Hawai'i's senators and the Lingle administration have agreed to several amendments to a Native Hawaiian federal recognition bill in the hopes of making it more palatable to the Bush administration and Republicans who have blocked the bill from moving in the U.S. Congress.

The revisions are an attempt to satisfy issues raised by the U.S. Department of Justice in July, and would clarify that the bill would not sanction gambling, interfere with the military, create any new claims against the United States or exempt Native Hawaiians from criminal or other laws.

Gov. Linda Lingle and a spokeswoman for U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawai'i, the bill's main sponsor, said yesterday the Bush administration has supported the amendments. The Republican governor also said she doubted the administration, which has not taken a position on the bill, would now oppose the bill after it worked with the state and Hawai'i senators on the changes.

"They did raise issues that they thought were a concern and I think we've worked hard to address them," Lingle said yesterday at a luncheon honoring veterans at Washington Place.

The bill, which has been held for five years because of Republican opposition, could come up for a critical vote in the U.S. Senate in early September. Akaka needs the votes of 60 of the chamber's 100 senators to end procedural delays and bring the bill to the floor for debate.

The bill would recognize Native Hawaiians as an indigenous people and create a process for Hawaiians to form their own government. The amendments respond to some of the misgivings by Republican senators that led to holds on the bill in July, when a vote had been expected, but they do not change what has been at the core of Republican criticism.

Conservatives believe the bill would give preferences to Native Hawaiians based solely on their race and is unconstitutional. Bruce Fein, a constitutional lawyer who has been working with the Grassroot Institute of Hawai'i against the bill, said he doubts the amendments will be persuasive.

"That really wasn't the basis for objection. These are really marginal elements," Fein said. "It speaks to a different universe."

Supporters have concentrated on getting the bill through the Senate, but opposition has also started to surface in the U.S. House of Representatives, where the Republican majority often enforces much stricter discipline on its members. "If (Majority Leader) Tom DeLay does not want it to go to the floor, it's not going to the floor," Fein said.

The exact language for the amendments has not been released, but Lingle assured Republican senators in a letter Tuesday that all parties had agreed to the changes. On gambling, an issue raised by senators in July, Lingle wrote that the language would be "definitive, plain and unambiguous."

Lingle also wrote that the bill's opponents have challenged the integrity and honesty of Hawai'i senators and her administration, and have made "very wild arguments," including that it would lead to secession. She wrote that the bill would specifically clarify that recognition for Native Hawaiians would not go beyond what is already available to American Indians or Alaska Natives.

"One of my primary reasons for supporting the bill is that Hawai'i's indigenous people are the only indigenous people of the United States not afforded recognition, and that this is both unfair and unjust," wrote Lingle, who plans to be in Washington, D.C., for the September vote.

Donalyn Dela Cruz, a spokeswoman for Akaka, said the amendments do not change the foundation of the bill but could help ease the concerns of some senators. "The agreement maintains the intent and purpose in extending the federal policy of self-governance and self-determination to Hawai'i's indigenous people," she said.

Reach Derrick DePledge at ddepledge@honoluluadvertiser.com.