II

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2420

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

during World War II, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

AUGUST 24 (legislative day, AUGUST 18), 1994

Mr. INOUYE introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred

to the Committee on 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 during 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 ap10 plies to any Guamanian who would otherwise be eligible

11 to file a claim under the first section of the Act of Novem12 ber 15, 1945 (59 Stat. 582, chapter 483), but failed to

13 meet the 1-year time limitation for filing of death or per14 sonal injury claims specified in the first section of such

15 Act, or who suffered other compensable injuries if such

16 Guamanian, an heir to such Guamanian, or next of kin

17 of such Guamanian, meets the criteria for eligibility and

18 other criteria set forth in this section and otherwise meets

19 the requirements for filing a claim under this section, in20 cluding meeting an applicable deadline for filing the claim.

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

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

23 amount of compensation payable for a claim made

24 by an eligible claimant pursuant to subsection

25 (d)(1).
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1 ‘‘(2) BENEFIT.—The term ‘benefit’ means the

2 amount of compensation payable for a claim made

3 by an eligible claimant pursuant to subsection

4 (d)(2).

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

6 Guam Restitution Trust Fund Board of Directors

7 established under subsection (h).

8 ‘‘(4) CLAIMS FUND.—The term ‘Claims Fund’

9 means the Guam Restitution Claims Fund estab10 lished under subsection (f)(1).

11 ‘‘(5) COMPENSABLE INJURY.—The term ‘com12 pensable injury’ means one of the following three

13 categories of injury incurred during, or as a result

14 of, World War II:

15 ‘‘(A) Death.

16 ‘‘(B) Personal injury.

17 ‘‘(C) Forced labor, forced march, or in18 ternment.

19 ‘‘(6) ELIGIBLE CLAIMANT.—The term ‘eligible

20 claimant’ means an individual who meets the re21 quirements of paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection

22 (d).

23 ‘‘(7) GUAMANIAN.—The term ‘Guamanian’

24 means any individual who—
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1 ‘‘(A) resided in Guam during the period

2 beginning December 8, 1941, and ending Sep3 tember 2, 1945; and

4 ‘‘(B) was a United States citizen or United

5 States national during the period specified in

6 subparagraph (A).

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

8 the Secretary of the Interior.

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

10 means the Guam Restitution Trust Fund established

11 under subsection (g)(1).

12 ‘‘(c) GENERAL AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY AND

13 BOARD; REQUIREMENTS.—

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may receive,

15 examine, and render final decisions concerning

16 claims for awards submitted pursuant to subsection

17 (d)(1) and claims for benefits submitted pursuant to

18 subsection (d)(2) in accordance with this section.

19 The Secretary may certify and disburse payments

20 from funds made available to the Secretary from the

21 Claims Fund, and the Board may certify and dis22 burse payments from funds made available to the

23 Board from the Trust Fund, in accordance with this

24 section.
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1 ‘‘(2) REQUIRED INFORMATION FOR INCLUSION

2 IN CLAIMS FOR AWARDS AND BENEFITS.—A claim

3 for an award or benefit under this section shall be

4 made under an oath administered by an appropriate

5 official (as determined by the Secretary). Such claim

6 shall include the following information:

7 ‘‘(A) The name and age of the claimant.

8 ‘‘(B) The village in which the claimant re9 sided at the time the compensable injury oc10 curred.

11 ‘‘(C) The approximate date on which com12 pensable injury was incurred.

13 ‘‘(D) A brief description of the compen14 sable injury that is the subject of the claim.

15 ‘‘(E) The circumstances that resulted in

16 the compensable injury.

17 ‘‘(F) In the case of an award based on

18 death as the compensable injury, or the case of

19 a claim for a benefit, proof of the relationship

20 of the claimant to the deceased.

21 ‘‘(3) TIME LIMITATION FOR REVIEWING AND

22 CERTIFYING CLAIMS.—Upon receipt of a claim sub23 mitted pursuant to this subsection, the Secretary

24 shall examine the claim to determine if the claim

25 conforms with the requirements of paragraph (2),
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1 and certify the claim if such claim conforms with

2 such requirements, as expeditiously as practicable,

3 but not later than 18 months after the date of en4 actment of this section.

5 ‘‘(d) ELIGIBILITY.—

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

7 for an award under this section, the claimant shall

8 meet the following criteria:

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

10 who personally received the compensable injury,

11 except that in a claim for death, a claimant

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

13 Guamanian.

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

15 Secretary for a compensable injury that meets

16 the requirements of subsection (c)(2).

17 ‘‘(C) The claimant, at the time of submis18 sion of the claim—

19 ‘‘(i) furnishes proof of the compen20 sable injury; or

21 ‘‘(ii) produces affidavits by two wit22 nesses to the compensable injury.

23 ‘‘(D) The claimant files a claim under this

24 section by not later than 1 year after the date

25 of enactment of this section.
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1 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBILITY FOR BENEFITS.—To be eligi2 ble for a benefit under this section, the claimant

3 shall meet the following criteria:

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

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

6 Guamanian who personally received the com7 pensable injury and who died after September

8 2, 1945.

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

10 Secretary or the Board for a compensable in11 jury that meets the requirements of subsection

12 (c)(2).

13 ‘‘(C) The claimant, at the time of submis14 sion of the claim—

15 ‘‘(i) furnishes proof of the compen16 sable injury; or

17 ‘‘(ii) produces affidavits by two wit18 nesses to the compensable injury.

19 ‘‘(D)(i) Except as provided in clause (ii),

20 the claimant files a claim under this section not

21 later than 1 year after the date of enactment of

22 this section.

23 ‘‘(ii) Any individual who proves con24 sanguinity with a claimant and who meets the

25 criteria specified in subparagraphs (A) through
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1 (C) may become eligible for a prorated share of

2 benefits accruing to such claim by filing, in ac3 cordance with such procedures as the Board

4 may prescribe, a claim with the Board for such

5 prorated share.

6 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION ON ELIGIBILITY FOR AWARDS

7 AND BENEFITS.—A claimant for an award or a ben8 efit under this section may only be eligible for an

9 award arising out of one category of compensable in10 juries specified in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of

11 subsection (b)(5).

12 ‘‘(e) PAYMENTS.—

13 ‘‘(1) CERTIFICATION.—The Secretary shall cer14 tify each award for which a payment is made under

15 this section. The Board shall certify each benefit for

16 which a payment is made under this section.

17 ‘‘(2) AWARDS.—Except as provided in para18 graph (7), upon the certification of an award under

19 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall pay an award

20 from funds made available to the Secretary from the

21 Claims Fund in the applicable amount specified in

22 subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of paragraph (3) to

23 the eligible claimant who submitted the claim for the

24 award pursuant to subsection (d)(1).
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1 ‘‘(3) AWARD AMOUNTS.—The awards paid

2 under this subsection shall be in the following

3 amounts:

4 ‘‘(A) $20,000 for a death.

5 ‘‘(B) $7,000 for a personal injury.

6 ‘‘(C) $5,000 for forced labor, forced

7 march, or internment.

8 ‘‘(4) BENEFITS.—Except as provided in sub9 section (d)(2)(D) and paragraph (7), upon the cer10 tification of a benefit under paragraph (1), the

11 Board shall pay to the eligible claimant who submit12 ted a claim to receive a benefit under subsection

13 (d)(2) a payment from funds made available to the

14 Board from the Trust Fund in an amount equal to

15 the full amount of the benefit in the applicable

16 amount specified in subparagraph (A) or (B) of

17 paragraph (5).

18 ‘‘(5) BENEFIT AMOUNTS.—The benefits paid

19 under this subsection shall be in the following

20 amounts:

21 ‘‘(A) $7,000 for the category of personal

22 injury.

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

24 labor, forced march, or internment.
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1 ‘‘(6) REFUSAL TO ACCEPT PAYMENT.—If a

2 claimant refuses to accept a payment under this sec3 tion, no payment may be made under this section to

4 such claimant after the date on which the claimant

5 refuses the payment, and the amount of the claim

6 shall not be withdrawn from the Claim Fund or the

7 Trust Fund.

8 ‘‘(7) PRORATED PAYMENTS RELATED TO

9 CLAIMS FOR THE SAME DEATH.—Payment of the

10 award or benefit relating to death shall be prorated

11 among the heirs or next of kin who are claimants for

12 the same death, as provided in the probate laws of

13 the territory of Guam.

14 ‘‘(8) ORDER OF PAYMENTS.—The Secretary

15 shall, to the extent practicable, make payments

16 under this section to eligible claimants in descending

17 order on the basis of the age of the claimants.

18 ‘‘(f) GUAM RESTITUTION CLAIMS FUND.—

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

20 the Treasury of the United States the Guam Res21 titution Claims Fund. The Claims Fund shall consist

22 of such amounts as are deposited in the Fund pur23 suant to appropriations authorized under subsection

24 (m). The Secretary of the Treasury, with the concur25 rence of the Secretary of the Interior, shall admin-
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1 ister the Claims Fund. Amounts in the Claims Fund

2 shall only be available to the Secretary of the Inte3 rior for disbursement pursuant to this section.

4 ‘‘(2) UNOBLIGATED FUNDS.—If the Secretary

5 of the Interior determines that all eligible claimants

6 have been paid under this section, the Secretary of

7 the Treasury shall transfer any unobligated funds

8 remaining in the Claims Fund to the Trust Fund on

9 the date that is 60 days after the Secretary of the

10 Interior submits to Congress the final report re11 quired under subsection (j)(3).

12 ‘‘(3) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—No administra13 tive cost incurred by the Secretary in carrying out

14 this section shall be paid from the Claims Fund or

15 set off against, or otherwise deducted from, any pay16 ment made under this section to any eligible claim17 ant.

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

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

20 the Treasury of the United States the Guam Res21 titution Trust Fund. The Trust Fund shall consist

22 of such amounts as are deposited in the Fund pur23 suant to appropriations authorized under subsection

24 (m) and any interest earned on investment of

25 amounts in the Trust Fund under paragraph (2).
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1 The Trust Fund shall be administered by the Sec2 retary of the Treasury.

3 ‘‘(2) INVESTMENTS.—The Secretary of the

4 Treasury shall invest amounts in the Trust Fund in

5 accordance with section 9702 of title 31, United

6 States Code.

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

8 be available only for disbursement by the Board in

9 accordance with subsection (h).

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

11 DIRECTORS.—

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

13 the Guam Restitution Trust Fund Board of Direc14 tors. The Board shall be responsible for making dis15 bursements from funds made available by the Sec16 retary of the Treasury to the Board from the Trust

17 Fund in the manner provided in this subsection.

18 ‘‘(2) USES.—The Board may make disburse19 ments from funds made available to the Board from

20 the Trust Fund only for the following purposes:

21 ‘‘(A) To sponsor research and public edu22 cational activities in such manner as to ensure

23 that—
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1 ‘‘(i) the events surrounding the war2 time experiences and losses of the Guama3 nian people will be remembered; and

4 ‘‘(ii) the causes and circumstances of

5 this and similar events may be illuminated

6 and understood.

7 ‘‘(B) To disburse available funds as bene8 fits to eligible claimants through a revolving

9 fund for such purposes as postsecondary schol10 arships, first-time home ownership loans, and

11 any other purpose that the Board may deter12 mine to be suitable.

13 ‘‘(C) To cover the cost of reasonable ad14 ministrative expenses of the Board, including

15 expenses incurred under paragraphs (3)(C), (4),

16 and (5).

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

18 appointed by the Secretary from nominations sub19 mitted by the Governor of Guam. The Board shall

20 be composed of nine members who are not officers

21 or employees of the Federal Government.

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

23 (B) and (C), members of the Board shall be ap24 pointed to serve for a term of 3 years.
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1 ‘‘(ii) Of the members initially appointed to the

2 Board—

3 ‘‘(I) five members shall be appointed to

4 serve for a term of 3 years, and

5 ‘‘(II) four members shall be appointed to

6 serve for a term of 2 years,

7 as designated by the Secretary at the time of ap8 pointment.

9 ‘‘(iii)(I) Any member of the Board appointed to

10 fill a vacancy occurring before the expiration of the

11 term for which a member was originally appointed

12 shall be appointed to serve for the remainder of such

13 term.

14 ‘‘(II) A member may serve after the expiration

15 of the term of such member until such time as a

16 successor takes office.

17 ‘‘(III) No member may serve for more than two

18 consecutive terms.

19 ‘‘(C) Each member of the Board shall serve

20 without pay, except that each member of the Board

21 shall be entitled to receive reimbursement for travel,

22 subsistence, and other necessary expenses incurred

23 by the member in carrying out the functions of the

24 Board, in the same manner as a person employed

25 intermittently in the United States Government is
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1 allowed expenses under section 5703 of title 5,

2 United States Code.

3 ‘‘(D) Five members of the Board shall con4 stitute a quorum, but a lesser number may hold

5 hearings.

6 ‘‘(E) A Chairperson of the Board shall be elect7 ed from among the members of the Board.

8 ‘‘(4) STAFF.—(A) The Board shall appoint a

9 Director.

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

11 of such additional staff as the Board may require.

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

13 the Board—

14 ‘‘(i) may be appointed—

15 ‘‘(I) without regard to section 5311(b)

16 of title 5, United States Code; and

17 ‘‘(II) without regard to the provisions

18 of such title governing appointments in the

19 competitive service; and

20 ‘‘(ii) may be paid without regard to the

21 provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of

22 chapter 53 of title 5, United States Code, relat23 ing to classification and General Schedule pay

24 rates, except that the compensation of any em25 ployee of the Board may not exceed a rate
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1 equivalent to the minimum rate of basic pay

2 payable for GS–15 of the General Schedule

3 under section 5332(a) of such title.

4 ‘‘(5) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT SERVICES.—

5 The Administrator of General Services shall provide

6 to the Board on a reimbursable basis such adminis7 trative support services as the Board may request.

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

9 accept, use, and dispose of gifts or donations of serv10 ices or property for purposes authorized under para11 graph (2).

12 ‘‘(7) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 1 year

13 after the initial meeting of the Board and annually

14 thereafter, the Board shall transmit to the President

15 and to Congress a report describing the activities of

16 the Board.

17 ‘‘(i) NOTICE.—

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days

19 after the date of enactment of this section, the Sec20 retary shall give public notice in the territory of

21 Guam and such other places as the Secretary consid22 ers appropriate concerning the period during which

23 claims may be filed under this section. The Sec24 retary shall ensure that the provisions of this section

25 are widely published in the territory of Guam and
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1 such other locations as the Secretary considers ap2 propriate.

3 ‘‘(2) NOTICE AND ASSISTANCE.—To the maxi4 mum extent practicable, the Secretary shall provide

5 prompt notification to all individuals who may be6 come eligible to make a claim for an award or bene7 fit under this section and to assist such individuals

8 in the preparation and filing of claims made under

9 this section.

10 ‘‘(j) REPORTS.—

11 ‘‘(1) NECESSARY COMPENSATION.—Not later

12 than 18 months after the date of enactment of this

13 section, the Secretary shall submit a report to Con14 gress and the Governor of Guam that contains a rec15 ommendation concerning the amount of compensa16 tion necessary to fully carry out this section. The re17 port shall include—

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

19 compensable injury, which were approved under

20 this section; and

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

22 compensable injury, which were denied under

23 this section, and a brief explanation for the rea24 son for the denials.
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1 ‘‘(2) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than Janu2 ary 15 of the first full fiscal year ending after sub3 mittal of the report provided in paragraph (1), and

4 annually thereafter, the Secretary shall submit a re5 port to Congress that contains the following:

6 ‘‘(A) The activities conducted by the Sec7 retary under this section.

8 ‘‘(B) The status of the Claims Fund and

9 Trust Fund.

10 ‘‘(C) Any request for an appropriation that

11 the Secretary determines to be necessary in

12 order to make disbursement from the Claims

13 Fund and Trust Fund.

14 ‘‘(3) FINAL AWARD REPORT.—At such time as

15 the Secretary determines that all awards have been

16 paid to eligible claimants, the Secretary shall submit

17 a report to Congress and to the Governor of Guam

18 certifying—

19 ‘‘(A) the total amount of compensation

20 paid as awards under this section, by category

21 of compensable injury; and

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

23 and the amount of any unobligated funds re24 maining in the Claims Fund to be transferred
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1 to the Trust Fund pursuant to subsection

2 (f)(2).

3 ‘‘(k) LIMITATION.—

4 ‘‘(1) LIMITATION ON REMUNERATION FOR

5 SERVICES.—Notwithstanding any other provision of

6 law—

7 ‘‘(A) any remuneration provided to any

8 person on account of services rendered on be9 half of any eligible claimant, or any association

10 of eligible claimants, in connection with any

11 claim made under this section may not exceed

12 5 percent of the amount of the claim; and

13 ‘‘(B) any agreement between any person

14 and an eligible claimant or an association of eli15 gible claimants to provide remuneration in an

16 amount that exceeds the amount specified in

17 this paragraph shall be unlawful and void. Any

18 agreement to the contrary shall be unlawful and

19 void.

20 ‘‘(2) Whoever, in the United States or else21 where in an area under the jurisdiction of the Fed22 eral Government, demands or receives, on account of

23 services so rendered, any remuneration in excess of

24 the maximum permitted by this section, shall be

25 guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction, shall
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1 be fined in accordance with title 18, United States

2 Code, or imprisoned not more than 12 months, or

3 both.

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

5 shall constitute an obligation of the United States to pay

6 any claim arising out of war. The compensation provided

7 in this section is ex gratia in nature intended solely as

8 a means of recognizing the demonstrated loyalty of the

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

10 and deprivation arising therefrom, during World War II.

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

12 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be

13 necessary to carry out this section. Amounts appropriated

14 pursuant to this section are authorized to remain available

15 until expended.’’.

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