Democrats Tossing the Constitution Again

Via email:

Today, House Democrats will bring to the floor the Hawaiian Homeownership Opportunity Act (HR 835), an unconstitutional bill that would guarantee special federally-backed housing benefits to Native Hawaiians. Democratic leaders have placed this bill under a special rule that stifles debate but requires a two-thirds vote to pass. House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) and other GOP leaders are urging Members to oppose the bill.

HR 835 would confer on Native Hawaiians an arrangement like that between the federal government and American Indian tribes. But in the Rice v. Cayetano decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Native Hawaiians are not comparable to American Indian tribes, and suggested that special legal privileges for Native Hawaiians are rightly unconstitutional. The Court wrote, "The tribal concept simply has no place in the context of Hawaiian history."

In light of the Supreme Court ruling and House Democrats' decision to bring the bill to the floor in a manner that stifles debate, HR 835 should be opposed.