I

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 755

To amend the Organic Act of Guam to provide restitution to the people

of Guam who suffered atrocities such as personal injury, forced labor,

forced marches, internment, and death during the occupation of Guam

in World War II, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

FEBRUARY 11, 1999

Mr. UNDERWOOD (for himself, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA, Mr.

KENNEDY of Rhode Island, Mr. ROMERO-BARCELO ́, Mrs. CHRISTIANCHRISTENSEN, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. FROST, Mr. HOLDEN, and Mr. ORTIZ)

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources

A BILL

To amend the Organic Act of Guam to provide restitution

to the people of Guam who suffered atrocities such as

personal injury, forced labor, forced marches, internment,

and death during the occupation of Guam in World

War II, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Guam War Restitution

5 Act’’.
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1 SEC. 2. AMENDMENT TO ORGANIC ACT OF GUAM TO PRO2 VIDE RESTITUTION.

3 The Organic Act of Guam (48 U.S.C. 1421 et seq.)

4 is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

5 ‘‘SEC. 35. RECOGNITION OF DEMONSTRATED LOYALTY OF

6 GUAM TO UNITED STATES, AND SUFFERING

7 AND DEPRIVATION ARISING THEREFROM,

8 DURING WORLD WAR II.

9 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section:

10 ‘‘(1) AWARD.—The term ‘award’ means the

11 amount of compensation payable under subsection

12 (d)(2).

13 ‘‘(2) BENEFIT.—The term ‘benefit’ means the

14 amount of compensation payable under subsection

15 (d)(3).

16 ‘‘(3) COMMISSION.—The term ‘Commission’

17 means the Guam Trust Fund Commission estab18 lished by subsection (f).

19 ‘‘(4) COMPENSABLE INJURY.—The term ‘com20 pensable injury’ means one of the following three

21 categories of injury incurred during and as a result

22 of World War II:

23 ‘‘(A) Death.

24 ‘‘(B) Personal injury (as defined by the

25 Commission).
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1 ‘‘(C) Forced labor, forced march, or in2 ternment.

3 ‘‘(5) GUAMANIAN.—The term ‘Guamanian’

4 means any person who—

5 ‘‘(A) resided in the territory of Guam dur6 ing any portion of the period beginning on De7 cember 8, 1941, and ending on August 10,

8 1944, and

9 ‘‘(B) was a United States citizen or na10 tional during such portion.

11 ‘‘(6) PROOF.—The term ‘proof’ relative to com12 pensable injury means any one of the following, if

13 determined by the Commission to be valid:

14 ‘‘(A) An affidavit by a witness to such

15 compensable injury;

16 ‘‘(B) A statement, attesting to compen17 sable injury, which is—

18 ‘‘(i) offered as oral history collected

19 for academic, historic preservation, or jour20 nalistic purposes;

21 ‘‘(ii) made before a committee of the

22 Guam legislature;

23 ‘‘(iii) made in support of a claim filed

24 with the Guam War Reparations Commis25 sion;
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1 ‘‘(iv) filed with a private Guam war

2 claims advocate; or

3 ‘‘(v) made in a claim pursuant to the

4 first section of the Act of November 15,

5 1945 (Chapter 483; 59 Stat. 582).

6 ‘‘(7) TRUST FUND.—The term ‘Trust Fund’

7 means the Guam Trust Fund established by sub8 section (e).

9 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS FOR CLAIMS AND GENERAL

10 DUTIES OF COMMISSION.—

11 ‘‘(1) REQUIRED INFORMATION FOR CLAIMS.—

12 Each claim for an award or benefit under this sec13 tion shall be made under oath and shall include—

14 ‘‘(A) the name and age of the claimant;

15 ‘‘(B) the village in which the individual

16 who suffered the compensable injury which is

17 the basis for the claim resided at the time the

18 compensable injury occurred;

19 ‘‘(C) the approximate date or dates on

20 which the compensable injury occurred;

21 ‘‘(D) a brief description of the compen22 sable injury which is the basis for the claim;

23 ‘‘(E) the circumstances leading up to the

24 compensable injury; and
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1 ‘‘(F) in the case of a claim for a benefit,

2 proof of the relationship of the claimant to the

3 relevant decedent.

4 ‘‘(2) GENERAL DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION TO

5 PROCESS CLAIMS.—With respect to each claim filed

6 under this section, the Commission shall determine

7 whether the claimant is eligible for an award or ben8 efit under this section and, if so, shall certify the

9 claim for payment in accordance with subsection (d).

10 ‘‘(3) TIME LIMITATION.—With respect to each

11 claim submitted under this section, the Commission

12 shall act expeditiously, but in no event later than 1

13 year after the receipt of the claim by the Commis14 sion, to fulfill the requirements of paragraph (2) re15 garding the claim.

16 ‘‘(4) DIRECT RECEIPT OF PROOF FROM PUBLIC

17 CLAIMS FILES PERMITTED.—The Commission may

18 receive proof of a compensable injury directly from

19 the Governor of Guam, or the Federal custodian of

20 an original claim filed with respect to the injury pur21 suant to the first section of the Act of November 15,

22 1945 (Chapter 483; 59 Stat. 582), if such proof is

23 contained in the respective public records of the

24 Governor or the custodian.

25 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBILITY.—
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1 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBILITY FOR AWARDS.—A claimant

2 shall be eligible for an award under this section if

3 the claimant meets each of the following criteria:

4 ‘‘(A) The claimant is—

5 ‘‘(i) a living Guamanian who person6 ally received the compensable injury that is

7 the basis for the claim, or

8 ‘‘(ii) the heir or next of kin of a dece9 dent Guamanian, in the case of a claim

10 with respect to which the compensable in11 jury is death.

12 ‘‘(B) The claimant meets the requirements

13 of paragraph (3).

14 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBILITY FOR BENEFITS.—A claimant

15 shall be eligible for a benefit under this section if the

16 claimant meets each of the following criteria:

17 ‘‘(A) The claimant is the heir or next of

18 kin of a decedent Guamanian who personally

19 received the compensable injury that is the

20 basis for the claim, and the claim is made with

21 respect to a compensable injury other than

22 death.

23 ‘‘(B) The claimant meets the requirements

24 of paragraph (3).
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1 ‘‘(3) GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR ELIGI2 BILITY.—A claimant meets the requirements of this

3 paragraph if the claimant meets each of the follow4 ing criteria:

5 ‘‘(A) The claimant files a claim with the

6 Commission regarding a compensable injury

7 and containing all of the information required

8 by subsection (b)(1).

9 ‘‘(B) The claimant furnishes proof of the

10 compensable injury.

11 ‘‘(C) By such procedures as the Commis12 sion may prescribe, the claimant files a claim

13 under this section not later than 1 year after

14 the date of the appointment of the ninth mem15 ber of the Commission.

16 ‘‘(4) LIMITATION ON ELIGIBILITY FOR AWARDS

17 AND BENEFITS—

18 ‘‘(A) AWARDS.—

19 ‘‘(i) No claimant may receive more

20 than 1 award under this section and not

21 more than 1 award may be paid under this

22 section with respect to each decedent de23 scribed in paragraph (1)(A)(ii).
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1 ‘‘(ii) Each award shall consist of only

2 1 of the amounts referred to in subsection

3 (d)(2).

4 ‘‘(B) BENEFITS.—

5 ‘‘(i) Not more than 1 benefit may be

6 paid under this Act with respect to each

7 decedent described in paragraph (2)(A).

8 ‘‘(ii) Each benefit shall consist of only

9 1 of the amounts referred to in subsection

10 (d)(3).

11 ‘‘(d) PAYMENTS.—

12 ‘‘(1) CERTIFICATION.—The Commission shall

13 certify for payment all awards and benefits that the

14 Commission determines are payable under this sec15 tion.

16 ‘‘(2) AWARDS.—The Commission shall pay from

17 the Trust Fund 1 of the following amounts as an

18 award for each claim with respect to which a claim19 ant is determined to be eligible under subsection

20 (c)(1):

21 ‘‘(A) $20,000 if the claim is based on

22 death.

23 ‘‘(B) $7,000 if the claim is based on per24 sonal injury.
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1 ‘‘(C) $5,000 if the claim is based on forced

2 labor, forced march, or internment and is not

3 based on personal injury.

4 ‘‘(3) BENEFITS.—The Commission shall pay

5 from the Trust Fund 1 of the following amounts as

6 a benefit with respect to each claim for which a

7 claimant is determined eligible under subsection

8 (c)(2):

9 ‘‘(A) $7,000 if the claim is based on per10 sonal injury.

11 ‘‘(B) $5,000 if the claim is based on forced

12 labor, forced march, or internment and is not

13 based on personal injury.

14 ‘‘(4) REDUCTION OF AMOUNT TO COORDINATE

15 WITH PREVIOUS CLAIMS.—The amount required to

16 be paid under paragraph (2) or (3) for a claim with

17 respect to any Guamanian shall be reduced by any

18 amount paid under the first section of the Act of

19 November 15, 1945 (Chapter 483; 59 Stat. 582)

20 with respect to such Guamanian.

21 ‘‘(5) FORM OF PAYMENT.—

22 ‘‘(A) AWARDS.—In the case of a claim for

23 an award, payment under this subsection shall

24 be made in cash to the claimant, except as pro25 vided in paragraph (6).
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1 ‘‘(B) BENEFITS.—In the case of a claim

2 for a benefit—

3 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Payment under

4 this subsection shall consist of—

5 ‘‘(I) provision of a scholarship;

6 ‘‘(II) payment of medical ex7 penses; or

8 ‘‘(III) a grant for first-time home

9 ownership.

10 ‘‘(ii) METHOD OF PAYMENT.—Pay11 ment of cash under this subsection may

12 not be made directly to a claimant, but

13 may be made to a service provider, seller

14 of goods or services, or other person in

15 order to provide to a claimant (or other

16 person, as provided in paragraph (6)) a

17 benefit referred to in subparagraph (B).

18 ‘‘(C) DEVELOPMENT OF PROCEDURES.—

19 The Commission shall develop and implement

20 procedures to carry out this paragraph.

21 ‘‘(6) PAYMENTS ON CLAIMS WITH RESPECT TO

22 SAME DECEDENT.—

23 ‘‘(A) AWARDS.—In the case of a claim

24 based on the compensable injury of death, pay25 ment of an award under this section shall be di-
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1 vided, as provided in the probate laws of Guam,

2 among the heirs or next of kin of the decedent

3 who file claims for such division by such proce4 dures as the Commission may prescribe.

5 ‘‘(B) INDIVIDUALS PROVING CONSANGUIN6 ITY WITH CLAIMANTS FOR BENEFITS.—Each

7 individual who proves consanguinity with a

8 claimant who has met each of the criteria speci9 fied in subsection (c)(2) shall be entitled to re10 ceive an equal share of the benefit accruing

11 under this section with respect to the claim of

12 such claimant if the individual files a claim with

13 the Commission by such procedures as the

14 Commission may prescribe.

15 ‘‘(7) ORDER OF PAYMENTS.—The Commission

16 shall endeavor to make payments under this section

17 with respect to awards before making such payments

18 with respect to benefits and, when making payments

19 with respect to awards or benefits, respectively, to

20 make payments to eligible individuals in the order of

21 date of birth (the oldest individual on the date of the

22 enactment of this Act, or if applicable, the survivors

23 of that individual, receiving payment first) until all

24 eligible individuals have received payment in full.
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1 ‘‘(8) REFUSAL TO ACCEPT PAYMENT.—If a

2 claimant refuses to accept a payment made or of3 fered under paragraph (2) or (3) with respect to a

4 claim filed under this section—

5 ‘‘(A) the amount of the refused payment,

6 if withdrawn from the Trust Fund for purposes

7 of making the payment, shall be returned to the

8 Trust Fund; and

9 ‘‘(B) no payment may be made under this

10 section to such claimant at any future date with

11 respect to the claim.

12 ‘‘(9) CLARIFICATION OF TREATMENT OF PAY13 MENTS UNDER OTHER LAWS.—Awards paid to eligi14 ble claimants—

15 ‘‘(A) shall be treated for purposes of the

16 internal revenue laws of the United States as

17 damages received on account of personal inju18 ries or sickness; and

19 ‘‘(B) shall not be included as income or re20 sources for purposes of determining eligibility to

21 receive benefits described in section

22 3803(c)(2)(C) of title 31, United States Code,

23 or the amount of such benefits.

24 ‘‘(e) GUAM TRUST FUND.—
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1 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in

2 the Treasury of the United States the Guam Trust

3 Fund, which shall be administered by the Secretary

4 of the Treasury.

5 ‘‘(2) INVESTMENTS.—Amounts in the Trust

6 Fund shall be invested in accordance with section

7 9702 of title 31, United States Code.

8 ‘‘(3) USES.—Amounts in the Trust Fund shall

9 be available only for disbursement by the Commis10 sion in accordance with subsection (f).

11 ‘‘(4) DISPOSITION OF FUNDS UPON TERMI12 NATION.—If all of the amounts in the Trust Fund

13 have not been obligated or expended by the date of

14 the termination of the Commission, investments of

15 amounts in the Trust Fund shall be liquidated, the

16 receipts of such liquidation shall be deposited in the

17 Trust Fund, and any unobligated funds remaining

18 in the Trust Fund shall be given to the University

19 of Guam, with the conditions that—

20 ‘‘(A) the funds are invested as described in

21 paragraph (2);

22 ‘‘(B) the funds are used for scholarships to

23 be known as Guam World War II Loyalty

24 Scholarships, for claimants described in para25 graph (1) or (2) of subsection (c) or in sub-
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1 section (d)(6), or for such scholarships for the

2 descendants of such claimants; and

3 ‘‘(C) as the University determines appro4 priate, the University shall endeavor to award

5 the scholarships referred to in subparagraph

6 (B) in a manner that permits the award of the

7 largest possible number of scholarships over the

8 longest possible period of time.

9 ‘‘(f) GUAM TRUST FUND COMMISSION.—

10 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established

11 the Guam Trust Fund Commission, which shall be

12 responsible for making disbursements from the

13 Guam Trust Fund in the manner provided in this

14 section.

15 ‘‘(2) USE OF GUAM TRUST FUND.—The Com16 mission may make disbursements from the Guam

17 Trust Fund only for the following uses:

18 ‘‘(A) To make payments, under subsection

19 (d), of awards and benefits.

20 ‘‘(B) To sponsor research and public edu21 cational activities so that the events surround22 ing the wartime experiences and losses of the

23 Guamanian people will be remembered, and so

24 that the causes and circumstances of this event
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1 and similar events may be illuminated and un2 derstood.

3 ‘‘(C) To pay reasonable administrative ex4 penses of the Commission, including expenses

5 incurred under paragraphs (3)(C), (4), and (5).

6 ‘‘(3) MEMBERSHIP.—

7 ‘‘(A) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The

8 Commission shall be composed of 9 members

9 who are not officers or employees of the United

10 States Government and who are appointed by

11 the President from recommendations made by

12 the Governor of Guam.

13 ‘‘(B) TERMS.—

14 ‘‘(i) Initial members of the Commis15 sion shall be appointed for initial terms of

16 3 years, and subsequent terms shall be of

17 a length determined pursuant to subpara18 graph (F).

19 ‘‘(ii) Any member of the Commission

20 who is appointed to fill a vacancy occur21 ring before the expiration of the term for

22 which such member’s predecessor was ap23 pointed shall be appointed only for the re24 mainder of such term.
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1 ‘‘(C) PROHIBITION OF COMPENSATION

2 OTHER THAN EXPENSES.—Members of the

3 Commission shall serve without pay as such, ex4 cept that members of the Commission shall be

5 entitled to reimbursement for travel, subsist6 ence, and other necessary expenses incurred by

7 them in carrying out the functions of the Com8 mission in the same manner that persons em9 ployed intermittently in the United States Gov10 ernment are allowed expenses under section

11 5703 of title 5, United States Code.

12 ‘‘(D) QUORUM.—5 members of the Com13 mission shall constitute a quorum but a lesser

14 number may hold hearings.

15 ‘‘(E) CHAIRPERSON.—The Chairperson of

16 the Commission shall be elected by the mem17 bers of the Commission.

18 ‘‘(F) SUBSEQUENT APPOINTMENTS.—

19 ‘‘(i) Upon the expiration of the term

20 of each member of the Commission, the

21 President shall reappoint the member (or

22 appoint another individual to replace the

23 member) if the President determines, after

24 consideration of the reports submitted to

25 the President by the Commission under
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1 this section, that there are sufficient funds

2 in the Trust Fund for the present and fu3 ture administrative costs of the Commis4 sion and for the payment of further

5 awards and benefits for which claims have

6 been or may be filed under this title.

7 ‘‘(ii) Members appointed under clause

8 (i) shall be appointed for a term of a

9 length that the President determines to be

10 appropriate, but the length of such term

11 shall not exceed 3 years.

12 ‘‘(4) STAFF AND SERVICES.—

13 ‘‘(A) DIRECTOR.—The Commission shall

14 have a Director who shall be appointed by the

15 Commission.

16 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL STAFF.—The Commis17 sion may appoint and fix the pay of such addi18 tional staff as it may require.

19 ‘‘(C) INAPPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN PROVI20 SIONS OF TITLE 5, UNITED STATES CODE.—The

21 Director and the additional staff of the Com22 mission may be appointed without regard to

23 section 5311 of title 5, United States Code, and

24 without regard to the provisions of such title

25 governing appointments in the competitive serv-
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1 ice, and may be paid without regard to the pro2 visions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of

3 chapter 53 of such title, relating to classifica4 tion and General Schedule pay rates, except

5 that the compensation of any employee of the

6 Commission may not exceed a rate equivalent to

7 the minimum rate of basic pay payable for GS–

8 15 of the General Schedule under section

9 5332(a) of such title.

10 ‘‘(D) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT SERV11 ICES.—The Administrator of General Services

12 shall provide to the Commission, on a reimburs13 able basis, such administrative support services

14 as the Commission may request.

15 ‘‘(5) GIFTS AND DONATIONS.—The Commission

16 may accept, use, and dispose of gifts or donations of

17 funds, services, or property for uses referred to in

18 paragraph (2). The Commission may deposit such

19 gifts or donations, or the proceeds from such gifts

20 or donations, into the Trust Fund.

21 ‘‘(6) TERMINATION.—The Commission shall

22 terminate on the earlier of—

23 ‘‘(A) the expiration of the 6-year period be24 ginning on the date of the appointment of the

25 first member of the Commission; or
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1 ‘‘(B) the date on which the Commission

2 submits to the Congress a certification that all

3 claims certified for payment under this section

4 are paid in full and no further claims are ex5 pected to be so certified.

6 ‘‘(g) NOTICE.—Not later than 90 days after the ap7 pointment of the ninth member of the Commission, the

8 Commission shall give public notice in the territory of

9 Guam and such other places as the Commission deems ap10 propriate of the time limitation within which claims may

11 be filed under this section. The Commission shall ensure

12 that the provisions of this section are widely published in

13 the territory of Guam and such other places as the Com14 mission deems appropriate, and the Commission shall

15 make every effort both to advise promptly all individuals

16 who may be entitled to file claims under the provisions

17 of this title and to assist such individuals in the prepara18 tion and filing of their claims.

19 ‘‘(h) REPORTS.—

20 ‘‘(1) COMPENSATION AND CLAIMS.—Not later

21 than 12 months after the formation of the Commis22 sion, and each year thereafter for which the Com23 mission is in existence, the Commission shall submit

24 to the Congress, the President, and the Governor of

25 Guam a report containing a determination of the
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1 specific amount of compensation necessary to fully

2 carry out this section, the expected amount of re3 ceipts to the Trust Fund, and all payments made by

4 the Commission under this section. The report shall

5 also include, with respect to the year which the re6 port concerns—

7 ‘‘(A) a list of all claims, categorized by

8 compensable injury, which were determined to

9 be eligible for an award or benefit under this

10 section, and a list of all claims, categorized by

11 compensable injury, which were certified for

12 payment under this section; and

13 ‘‘(B) a list of all claims, categorized by

14 compensable injury, which were determined not

15 to be eligible for an award or benefit under this

16 section, and a brief explanation of the reason

17 therefor.

18 ‘‘(2) ANNUAL OPERATIONS AND STATUS OF

19 TRUST FUND.—Beginning with the first full fiscal

20 year ending after submission of the first report re21 quired by paragraph (1), and annually thereafter

22 with respect to each fiscal year in which the Com23 mission is in existence, the Commission shall submit

24 a report to Congress, the President, and the Gov25 ernor of Guam concerning the operations of the
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1 Commission under this section and the status of the

2 Trust Fund. Each such report shall be submitted

3 not later than January 15th of the first calendar

4 year beginning after the end of the fiscal year which

5 the report concerns.

6 ‘‘(3) FINAL AWARD REPORT.—After all awards

7 have been paid to eligible claimants, the Commission

8 shall submit a report to the Congress, the President,

9 and the Governor of Guam certifying—

10 ‘‘(A) the total amount of compensation

11 paid as awards under this section, broken down

12 by category of compensable injury; and

13 ‘‘(B) the status of the Trust Fund and the

14 amount of any existing balance thereof.

15 ‘‘(4) FINAL BENEFITS REPORT.—After all bene16 fits have been paid to eligible claimants, the Com17 mission shall submit a report to the Congress, the

18 President, and the Governor of Guam certifying—

19 ‘‘(A) the total amount of compensation

20 paid as benefits under this section, broken down

21 by category of compensable injury; and

22 ‘‘(B) the final status of the Trust Fund

23 and the amount of any existing balance thereof.

24 ‘‘(i) LIMITATION OF AGENT AND ATTORNEY FEES.—

25 It shall be unlawful for an amount exceeding 5 percent
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1 of any payment required by this section with respect to

2 an award or benefit to be paid to or received by any agent

3 or attorney for any service rendered in connection with

4 the payment. Any person who violates this section shall

5 be fined under title 18, United States Code, or imprisoned

6 for not more than 1 year, or both.

7 ‘‘(j) DISCLAIMER.—No provision of this section shall

8 constitute an obligation for the United States to pay any

9 claim arising out of war. The compensation provided in

10 this section is ex gratia in nature and intended solely as

11 a means of recognizing the demonstrated loyalty of the

12 people of Guam to the United States, and the suffering

13 and deprivation arising therefrom, during World War II.

14 ‘‘(k) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

15 are authorized to be appropriated, from sums appro16 priated to the Department of the Interior, such sums as

17 may be necessary to carry out this section, including the

18 administrative responsibilities of the Commission for the

19 36-month period beginning on the date of the appointment

20 of the ninth member of the Commission. Amounts appro21 priated pursuant to this section are authorized to remain

22 available until expended.’’.

23 SEC. 3. RECOMMENDATION OF FUNDING MEASURES.

24 Not later than 1 year after the date of the submission

25 of the first report submitted under section 35(h)(1) of the
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1 Organic Act of Guam (as added by section 2 of this Act),

2 the President shall submit to the Congress a list of rec3 ommended spending cuts or other measures which, if im4 plemented, would generate sufficient savings or income,

5 during the first 5 fiscal years beginning after the date of

6 the submission of such list, to provide the amount of com7 pensation necessary to fully carry out this section (as de8 termined in such first report).

Æ