Hawaii Sen. Daniel Akaka has come out against a Republican proposal to impose a federal hiring freeze.

The veteran island Democrat said Friday in a Washington news release that such a move would wind up costing the government more over the long-run by increasing reliance on contractors whose work would not be capped.

Akaka says the proposal would sacrifice the nation’s long-term investment in the employees needed to efficiently and effectively run government programs for a shortsighted approach that does nothing to address current fiscal challenges.

The proposal is part of the "Pledge to America," which was announce this week by House Republicans.