I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 44 

To implement the recommendations of the Guam War Claims Review 

Commission. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 5, 2011 

Ms. BORDALLO (for herself, Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California, Mr. ANDREWS, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Ms. RICHARDSON, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. SABLAN, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Mr. 

FALEOMAVAEGA, Mr. PIERLUISI, Mr. JONES, Mr. HOYER, Ms. JACKSON

LEE of Texas, Mr. LOEBSACK, Mr. BURTON of Indiana, Mr. SENSENBRENNER, Mr. BECERRA, Ms. NORTON, Mr. BARTLETT, Mr. RAHALL, 

Mr. WILSON of South Carolina, Mr. NADLER, and Mr. MICHAUD) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural 

Resources 

A BILL 

To implement the recommendations of the Guam War Claims 

Review Commission. 

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 World War II 

5 Loyalty Recognition Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. RECOGNITION OF THE SUFFERING AND LOYALTY 

2 OF THE RESIDENTS OF GUAM. 

3 (a) RECOGNITION OF THE SUFFERING OF THE RESI4 DENTS OF GUAM.—The United States recognizes that, as 

5 described by the Guam War Claims Review Commission, 

6 the residents of Guam, on account of their United States 

7 nationality, suffered unspeakable harm as a result of the 

8 occupation of Guam by Imperial Japanese military forces 

9 during World War II, by being subjected to death, rape, 

10 severe personal injury, personal injury, forced labor, 

11 forced march, or internment. 

12 (b) RECOGNITION OF THE LOYALTY OF THE RESI13 DENTS OF GUAM.—The United States forever will be 

14 grateful to the residents of Guam for their steadfast loy15 alty to the United States of America, as demonstrated by 

16 the countless acts of courage they performed despite the 

17 threat of death or great bodily harm they faced at the 

18 hands of the Imperial Japanese military forces that occu19 pied Guam during World War II. 

20 SEC. 3. PAYMENTS FOR GUAM WORLD WAR II CLAIMS. 

21 (a) PAYMENTS FOR DEATH, PERSONAL INJURY, 

22 FORCED LABOR, FORCED MARCH, AND INTERNMENT.— 

23 Subject to the availability of appropriations authorized to 

24 be appropriated under section 6(a), after receipt of certifi25 cation pursuant to section 4(b)(8) and in accordance with 


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1 the provisions of this title, the Secretary of the Treasury 

2 shall make payments as follows: 

3 (1) RESIDENTS INJURED.—Before any pay4 ments are made to individuals described in para5 graph (2), the Secretary shall pay compensable 

6 Guam victims who are not deceased as follows: 

7 (A) If the victim has suffered an injury de8 scribed in subsection (c)(2)(A), $15,000. 

9 (B) If the victim is not described in sub10 paragraph (A) but has suffered an injury de11 scribed in subsection (c)(2)(B), $12,000. 

12 (C) If the victim is not described in sub13 paragraph (A) or (B) but has suffered an in14 jury described in subsection (c)(2)(C), $10,000. 

15 (2) SURVIVORS OF RESIDENTS WHO DIED IN

16 WAR.—In the case of a compensable Guam decedent, 

17 the Secretary shall pay $25,000 for distribution to 

18 eligible survivors of the decedent as specified in sub19 section (b). The Secretary shall make payments 

20 under this paragraph after payments are made 

21 under paragraph (1). 

22 (b) DISTRIBUTION OF SURVIVOR PAYMENTS.—Pay23 ments under paragraph (2) of subsection (a) to eligible 

24 survivors of an individual who is a compensable Guam de25 cedent shall be made as follows: 


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1 (1) If there is living a spouse of the individual, 

2 but no child of the individual, all of the payment 

3 shall be made to such spouse. 

4 (2) If there is living a spouse of the individual 

5 and one or more children of the individual, one-half 

6 of the payment shall be made to the spouse and the 

7 other half to the child (or to the children in equal 

8 shares). 

9 (3) If there is no living spouse of the individual, 

10 but there are one or more children of the individual 

11 alive, all of the payment shall be made to such child 

12 (or to such children in equal shares). 

13 (4) If there is no living spouse or child of the 

14 individual but there is a living parent (or parents) 

15 of the individual, all of the payment shall be made 

16 to the parent (or to the parents in equal shares). 

17 (5) If there is no such living spouse, child, or 

18 parent, no payment shall be made. 

19 (c) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this title: 

20 (1) COMPENSABLE GUAM DECEDENT.—The 

21 term ‘‘compensable Guam decedent’’ means an indi22 vidual determined under section 4 to have been a 

23 resident of Guam who died or was killed as a result 

24 of the attack and occupation of Guam by Imperial 

25 Japanese military forces during World War II, or inVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:35 Jan 07, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H44.IH H44

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1 cident to the liberation of Guam by United States 

2 military forces, and whose death would have been 

3 compensable under the Guam Meritorious Claims 

4 Act of 1945 (Public Law 79–224) if a timely claim 

5 had been filed under the terms of such Act. 

6 (2) COMPENSABLE GUAM VICTIM.—The term 

7 ‘‘compensable Guam victim’’ means an individual de8 termined under section 4 to have suffered, as a re9 sult of the attack and occupation of Guam by Impe10 rial Japanese military forces during World War II, 

11 or incident to the liberation of Guam by United 

12 States military forces, any of the following: 

13 (A) Rape or severe personal injury (such 

14 as loss of a limb, dismemberment, or paralysis). 

15 (B) Forced labor or a personal injury not 

16 under subparagraph (A) (such as disfigure17 ment, scarring, or burns). 

18 (C) Forced march, internment, or hiding 

19 to evade internment. 

20 (3) DEFINITIONS OF SEVERE PERSONAL INJU21 RIES AND PERSONAL INJURIES.—The Foreign 

22 Claims Settlement Commission shall promulgate reg23 ulations to specify injuries that constitute a severe 

24 personal injury or a personal injury for purposes of 


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1 subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively, of para2 graph (2). 

3 SEC. 4. ADJUDICATION. 

4 (a) AUTHORITY OF FOREIGN CLAIMS SETTLEMENT

5 COMMISSION.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Foreign Claims Settle7 ment Commission is authorized to adjudicate claims 

8 and determine eligibility for payments under section 

9 3. 

10 (2) RULES AND REGULATIONS.—The chairman 

11 of the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission shall 

12 prescribe such rules and regulations as may be nec13 essary to enable it to carry out its functions under 

14 this title. Such rules and regulations shall be pub15 lished in the Federal Register. 

16 (b) CLAIMS SUBMITTED FOR PAYMENTS.— 

17 (1) SUBMITTAL OF CLAIM.—For purposes of 

18 subsection (a)(1) and subject to paragraph (2), the 

19 Foreign Claims Settlement Commission may not de20 termine an individual is eligible for a payment under 

21 section 3 unless the individual submits to the Com22 mission a claim in such manner and form and con23 taining such information as the Commission speci24 fies. 


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1 (2) FILING PERIOD FOR CLAIMS AND NOTICE.— 

2 All claims for a payment under section 3 shall be 

3 filed within one year after the Foreign Claims Set4 tlement Commission publishes public notice of the 

5 filing period in the Federal Register. The Foreign 

6 Claims Settlement Commission shall provide for the 

7 notice required under the previous sentence not later 

8 than 180 days after the date of the enactment of 

9 this title. In addition, the Commission shall cause to 

10 be publicized the public notice of the deadline for fil11 ing claims in newspaper, radio, and television media 

12 on Guam. 

13 (3) ADJUDICATORY DECISIONS.—The decision 

14 of the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission on 

15 each claim shall be by majority vote, shall be in writ16 ing, and shall state the reasons for the approval or 

17 denial of the claim. If approved, the decision shall 

18 also state the amount of the payment awarded and 

19 the distribution, if any, to be made of the payment. 

20 (4) DEDUCTIONS IN PAYMENT.—The Foreign 

21 Claims Settlement Commission shall deduct, from 

22 potential payments, amounts previously paid under 

23 the Guam Meritorious Claims Act of 1945 (Public 

24 Law 79–224). 


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1 (5) INTEREST.—No interest shall be paid on 

2 payments awarded by the Foreign Claims Settlement 

3 Commission. 

4 (6) REMUNERATION PROHIBITED.—No remu5 neration on account of representational services ren6 dered on behalf of any claimant in connection with 

7 any claim filed with the Foreign Claims Settlement 

8 Commission under this title shall exceed one percent 

9 of the total amount paid pursuant to any payment 

10 certified under the provisions of this title on account 

11 of such claim. Any agreement to the contrary shall 

12 be unlawful and void. Whoever demands or receives, 

13 on account of services so rendered, any remunera14 tion in excess of the maximum permitted by this sec15 tion shall be fined not more than $5,000 or impris16 oned not more than 12 months, or both. 

17 (7) APPEALS AND FINALITY.—Objections and 

18 appeals of decisions of the Foreign Claims Settle19 ment Commission shall be to the Commission, and 

20 upon rehearing, the decision in each claim shall be 

21 final, and not subject to further review by any court 

22 or agency. 

23 (8) CERTIFICATIONS FOR PAYMENT.—After a 

24 decision approving a claim becomes final, the chair25 man of the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission 


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1 shall certify it to the Secretary of the Treasury for 

2 authorization of a payment under section 3. 

3 (9) TREATMENT OF AFFIDAVITS.—For pur4 poses of section 3 and subject to paragraph (2), the 

5 Foreign Claims Settlement Commission shall treat a 

6 claim that is accompanied by an affidavit of an indi7 vidual that attests to all of the material facts re8 quired for establishing eligibility of such individual 

9 for payment under such section as establishing a 

10 prima facie case of the individual’s eligibility for 

11 such payment without the need for further docu12 mentation, except as the Commission may otherwise 

13 require. Such material facts shall include, with re14 spect to a claim under paragraph (2) or (3) of sec15 tion 3(a), a detailed description of the injury or 

16 other circumstance supporting the claim involved, in17 cluding the level of payment sought. 

18 (10) RELEASE OF RELATED CLAIMS.—Accept19 ance of payment under section 3 by an individual for 

20 a claim related to a compensable Guam decedent or 

21 a compensable Guam victim shall be in full satisfac22 tion of all claims related to such decedent or victim, 

23 respectively, arising under the Guam Meritorious 

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1 menting regulations issued by the United States 

2 Navy pursuant thereto, or this title. 

3 SEC. 5. GRANTS PROGRAM TO MEMORIALIZE THE OCCUPA4 TION OF GUAM DURING WORLD WAR II. 

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Subject to section 6(b) and in 

6 accordance with this section, the Secretary of the Interior 

7 shall establish a grants program under which the Sec8 retary shall award grants for research, educational, and 

9 media activities that memorialize the events surrounding 

10 the occupation of Guam during World War II, honor the 

11 loyalty of the people of Guam during such occupation, or 

12 both, for purposes of appropriately illuminating and inter13 preting the causes and circumstances of such occupation 

14 and other similar occupations during a war. 

15 (b) ELIGIBILITY.—The Secretary of the Interior may 

16 not award to a person a grant under subsection (a) unless 

17 such person submits an application to the Secretary for 

18 such grant, in such time, manner, and form and con19 taining such information as the Secretary specifies. 

20 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

21 (a) GUAM WORLD WAR II CLAIMS PAYMENTS AND

22 ADJUDICATION.—For purposes of carrying out sections 3 

23 and 4, there are authorized to be appropriated 

24 $100,000,000, to remain available for obligation until Sep25 tember 30, 2016, to the Foreign Claims Settlement ComVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:35 Jan 07, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H44.IH H44

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1 mission. Not more than 5 percent of funds made available 

2 under this subsection shall be used for administrative 

3 costs. 

4 (b) GUAM WORLD WAR II GRANTS PROGRAM.—For 

5 purposes of carrying out section 5, there are authorized 

6 to be appropriated $5,000,000, to remain available for ob7 ligation until September 30, 2016. 

Æ 


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