recruit and retain skilled individuals, Senator Akaka was the lead cosponsor of a substitute amendment to S. 129 (PL 108-411), the Federal Workforce Flexibility Act, which builds on the amendments offered by Senators Voinovich and Akaka to the Homeland Security Act in 2002 that provides the federal government with additional flexibilities to hire and retain federal employees. S. 129 includes provisions championed by Senator Akaka to provide employees with compensatory time off for time spent on official government travel.

Senator Akaka annually leads the Senate in passing a resolution expressing the Sense of the Senate that public servants should be commended for their dedication and continued service to the nation during Public Service Recognition Week.

After the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Office of Personnel Management published proposed regulations for the new personnel system at DHS, Senator Akaka submitted extensive comments to the Federal Register in opposition to the proposed appeals system at the Department based on the lack of independent oversight for agency personnel actions and the lack of procedural fairness for employees.

Senator Akaka expressed strong support for publication in the Federal Register of proposed regulations for the National Security Personnel System rather than internal regulations initially sought by Defense Secretary Rumsfeld. The Defense Department has agreed to issue its new personnel regulations in the Federal Register.

Senator Akaka is a co-chair of the Congressional Public Service Caucus, a bipartisan, bicameral Member organization dedicated to making the federal government an employer of choice. Caucus members work on legislation and policies to help federal agencies and their employees meet the challenges of the 21st century.

Top of Page
Return to Senator Akaka's Home Page