I

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4741

To amend the Organic Act of Guam to provide for 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

JULY 13, 1994

Mr. UNDERWOOD introduced the following bill; which was referred jointly to

the Committees on Natural Resources and the Judiciary

A BILL

To amend the Organic Act of Guam to provide for 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 THE ORGANIC ACT OF GUAM.

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

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

4 ‘‘SEC. 36. RECOGNITION OF DEMONSTRATED LOYALTY OF

5 THE PEOPLE OF GUAM TO THE UNITED

6 STATES, AND THE SUFFERING AND DEPRIVA7 TION ARISING THEREFROM, DURING WORLD

8 WAR II.

9 ‘‘(a) APPLICATION OF SECTION.—This section shall

10 apply to Guamanians who did not meet the one-year time

11 limitation for filing of death or personal injury claims

12 specified in the first section of the Act of November 15,

13 1945 (Chapter 483; 59 Stat. 582), or who suffered other

14 compensable injuries if such Guamanians, their heirs or

15 next of kin, meet the eligibility, time limitation for filing,

16 and other criteria set forth in this section.

17 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this section:

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

19 amount of compensation payable under subsection

20 (c).

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

22 amount of compensation payable under subsection

23 (d).

24 ‘‘(3) BOARD.—The term ‘Board’ means the

25 Guam Restitution Trust Fund Board of Directors

26 established by subsection (h).
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1 ‘‘(4) CLAIMS FUND.—The term ‘Claims Fund’

2 means the Guam Restitution Claims Fund estab3 lished by subsection (f)(1).

4 ‘‘(5) COMPENSABLE INJURY.—The term ‘com5 pensable injury’ means one of the following three

6 categories of injury incurred during, or as a result

7 of, World War II:

8 ‘‘(A) Death.

9 ‘‘(B) Personal injury.

10 ‘‘(C) Forced labor, forced march, or in11 ternment.

12 ‘‘(6) GUAMANIAN.—The term ‘Guamanian’

13 means any person who resided in the territory of

14 Guam during the period beginning December 8,

15 1941, and ending September 2, 1945, and who was

16 a United States citizen or national during the pe17 riod.

18 ‘‘(7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means

19 the Secretary of the Interior.

20 ‘‘(8) TRUST FUND.—The term ‘Trust Fund’

21 means the Guam Restitution Trust Fund established

22 by subsection (g)(1).

23 ‘‘(c) GENERAL AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY AND

24 BOARD; REQUIREMENTS.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may receive,

2 examine, and render final decisions concerning

3 claims for awards under subsection (d) and benefits

4 under subsection (e) filed in accordance with this

5 section. The Secretary may certify and disburse pay6 ments from the Claims Fund, and the Board may

7 certify and disburse payments from the Trust Fund,

8 in accordance with this section.

9 ‘‘(2) REQUIRED INFORMATION FOR INCLUSION

10 IN CLAIMS FOR AWARDS AND BENEFITS.—A claim

11 for an award or benefit under this section shall be

12 made under oath and shall include—

13 ‘‘(A) the claimant’s name and age;

14 ‘‘(B) the village in which the claimant re15 sided at the time the compensable injury oc16 curred;

17 ‘‘(C) the approximate date or dates when

18 the compensable injury incurred;

19 ‘‘(D) a brief description of the compen20 sable injury being claimed;

21 ‘‘(E) the circumstances leading up to that

22 compensable injury; and

23 ‘‘(F) in the case of an award based on

24 death as the compensable injury and in the case
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1 of a claim for a benefit, proof of the relation2 ship of the claimant to the deceased.

3 ‘‘(3) TIME LIMITATION APPLICABLE TO SEC4 RETARY.—The Secretary shall act expeditiously in

5 the examination, determination, and certification of

6 submitted claims, but in no event later than one

7 year after the expiration of the time to be issued by

8 the Secretary.

9 ‘‘(d) ELIGIBILITY.—

10 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBILITY FOR AWARDS.—To be eligible

11 for an award under this section, the following cri12 teria must be met:

13 ‘‘(A) The claimant is a living Guamanian

14 who personally received the compensable injury,

15 except that in a claim for death, a claimant

16 may be the heir or next of kin of the decedent

17 Guamanian.

18 ‘‘(B) The claimant files a claim with the

19 Secretary for a compensable injury containing

20 all the information required by subsection

21 (c)(2).

22 ‘‘(C) The claimant is able to furnish either

23 proof of the compensable injury or is able to

24 produce affidavits by two witnesses to the com25 pensable injury.
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1 ‘‘(D) The claimant files a claim within one

2 year after the date of enactment of this section.

3 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBILITY FOR BENEFITS.—To be eligi4 ble for benefits under this section, the following cri5 teria must be met:

6 ‘‘(A) The claimant is a living Guamanian

7 who is an heir or next of kin of the decedent

8 Guamanian who personally received the com9 pensable injury and who died after September

10 2, 1945.

11 ‘‘(B) The claimant files a claim with the

12 Secretary or the Board for a compensable in13 jury containing all the information required by

14 subsection (c)(2).

15 ‘‘(C) The claimant is able to furnish either

16 proof of the compensable injury or is able to

17 produce affidavits by two witnesses to the com18 pensable injury.

19 ‘‘(D) The claimant files a claim within one

20 year after the date of enactment of this section;

21 except that persons who can prove consanguin22 ity with claimants who have met the criteria

23 specified in subparagraphs (A) through (C) may

24 become eligible for pro rata share of benefits

25 accruing to such claim by filing a claim with
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1 the Board at any time, by such procedures as

2 the Board may prescribe.

3 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION ON ELIGIBILITY FOR AWARDS

4 AND BENEFITS.—(A) A claimant may only be eligi5 ble for an award arising out of one category of com6 pensable injury.

7 ‘‘(B) A claimant may only be eligible for bene8 fits arising out of one category of compensable in9 jury.

10 ‘‘(e) PAYMENTS.—

11 ‘‘(1) CERTIFICATION.—The Secretary shall cer12 tify all awards for payment, and the Board shall cer13 tify all benefits for payment, under this section.

14 ‘‘(2) AWARDS.—The Secretary shall pay the fol15 lowing amounts as an award to each eligible claim16 ant under subsection (d)(1) from the Claims Fund:

17 ‘‘(A) $20,000 for the category of death.

18 ‘‘(B) $7,000 for the category of personal

19 injury.

20 ‘‘(C) $5,000 for the category of forced

21 labor, forced march, or internment.

22 ‘‘(3) BENEFITS.—The Secretary shall pay the

23 following amounts as a benefit to each eligible claim24 ant under subsection (d)(2) from the Trust Fund:
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1 ‘‘(A) $7,000 for the category of personal

2 injury.

3 ‘‘(B) $5,000 for the category of forced

4 labor, forced march, or internment.

5 ‘‘(4) REFUSAL TO ACCEPT PAYMENT.—If a

6 claimant refuses to accept a payment under para7 graph (2) or (3), an amount equal to such payment

8 shall remain in the Claims Fund or Trust Fund, as

9 appropriate, and no payment may be made under

10 this section to such claimant at any future date.

11 ‘‘(5) PRORATED PAYMENTS RELATED TO

12 CLAIMS FOR THE SAME DEATH.—Payment of the

13 award or benefit relating to death shall be prorated

14 among the heirs or next of kin claiming for the same

15 death, as provided in the Guam probate laws.

16 ‘‘(6) ORDER OF PAYMENTS.—The Secretary

17 shall endeavor to make payments under this section

18 to eligible individuals in the order of date of birth

19 (with the oldest individual on the date of the enact20 ment of this Act or, if applicable, that individual’s

21 survivors under paragraph (6), receiving full pay22 ment first), until all eligible individuals have received

23 payment in full.

24 ‘‘(f) GUAM RESTITUTION CLAIMS FUND.—
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1 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in

2 the Treasury of the United States the Guam Res3 titution Claims Fund, to be administered by the Sec4 retary of the Treasury, as directed by the Secretary

5 of the Interior. Amounts in the Claims Fund shall

6 only be available for disbursement by the Secretary

7 of the Interior in the amounts specified in subsection

8 (e). In the event that all eligible claims have been

9 paid and a balance exists in the Claims Fund, any

10 unobligated funds shall be transferred to the Trust

11 Fund 60 days after the final report required in sub12 section (j)(3) is submitted to Congress.

13 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON USE OF AMOUNTS FROM

14 CLAIMS FUND.—No cost incurred by the Secretary

15 in carrying out this section shall be paid from the

16 Claims Fund or set off against, or otherwise de17 ducted from, any payment under this section to any

18 eligible claimant.

19 ‘‘(g) GUAM RESTITUTION TRUST FUND.—

20 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in

21 the Treasury of the United States the Guam Res22 titution Trust Fund, which shall be administered by

23 the Secretary of the Treasury.
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1 ‘‘(2) INVESTMENTS.—Amounts in the Trust

2 Fund shall be invested in accordance with section

3 9702 of title 31, United States Code.

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

5 be available only for disbursement by the Board in

6 accordance with subsection (h).

7 ‘‘(h) GUAM RESTITUTION TRUST FUND BOARD OF

8 DIRECTORS.—

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

10 the Guam Restitution Trust Fund Board of Direc11 tors, which shall be responsible for making disburse12 ments from the Trust Fund in the manner provided

13 in this subsection.

14 ‘‘(2) USES.—The Board may make disburse15 ments from the Trust Fund only—

16 ‘‘(A) to sponsor research and public edu17 cational activities so that the events surround18 ing the wartime experiences and losses of the

19 Guamanian people will be remembered, and so

20 that the causes and circumstances of this and

21 similar events may be illuminated and under22 stood;

23 ‘‘(B) to disburse available funds as benefits

24 to eligible claimants through a revolving fund

25 for such purposes as post-secondary scholar-
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1 ships, first-time home ownership loans, and

2 other suitable purposes as may be determined

3 by the Board; and

4 ‘‘(C) for reasonable administrative ex5 penses of the Board, including expenses in6 curred under paragraphs (3)(C), (4), and (5).

7 ‘‘(3) MEMBERSHIP.—(A) The Board shall be

8 composed of nine members appointed by the Sec9 retary from recommendations made by the Governor

10 of Guam, from individuals who are not officers or

11 employees of the United States Government.

12 ‘‘(B)(i) Except as provided in subparagraphs

13 (B) and (C), members shall be appointed for terms

14 of three years.

15 ‘‘(ii) Of the members first appointed—

16 ‘‘(I) five shall be appointed for terms of

17 three years, and

18 ‘‘(II) four shall be appointed for terms of

19 two years,

20 as designed by the Secretary at the time of appoint21 ment.

22 ‘‘(iii) Any member appointed to fill a vacancy

23 occurring before the expiration of the term for which

24 such member’s predecessor was appointed shall be

25 appointed only for the remainder of such term. A
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1 member may serve after the expiration of such mem2 ber’s term until such member’s successor has taken

3 office. No individual may be appointed as a member

4 for more than two consecutive terms.

5 ‘‘(C) Members of the Board shall serve without

6 pay as such, except that members of the Board shall

7 be entitled to reimbursement for travel, subsistence,

8 and other necessary expenses incurred by them in

9 carrying out the functions of the Board, in the same

10 manner as persons employed intermittently in the

11 United States Government are allowed expenses

12 under section 5703 of title 5, United States Code.

13 ‘‘(D) Five members of the Board shall con14 stitute a quorum but a lesser number may hold

15 hearings.

16 ‘‘(E) The Chair of the Board shall be elected by

17 the members of the Board.

18 ‘‘(4)(A) The Board shall have a Director who

19 shall be appointed by the Board.

20 ‘‘(B) The Board may appoint and fix the pay

21 of such additional staff as it may require.

22 ‘‘(C) The Director and the additional staff of

23 the Board may be appointed without regard to sec24 tion 5311(b) of title 5, United States Code, and

25 without regard to the provisions of such title govern-
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1 ing appointments in the competitive service, and

2 may be paid without regard to the provisions of

3 chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such

4 title relating to classification and General Schedule

5 pay rates, except that the compensation of any em6 ployee of the Board may not exceed a rate equiva7 lent to the minimum rate of basic pay payable for

8 GS–15 of the General Schedule under section

9 5332(a) of such title.

10 ‘‘(5) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT SERVICES.—

11 The Administrator of General Services shall provide

12 to the Board on a reimbursable basis such adminis13 trative support services as the Board may request.

14 ‘‘(6) GIFTS AND DONATIONS.—The Board may

15 accept, use, and dispose of gifts or donations of serv16 ices or property for purposes authorized under para17 graph (2).

18 ‘‘(7) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 12

19 months after the first meeting of the Board and

20 every 12 months thereafter, the Board shall trans21 mit to the President and to each House of the Con22 gress a report describing the activities of the Board.

23 ‘‘(i) NOTICE.—Not later than 90 days after the date

24 of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall give public

25 notice in the territory of Guam and such other places as
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1 the Secretary deems appropriate of the time when, and

2 the time limitation within which, claims may be filed under

3 this section. The Secretary shall assure that the provisions

4 of this section are widely published in the territory of

5 Guam and such other places as the Secretary deems ap6 propriate, and the Secretary shall make every effort to ad7 vise promptly all persons who may be entitled to file claims

8 under the provisions of this section and to assist them in

9 the preparation and filing of their claims.

10 ‘‘(j) REPORTS.—

11 ‘‘(1) COMPENSATION NEEDED.—No later than

12 18 months after enactment of this section, the Sec13 retary shall submit a report to Congress and the

14 Governor of Guam with a recommendation of a spe15 cific amount of compensation necessary to fully

16 carry out this section. The report shall include—

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

18 compensable injury, which were approved under

19 this section; and

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

21 compensable injury, which were denied under

22 this section, and a brief explanation for the rea23 son therefore.

24 ‘‘(2) ANNUAL.—Beginning with the first full

25 fiscal year ending after submittal of the report pro-
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1 vided in paragraph (1), and annually thereafter, the

2 Secretary shall submit an annual report to Congress

3 concerning the operations under this section, the

4 status of the Claims Fund and Trust Fund, and any

5 request for an appropriation in order to make dis6 bursement from the Claims Fund and Trust Fund.

7 Such report shall be submitted no later than Janu8 ary 15th of each year.

9 ‘‘(3) FINAL AWARD REPORT.—Once all awards

10 have been paid to eligible claimants, the Secretary

11 shall submit a report to Congress and to the Gov12 ernor of Guam certifying—

13 ‘‘(A) the total amount of compensation

14 paid as awards under this section, broken down

15 by category of compensable injury; and

16 ‘‘(B) the final status of the Claims Fund

17 and the amount of any existing balance thereof.

18 ‘‘(k) LIMITATION.—Any remuneration on account of

19 services rendered on behalf of any claimant, or any asso20 ciation of claimants, in connection with any claim or

21 claims under this section may not exceed 5 percent of the

22 amount paid on such claim or claims under this section.

23 Any agreement to the contrary shall be unlawful and void.

24 Whoever, in the United States or elsewhere, demands or

25 receives, on account of services so rendered, any remu-
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1 neration in excess of the maximum permitted by this sec2 tion, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction

3 thereof, shall be fined in accordance with title 18, United

4 States Code, imprisoned not more than 12 months, or

5 both.

6 ‘‘(l) DISCLAIMER.—Nothing contained in this section

7 shall constitute a United States obligation to pay any

8 claim arising out of war. The compensation provided in

9 this section is ex gratia in nature intended solely as a

10 means of recognizing the demonstrated loyalty of the peo11 ple of Guam to the United States, and the suffering and

12 deprivation arising therefrom, during World War II.

13 ‘‘(m) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

14 is authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be nec15 essary to carry out this section. Amounts appropriated

16 pursuant to this section are authorized to remain available

17 until expended.’’.

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