U.S. Sen. Dan Akaka yesterday warned that the state's economy could be severely hurt if a bill granting federal recognition to Native Hawaiians as a political entity is not passed.

"Combined spending for major federal Native Hawaiian programs exceeds $59 million per year in housing, community development, social services, education and healthcare programs," the Hawai'i Democrat said at a Rotary Club of Honolulu meeting at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel. Such programs could be lost, he said, if challenges now pending in the courts are successful.

"These programs have also created economic opportunities for non-Hawaiians including employment, contracting opportunities and support for local businesses," he said.

The week before a key Sept. 6 vote in which senators will decide whether to debate the so-called Akaka bill on the Senate floor, the bill's namesake is trying to rally support for the measure among key local interests.

Federal recognition would give Native Hawaiians a status similar to that of Native Americans and Alaska natives, Akaka said.

"Congress has recognized native peoples' inherent right to self-determination and self-governance that existed before there was a United States of America," he said.

Besides the $59 million, organizations that serve Native Hawaiians may also be eligible for other federal programs awarded competitively to those serving native peoples. That's an estimated $12 million more in additional federal funding in Hawai'i that comes as a result of Native Hawaiians being considered beneficiaries, Akaka said.

"If we also take into account the economic 'multiplier effect' resulting from what grantees spend on supplies, contracted services and so on, and then the funds that are spent and respent by subsequent recipients, we are looking at about $147 million in total impact, $69 million in wage and salary income, and more than 3,100 jobs in Hawai'i's economy," he said. "Thus, federal spending for Native Hawaiians eventually touches businesses in every major sector in our state."

Asked by reporters after the meeting if Hawai'i's delegation had the 60 votes necessary to put the bill on the Senate calendar, Akaka said: "We think we have the votes, but we want to make sure we have more votes than we need."

While a segment of the Rotary Club crowd appeared to support Akaka's cause, not all did.

Hawaiian activist Dennis "Bumpy" Kanahele, leader of a group called the Independent and Sovereign Nation State of Hawai'i (Nation of Hawai'i), said Akaka sought to "buy" Rotary Club members with his warning about the potential for lost federal dollars.

Kanahele, who belongs to a segment of the Native Hawaiian community opposed to the bill, said he doesn't trust the U.S. Department of Interior, which would play a key role in the establishment of a Native Hawaiian entity. The bill overall represents "another Band-Aid to the real atrocities" of the past, he said.

Rotary member R. Erik Soderholm, who opposes the bill, said there should be a statewide referendum on the bill before it goes before the Senate.

"If the majority of the citizens of Hawai'i support a sovereign government for Hawaiians, right on," he said. "But right now, the citizens of Hawai'i do not have that choice. It's a legislative process."

Reach Gordon Y.K. Pang at gpang@honoluluadvertiser.com.