U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye has inserted Native Hawaiian federal recognition into a draft of the annual spending bill for the interior and environment, a tactical move that could be the final chance for federal recognition before U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka, the idea’s leading sponsor, retires.

Under the provision, the secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior could recognize the Native Hawaiians being identified by a state roll commission as indigenous people with the right to self-government, similar to American Indians and Alaska Natives. Native Hawaiians would be prohibited from conducting gaming activities.

Inouye, D-Hawaii, the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, used a similar tactic in the interior spending bill last year but the provision did not survive. Conservative Republicans in the Senate who believe Native Hawaiian recognition is an unconstitutional race-based preference have blocked the idea since 2000, although versions of federal recognition have passed in the House three times.

Akaka, D-Hawaii, who is retiring in January, moved a streamlined version of his bill out of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee earlier this month. His bill, like the provision in the interior spending bill, is based on the state roll commission that is preparing a registry of Hawaiians eligible for participation in a new government that could eventually negotiate with the state and federal governments on land use and cultural issues.

Inouye said at the time that he would "not rest until the sovereign rights of Native Hawaiians are recognized and Senator Akaka’s legacy is fulfilled."

"Senator Inouye is committed to achieving self-determination for Native Hawaiians," Peter Boylan, an Inouye spokesman, said in an email on Saturday. "He has and will continue to pursue any and all available avenues."

The federal fiscal year ends today, but Congress has not approved the dozen annual appropriations bills that finance the federal government for fiscal year 2013. President Barack Obama on Friday signed a continuing resolution that will fund federal government operations through late March.

The Akaka Bill, as stand-alone legislation, would likely fail because of Republican opposition if brought to a floor vote in the House or Senate when lawmakers return to Congress to wrap up business after the November elections. Inserting Native Hawaiian recognition into the interior spending bill, however, places it among dozens of provisions that lawmakers could negotiate in competing drafts of the larger bill.

Inouye’s Senate Appropriations Committee released its draft of the interior spending bill last week. The House Appropriations Committee approved its draft earlier this year.