In 2002, as chairman of the International Security Subcommittee, Senator Akaka held hearings on Iraq's purported weapons of mass destruction (WMD). He attended classified briefings, participated in Armed Services Committee hearings, and listened to outside experts. He concluded that Iraq's alleged WMD programs did not pose an immediate threat and, more significantly, that the President's post-war strategy would not work. He along with 22 other senators made the difficult and (at the time) unpopular decision to vote against waging a war against Iraq.

He cautioned that before the United States considered invading Iraq, the U.S. should (1) exhaust all means short of war to enforce United Nations resolutions concerning Iraq, (2) build an effective international coalition both to fight the war and to win the peace, and (3) ensure that Iraq did indeed have weapons of mass destruction.

As the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, Senator Akaka leads the Democrats in the Senate in safeguarding and improving services to our nation's 25 million veterans. Having served on the committee since joining the Senate in 1990, Senator Akaka has been a strong and vocal advocate for veterans and enjoys productive working relationships with veteran service organizations, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and his colleagues in Congress.

In early January of 2006, Senator Akaka held committee hearings on four different islands to examine the state of VA care in Hawaii. These hearings brought high-ranking VA and military officials from Washington D.C. to examine care for Hawaii's veterans and returning service members. At the hearings, Senator Akaka promoted his belief that the VA must provide a unique strategy to care for Hawaii's veterans because of the state's unique geography. Unlike other states that are geographically contiguous, stand-alone services are needed for each island in Hawaii, because it is not practical or financially feasible for veterans to travel between the islands for care. As a result of the senator's efforts, the VA will:

1. Provide $1 million for improvements in mental health initiatives in Hawaii,
2. Establish a home health care program on Kauai,
3. Lift the home care restrictions on Maui,
4. Create tele-health capabilities on Molokai, and
5. Increase mental health services in Kona.

In the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorists' attacks on the United States, Congress voted to pass the Patriot Act. U.S. Senator Dan Akaka voted in support of the Patriot Act, believing, like many of his colleagues, that the federal government needed the tools to fight, detect and deter terrorist acts, and that the powers granted the government at the time were limited. In addition, assurances were made by the Bush Administration that there were adequate provisions in the legislation to protect individual citizen's privacy and civil rights. Nevertheless, there were many voices, including Senator Akaka's, who expressed concern over the real potential for civil rights abuse.

The Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act of 2005 (S. 147) was introduced by Senator Akaka and Hawai??€˜i??€™s Congressional delegation to extend self-governance and self- determination to Native Hawaiians. The Hawai??€˜i delegation has been working to enact this legislation since 1999. On March 9, 2005, the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs voted to adopt an amendment offered by Senator Akaka, Senator Inouye, and Senator John McCain. The Committee also voted to favorably report the bill as amended. Recently, a bipartisan majority of Senators voted in favor of invoking cloture on the bill. Unfortunately, the cloture motion needed more than a simple majority to allow the bill to receive full consideration by the Senate. Senator Akaka is continuing to pursue a more comprehensive discussion on self-governance for Native Hawaiians.

HEALTH & SOCIAL SERVICES

Senior citizens, the majority of whom are on limited and fixed income, depend on essential health care services provided by the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Senator Akaka has worked hard to strengthen these programs to ensure access and affordability to needed medical care. That is why he has called for repeal of the requirement for residents applying or reapplying for Medicaid to produce a passport or birth certificate to prove they are U.S. citizens. An estimated 51 million people will be affected by these unworkable documentation requirements when they apply or reapply for Medicaid.

MINIMUM WAGE

Senator Akaka understands that too many working Americans are confronted with difficult financial situations. He believes that economic education and financial literacy are a major part of the solution for people to improve their unique situations. However, such efforts cannot truly succeed without sound fiscal policies to keep our economy strong. Many American families are having difficulties making ends meet. For Hawaii, where the unemployment rate has been low for some time, the issue is more about under-employment and the lack of decent wages. That's why Hawaii has historically had one of the highest rates of two-income families and parents working more than one job.

Senator Akaka believes that Hawaii and the country need a strong maritime industry and that the Jones Act is essential to the survival of this industry. He, along with a strong bipartisan coalition in Congress, has long defended the Jones Act from those who would like to see its repeal.

The Jones Act requires that domestic ocean shipping (including cargo between Hawaii and the U.S. mainland) be carried on U.S. registered, U.S. built and U.S. crewed vessels. Criticism of the Jones Act is based on the belief that the Act has had enormous impact on Hawaii's cost of living. However, studies have found that shipping costs account for only a small portion of the cost of goods in Hawaii. Objective analysis shows the Jones Act to be a minor factor in the Hawaii-mainland cost of living differential.

As part of the Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill, Senator Akaka successfully convinced the Senate to include two important amendments to the pending landmark measure. The first would grant the children of Filipino World War II veterans special immigrant status to allow these veterans and their families to reunite. The second amendment would clarify the process for countries to enter the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). The amendment could provide a significant increase in business and leisure travel to Hawaii, as well as to the rest of the country.

The first Akaka amendment calls attention to hardships endured by Filipino Veterans because of current U.S. immigration practices. There are countless numbers of Filipino World War II veterans in the U.S. who have been separated from their families and who are patiently waiting to reunite with family members.

Senior citizens and other beneficiaries, the majority of whom are on limited and fixed incomes, depend on essential health care services provided by Medicare and Medicaid programs. Senator Akaka has worked hard to strengthen these programs to ensure access to and affordability of needed medical care. That is why he has called for repeal of the requirement for residents applying or reapplying for Medicaid to produce a passport or birth certificate to prove they are U.S. citizens. An estimated 51 million people will be affected by these unworkable documentation requirements when they apply or reapply for Medicaid.

Protecting and strengthening the environmental laws has always been a high priority for Senator Akaka, and he has consistently opposes attempts to weaken environmental protection measures. He has strongly supported the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) and other environmental protection laws such as the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Ocean Dumping Act, and Endangered Species Act.

INVASIVE SPECIES

In Hawaii and in other parts of the U.S., invasive species have wreaked havoc in the environment. Senator Akaka championed the fight against invasive species by introducing S. 1541, the Public Land Protection and Conservation Act, and initiated and signed onto letters to his colleagues urging increased funding for programs to combat invasive species. He is an originating co-sponsor of the National Aquatic Invasive Species Act (NAISA), which strengthens and expands the National Invasive Species Act of 1996.

As a senior member of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Senator Akaka has been a leader in promoting renewable and alternative energy sources, such as wind, solar, wave, ocean thermal cooling, ethanol, photovoltaic and hydrogen. His energy initiatives have focused on using cleaner and more efficient sources of fuel for the future to alleviate America's and Hawaii's dependence on foreign oil. He has consistently supported budget requests and appropriations for energy sciences and research and development.

Senator Akaka's vision for our nation's energy future resulted in hydrogen and methane hydrates legislation enacted into law. This also resulted in a cutting-edge hydrogen fuel cell project at Hawaii Natural Energy Institute. Working with Senator Inouye, Senator Akaka helped secure $3 million for the Hydrogen Gateway project in FY 2006.

NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND

In 2003, anticipating far-reaching impacts of sweeping elementary and secondary education reform resulting from the enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act, Senator Akaka 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.

He continues to work with all parties involved and his colleagues in the Senate and House of Representatives to attain flexibility needed by Hawaii's schools that face serious challenges to full compliance with the No Child Left Behind Act.

ECONOMIC & FINANCIAL LITERACY

Senator Akaka believes that one of the strongest ways to protect consumers is to arm them with information and knowledge. That's why he has worked to increase consumer confidence in their own money management, by ensuring the education, protection and empowerment of individual consumers and families. The Senator is an acknowledged champion of economic and financial literacy, receiving national awards for his work from organizations such as the National Council on Economic Education and Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy.

He authored and successfully obtained funding for the Excellence in Economic Education Act. The 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. Senator Akaka also introduced the College Literacy in Finance and Economics Act to address the problem of increasing debt loads among the nation's college students, as well as to enhance financial and economic literacy for college students. Senator Akaka was also instrumental in creating in the Financial Literacy and Education Commission. The Commission 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. In FY 2005, he secured $1 million for the commission to develop and implement a national strategy to promote basic financial literacy and education for all consumers.

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) is located in the Northeast corner of Alaska and within the Arctic Circle. Next to it is a portion of land that has been set aside by Congress for oil exploration and production. ANWR is NOT part of the designated Wilderness area. It is completely flat and barren with no trees, hills, or mountains. Nine months of the year it is covered with snow and ice and practically void of life.

Congress is currently investigating tapping oil reserves beneath the Arctic Coastal Plain to support both our national energy security needs and to mitigate the skyrocketing cost of gas and related expenses for working families. At the same time, Senator Dan Akaka is working closely with the indigenous people of Alaska and the Alaskan Congressional delegation to provide economic stability for Native Alaskans while protecting the fragile environment of the nearby Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.