It only took a minute, and now Dan Akaka’s Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act is on its way back to the full Senate.

S. 675 was amended and passed with nearly zero discussion at the Indian Affairs Committee hearing here in the Dirksen Senate Building moments ago.

Wyoming Republican John Barrasso said his position is that new tribes should go through the Interior Department recognition, which the Akaka Bill would circumvent. But he said he admires Akaka’s tenacity, dedication and leadership.

At the end of the hearing, Barrasso noted that John McCain also wished to be recorded as a no vote.

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— Michael Levine