For those who support federal recognition for Native Hawaiians and who are reading the tea leaves, the prognosis in the Senate would appear to be at least moderately hopeful.

Reports of revisions to the Akaka bill seem to signal (at least to proponents) that the U.S. Department of Justice is satisfied with the measure, which means the Bush administration is unlikely to actively oppose it.

But enough roadblocks to passage remain so that the White House wouldn't have to lift a finger to stop it. Moving the bill for a Senate floor debate is still largely a hit-or-miss proposition, depending on whether sponsors can rally enough votes when senators return after Labor Day.

Then it competes with other measures for floor time.

Most of those watching from the sidelines here aren't talking too openly because they haven't seen the actual language of the revision. But privately they feel assured that the revisions haven't further complicated the most contentious of the issues: land claims.

Justice's concern, they say, arises from a fear that the Akaka bill would create a fresh dispute in court. After all, this is designed to set in motion a process to settle claims and disputes, not set in motion a whole new round of them.

And now, Justice lawyers seem to accept that the bill seeks negotiations to resolve existing or ongoing disputes over former Hawaiian kingdom and crown lands.

This doesn't mean the Akaka bill is a slam dunk in the Senate. It may come down to pure numbers: If not enough senators are around and willing to vote on the matter, it could die a quiet death.

But assuming that does not happen, the real concern should be its future in the House. That's where opponents seemingly have turned their attention, and Akaka bill backers had better do the same.