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107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1356

To establish a commission to review the facts and circumstances surrounding

injustices suffered by European Americans, European Latin Americans,

and European refugees during World War II.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

AUGUST 3, 2001

Mr. FEINGOLD (for himself, Mr. GRASSLEY, and Mr. KENNEDY) introduced

the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee

on the Judiciary

A BILL

To establish a commission to review the facts and circumstances surrounding injustices suffered by European

Americans, European Latin Americans, and European

refugees during World War II.

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 ‘‘Wartime Treatment

5 of European Americans and Refugees Study Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 Congress makes the following findings:
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1 (1) The United States has long encouraged

2 other nations to acknowledge their wartime offenses

3 against civilians. Now, the United States Govern4 ment should fully assess its treatment of European

5 Americans and European Latin Americans during

6 World War II and its effect on Italian American,

7 German American, and other European American

8 communities.

9 (2) The United States Government should also

10 fully assess its treatment of European refugees who

11 fled persecution and genocide in Europe to seek ref12 uge in the United States prior to and during World

13 War II.

14 (3) During World War II, the United States

15 Government branded as ‘‘enemy aliens’’ more than

16 600,000 Italian-born and 300,000 German-born

17 United States resident aliens and their families and

18 required them to carry Certificates of Identification,

19 limited their travel, and seized their personal prop20 erty. At that time, these groups were the two largest

21 foreign-born groups in the United States.

22 (4) During World War II, the United States

23 Government arrested, interned or otherwise detained

24 thousands of European Americans, some remaining

25 in custody for years after cessation of World War II
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1 hostilities, and repatriated, exchanged, or deported

2 European Americans, including American-born chil3 dren, to hostile, war-torn European Axis nations,

4 many to be exchanged for Americans held in those

5 nations.

6 (5) Pursuant to a policy coordinated by the

7 United States with Latin American countries, many

8 European Latin Americans, including German and

9 Austrian Jews, were captured, shipped to the United

10 States and interned. Many were later expatriated,

11 repatriated or deported to hostile, war-torn Euro12 pean Axis nations during World War II, most to be

13 exchanged for Americans and Latin Americans held

14 in those nations.

15 (6) Millions of European Americans served in

16 the armed forces and thousands sacrificed their lives

17 in defense of the United States.

18 (7) The wartime policies of the United States

19 Government were devastating to the Italian Ameri20 cans and German American communities, individuals

21 and their families. The detrimental effects are still

22 being experienced.

23 (8) Prior to and during World War II, the

24 United States restricted the entry of European refu25 gees who were fleeing persecution and sought safety
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1 in the United States. During the 1930’s and 1940’s,

2 the quota system, immigration regulations, visa re3 quirements, and the time required to process visa

4 applications affected the number of European refu5 gees, particularly those from Germany and Austria,

6 who could gain admittance to the United States.

7 (9) Time is of the essence for the establishment

8 of a Commission, because of the increasing danger

9 of destruction and loss of relevant documents, the

10 advanced age of potential witnesses and, most im11 portantly, the advanced age of those affected by the

12 United States Government’s policies. Many who suf13 fered have already passed away and will never know

14 of this effort.

15 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

16 In this Act:

17 (1) DURING WORLD WAR II.—The term ‘‘during

18 World War II’’ refers to the period between Sep19 tember 1, 1939, through December 31, 1948.

20 (2) EUROPEAN AMERICANS.—

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘European

22 Americans’’ refers to United States citizens and

23 permanent resident aliens of European ances24 try, including Italian Americans, German Amer-
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1 icans, Hungarian Americans, Romanian Ameri2 cans, and Bulgarian Americans.

3 (B) ITALIAN AMERICANS.—The term

4 ‘‘Italian Americans’’ refers to United States

5 citizens and permanent resident aliens of

6 Italian ancestry.

7 (C) GERMAN AMERICANS.—The term

8 ‘‘German Americans’’ refers to United States

9 citizens and permanent resident aliens of Ger10 man ancestry.

11 (3) EUROPEAN REFUGEES.—The term ‘‘Euro12 pean refugees’’ refers to European nationals who de13 sired to flee persecution and genocide in Europe and

14 to enter the United States during the period between

15 January 1, 1933 and December 31, 1945 but were

16 denied entry.

17 (4) EUROPEAN LATIN AMERICANS.—The term

18 ‘‘European Latin Americans’’ refers to persons of

19 European ancestry, including Italian or German an20 cestry, residing in a Latin American nation during

21 World War II.

22 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION.

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established the Commis24 sion on Wartime Treatment of European Americans and

25 Refugees (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Commission’’).
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1 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Commission shall be com2 posed of 11 members, who shall be appointed not later

3 than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act as

4 follows:

5 (1) Five members shall be appointed by the

6 President.

7 (2) Three members shall be appointed by the

8 Speaker of the House of Representatives, in con9 sultation with the minority leader.

10 (3) Three members shall be appointed by the

11 majority leader of the Senate, in consultation with

12 the minority leader.

13 (c) TERMS.—The term of office for members shall be

14 for the life of the Commission. A vacancy in the Commis15 sion shall not affect its powers, and shall be filled in the

16 same manner in which the original appointment was made.

17 (d) REPRESENTATION.—The Commission shall in18 clude 2 members from the Italian American community

19 and 2 members from the German American community

20 representing their wartime treatment interests. The Com21 mission shall also include 2 members representing the in22 terests of European refugees.

23 (e) MEETINGS.—The President shall call the first

24 meeting of the Commission not later than 120 days after

25 the date of enactment of this Act.
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1 (f) QUORUM.—Six members of the Commission shall

2 constitute a quorum, but a lesser number may hold hear3 ings.

4 (g) CHAIRMAN.—The Commission shall elect a Chair5 man and Vice Chairman from among its members. The

6 term of office of each shall be for the life of the Commis7 sion.

8 (h) COMPENSATION.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Members of the Commission

10 shall serve without pay.

11 (2) REIMBURSEMENT OF EXPENSES.—All mem12 bers of the Commission shall be reimbursed for rea13 sonable travel and subsistence, and other reasonable

14 and necessary expenses incurred by them in the per15 formance of their duties.

16 SEC. 5. DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION.

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—It shall be the duty of the Com18 mission to review—

19 (1) the United States Government’s wartime

20 treatment of European Americans and European

21 Latin Americans as provided in subsection (b)(1);

22 and

23 (2) the United States Government’s refusal to

24 allow European refugees fleeing persecution in Eu-
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1 rope entry to the United States as provided in sub2 section (b)(2).

3 (b) SCOPE OF REVIEW.—

4 (1) EUROPEAN AMERICANS AND EUROPEAN

5 LATIN AMERICANS.—The Commission’s review shall

6 include, but not be limited to, the following:

7 (A) A comprehensive review of the facts

8 and circumstances surrounding United States

9 Government actions during World War II which

10 violated the civil liberties of European Ameri11 cans and European Latin Americans pursuant

12 to the Alien Enemy Act (50 U.S.C. 21–24),

13 Presidential Proclamations 2526, 2527, 2655,

14 2662, Executive Orders 9066 and 9095, and

15 any directive of the United States Armed

16 Forces pursuant to such law, proclamations, or

17 executive orders respecting the registration, ar18 rest, exclusion, internment, exchange, or deport19 ment of European Americans and European

20 Latin Americans. This review shall include an

21 assessment of the underlying rationale of the

22 United States Government’s decision to develop

23 related programs and policies, the information

24 the United States Government received or ac25 quired suggesting the related programs and
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1 policies were necessary, the perceived benefit of

2 enacting such programs and policies, and the

3 immediate and long-term impact of such pro4 grams and policies on European Americans and

5 European Latin Americans and their commu6 nities.

7 (B) A review of United States Government

8 action with respect to European Americans pur9 suant to the Alien Enemy Act (50 U.S.C. 21–

10 24) and Executive Order 9066 during World

11 War II, including registration requirements,

12 travel and property restrictions, establishment

13 of restricted areas, raids, arrests, internment,

14 exclusion, policies relating to the families and

15 property that excludees and internees were

16 forced to abandon, internee employment by

17 American companies (including a list of such

18 companies and the terms and type of employ19 ment), exchange, repatriation, and deportment,

20 and the immediate and long-term effect of such

21 actions, particularly internment, on the lives of

22 those affected. This review shall include a list

23 of all temporary detention and long-term in24 ternment facilities.
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1 (C) A brief review of the participation by

2 European Americans in the United States

3 Armed Forces including the participation of

4 European Americans whose families were ex5 cluded, interned, repatriated, or excluded.

6 (D) A recommendation of appropriate rem7 edies, including how civil liberties can be better

8 protected during war, or an actual, attempted,

9 or threatened invasion or inclusion, an assess10 ment of the continued viability of the Alien

11 Enemy Act (50 U.S.C. 21–24), and public edu12 cation programs related to the United States

13 Government’s wartime treatment of European

14 Americans, European Latin Americans, and

15 European refugees during World War II.

16 (2) EUROPEAN REFUGEES.—The Commission’s

17 review shall cover the period between January 1,

18 1933, through December 31, 1945, and shall in19 clude, to the greatest extent practicable, the fol20 lowing:

21 (A) A review of the United States Govern22 ment’s refusal to allow European refugees entry

23 to the United States, including a review of the

24 underlying rationale of the United States Gov25 ernment’s decision to refuse the European refu-
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1 gees entry, the information the United States

2 Government received or acquired suggesting

3 such refusal was necessary, the perceived ben4 efit of such refusal, and the impact of such re5 fusal on European refugees.

6 (B) A review of Federal refugee policy re7 lating to those fleeing persecution or genocide,

8 including recommendations for making it easier

9 for future victims of persecution or genocide to

10 obtain refuge in the United States.

11 (c) FIELD HEARINGS.—The Commission shall hold

12 public hearings in such cities of the United States as it

13 deems appropriate.

14 (d) REPORT.—The Commission shall submit a writ15 ten report of its findings and recommendations to Con16 gress not later than 18 months after the date of the first

17 meeting called pursuant to section 4(e).

18 SEC. 6. POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission or, on the au20 thorization of the Commission, any subcommittee or mem21 ber thereof, may, for the purpose of carrying out the provi22 sions of this Act, hold such hearings and sit and act at

23 such times and places, and request the attendance and tes24 timony of such witnesses and the production of such

25 books, records, correspondence, memorandum, papers,
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1 and documents as the Commission or such subcommittee

2 or member may deem advisable. The Commission may re3 quest the Attorney General to invoke the aid of an appro4 priate United States district court to require, by subpoena

5 or otherwise, such attendance, testimony, or production.

6 (b) GOVERNMENT INFORMATION AND COOPERA7 TION.—The Commission may acquire directly from the

8 head of any department, agency, independent instrumen9 tality, or other authority of the executive branch of the

10 Government, available information that the Commission

11 considers useful in the discharge of its duties. All depart12 ments, agencies, and independent instrumentalities, or

13 other authorities of the executive branch of the Govern14 ment shall cooperate with the Commission and furnish all

15 information requested by the Commission to the extent

16 permitted by law, including information collected as a re17 sult of Public Law 96–317 and Public Law 106–451. For

18 purposes of the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(9)), the

19 Commission shall be deemed to be a committee of jurisdic20 tion.

21 SEC. 7. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.

22 The Commission is authorized to—

23 (1) appoint and fix the compensation of such

24 personnel as may be necessary, without regard to

25 the provisions of title 5, United States Code, gov-
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1 erning appointments in the competitive service, and

2 without regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and

3 subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title relating to

4 classification and General Schedule pay rates, except

5 that the compensation of any employee of the Com6 mission may not exceed a rate equivalent to the rate

7 payable under GS–15 of the General Schedule under

8 section 5332 of such title;

9 (2) obtain the services of experts and consult10 ants in accordance with the provisions of section

11 3109 of such title;

12 (3) obtain the detail of any Federal Govern13 ment employee, and such detail shall be without re14 imbursement or interruption or loss of civil service

15 status or privilege;

16 (4) enter into agreements with the Adminis17 trator of General Services for procurement of nec18 essary financial and administrative services, for

19 which payment shall be made by reimbursement

20 from funds of the Commission in such amounts as

21 may be agreed upon by the Chairman of the Com22 mission and the Administrator;

23 (5) procure supplies, services, and property by

24 contract in accordance with applicable laws and reg-
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1 ulations and to the extent or in such amounts as are

2 provided in appropriation Acts; and

3 (6) enter into contracts with Federal or State

4 agencies, private firms, institutions, and agencies for

5 the conduct of research or surveys, the preparation

6 of reports, and other activities necessary to the dis7 charge of the duties of the Commission, to the ex8 tent or in such amounts as are provided in appro9 priation Acts.

10 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

11 From funds currently authorized to the Department

12 of Justice, there are authorized to be appropriated not to

13 exceed $850,000 to carry out the purposes of this Act.

14 SEC. 9. SUNSET.

15 The Commission shall terminate 60 days after it sub16 mits its report to Congress.

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