I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1595 

To implement the recommendations of the Guam War Claims Review 

Commission. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 20, 2007 

Ms. BORDALLO (for herself, Mr. HOYER, Mr. RAHALL, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, 

Mr. FORTUN ̃O, Mr. BURTON of Indiana, Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA, Mr. 

HONDA, and Mr. GRIJALVA) 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Guam World War II Loyalty Recognition Act’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Recognition of the suffering and loyalty of the residents of Guam. 

Sec. 3. Payments for Guam World War II claims. 

Sec. 4. Adjudication. 

Sec. 5. Authorization for Appropriations. 

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Sec. 6. Grants program to memorialize the occupation of Guam during World 

War II. 

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 section 5, after receipt of certification pursuant 

24 to section 4(b)(8) and in accordance with the provisions 

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1 of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury shall make pay2 ments as follows: 

3 (1) RESIDENTS INJURED.—The Secretary shall 

4 pay compensable Guam victims who are not de5 ceased before any payments are made to individuals 

6 described in paragraphs (2) and (3) 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) and before payments are made 

22 under paragraph (3). 

23 (3) SURVIVORS OF DECEASED INJURED RESI24 DENTS.—In the case of a compensable Guam victim 

25 who is deceased, the Secretary shall pay $7,000 for 

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1 distribution to eligible survivors of the victim as 

2 specified in subsection (b). The Secretary shall make 

3 payments under this paragraph after payments are 

4 made under paragraphs (1) and (2). 

5 (b) DISTRIBUTION OF SURVIVOR PAYMENTS.—Pay6 ments under paragraph (2) or (3) of subsection (a) to eli7 gible survivors of an individual who is a compensable 

8 Guam decedent or a compensable Guam victim who is de9 ceased shall be made as follows: 

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

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

12 shall be made to such spouse. 

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

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

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

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

17 shares). 

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

19 but there are one or more children of the individual 

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

21 (or to such children in equal shares). 

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

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

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

25 to the parents (or to the parents in equal shares). 

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

2 parent, no payment shall be made. 

3 (c) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this Act: 

4 (1) COMPENSABLE GUAM DECEDENT.—The 

5 term ‘‘compensable Guam decedent’’ means an indi6 vidual determined under section 4(a)(1) to have been 

7 a resident of Guam who died or was killed as a re8 sult of the attack and occupation of Guam by Impe9 rial Japanese military forces during World War II, 

10 or incident to the liberation of Guam by United 

11 States military forces, and whose death would have 

12 been compensable under the Guam Meritorious 

13 Claims Act of 1945 (Public Law 79–224) if a timely 

14 claim had been filed under the terms of such Act. 

15 (2) COMPENSABLE GUAM VICTIM.—The term 

16 ‘‘compensable Guam victim’’ means an individual de17 termined under section 4(a)(1) to have suffered, as 

18 a result of the attack and occupation of Guam by 

19 Imperial Japanese military forces during World War 

20 II, or incident to the liberation of Guam by United 

21 States military forces, any of the following: 

22 (A) Rape or severe personal injury (such 

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

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1 (B) Forced labor or a personal injury not 

2 under subparagraph (A) (such as disfigure3 ment, scarring, or burns). 

4 (C) Forced march, internment, or hiding 

5 to evade internment. 

6 (3) DEFINITIONS OF SEVERE PERSONAL INJU7 RIES AND PERSONAL INJURIES.—The Foreign 

8 Claims Settlement Commission shall promulgate reg9 ulations to specify injuries that constitute a severe 

10 personal injury or a personal injury for purposes of 

11 subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively, of para12 graph (2). 

13 SEC. 4. ADJUDICATION. 

14 (a) AUTHORITY OF FOREIGN CLAIMS SETTLEMENT

15 COMMISSION.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Foreign Claims Settle17 ment Commission is authorized to adjudicate claims 

18 and determine eligibility for payments under section 

19 3. 

20 (2) RULES AND REGULATIONS.—The chairman 

21 of the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission shall 

22 prescribe such rules and regulations as may be nec23 essary to enable it to carry out its functions under 

24 this Act. Such rules and regulations shall be pub25 lished in the Federal Register. 

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1 (b) CLAIMS SUBMITTED FOR PAYMENTS.— 

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

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

4 Foreign Claims Settlement Commission may not de5 termine an individual is eligible for a payment under 

6 section 3 unless the individual submits to the Com7 mission a claim in such manner and form and con8 taining such information as the Commission speci9 fies. 

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

11 All claims for a payment under section 3 shall be 

12 filed within one year after the Foreign Claims Set13 tlement Commission publishes public notice of the 

14 filing period in the Federal Register. The Foreign 

15 Claims Settlement Commission shall provide for the 

16 notice required under the previous sentence not later 

17 than 180 days after the date of the enactment of 

18 this Act. In addition, the Commission shall cause to 

19 be publicized the public notice of the deadline for fil20 ing claims in newspaper, radio, and television media 

21 on Guam. 

22 (3) ADJUDICATORY DECISIONS.—The decision 

23 of the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission on 

24 each claim shall be by majority vote, shall be in writ25 ing, and shall state the reasons for the approval or 

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

2 also state the amount of the payment awarded and 

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

4 (4) DEDUCTIONS IN PAYMENT.—The Foreign 

5 Claims Settlement Commission shall deduct, from 

6 potential payments, amounts previously paid under 

7 the Guam Meritorious Claims Act of 1945 (Public 

8 Law 79–224). 

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

10 payments awarded by the Foreign Claims Settlement 

11 Commission. 

12 (6) REMUNERATION PROHIBITED.—No remu13 neration on account of representational services ren14 dered on behalf of any claimant in connection with 

15 any claim filed with the Foreign Claims Settlement 

16 Commission under this Act shall exceed one percent 

17 of the total amount paid pursuant to any payment 

18 certified under the provisions of this Act on account 

19 of such claim. Any agreement to the contrary shall 

20 be unlawful and void. Whoever demands or receives, 

21 on account of services so rendered, any remunera22 tion in excess of the maximum permitted by this sec23 tion shall be fined not more than $5,000 or impris24 oned not more than 12 months, or both. 

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1 (7) APPEALS AND FINALITY.—Objections and 

2 appeals of decisions of the Foreign Claims Settle3 ment Commission shall be to the Commission, and 

4 upon rehearing, the decision in each claim shall be 

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

6 or agency. 

7 (8) CERTIFICATIONS FOR PAYMENT.—After a 

8 decision approving a claim becomes final, the chair9 man of the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission 

10 shall certify it to the Secretary of the Treasury for 

11 authorization of a payment under section 3. 

12 (9) TREATMENT OF AFFIDAVITS.—For pur13 poses of section 3 and subject to paragraph (2), the 

14 Foreign Claims Settlement Commission shall treat a 

15 claim that is accompanied by an affidavit of an indi16 vidual that attests to all of the material facts re17 quired for establishing eligibility of such individual 

18 for payment under such section as establishing a 

19 prima facie case of the individual’s eligibility for 

20 such payment without the need for further docu21 mentation, except as the Commission may otherwise 

22 require. Such material facts shall include, with re23 spect to a claim under paragraph (2) or (3) of sec24 tion 3(a), a detailed description of the injury or 

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1 other circumstance supporting the claim involved, in2 cluding the level of payment sought. 

3 (10) RELEASE OF RELATED CLAIMS.—Accept4 ance of payment under section 3 by an individual for 

5 a claim related to a compensable Guam decedent or 

6 a compensable Guam victim shall be in full satisfac7 tion of all claims related to such decedent or victim, 

8 respectively, arising under the Guam Meritorious 

9 Claims Act of 1945 (Public Law 79–224), the imple10 menting regulations issued by the United States 

11 Navy pursuant thereto, or this Act. 

12 (11) PENALTY FOR FALSE CLAIMS.—The provi13 sions of section 1001 of title 18 of the United States 

14 Code (relating to criminal penalties for false state15 ments) apply to claims submitted under this sub16 section. 

17 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION FOR APPROPRIATIONS. 

18 There are authorized to be appropriated 

19 $126,000,000, to remain available for obligation until Sep20 tember 30, 2012, to the Foreign Claims Settlement Com21 mission to carry out this Act. Not more than 5 percent 

22 of funds made available under this subsection shall be 

23 used for administrative costs. 

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1 SEC. 6. GRANTS PROGRAM TO MEMORIALIZE THE OCCUPA2 TION OF GUAM DURING WORLD WAR II. 

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Subject to subsection (c) and 

4 in accordance with this section, the Secretary of the Inte5 rior shall establish a grants program under which the Sec6 retary shall award grants for research, educational, and 

7 media activities that memorialize the events surrounding 

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

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

10 both, for purposes of appropriately illuminating and inter11 preting the causes and circumstances of such occupation 

12 and other similar occupations during a war. 

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

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

15 such person submits an application to the Secretary for 

16 such grant, in such time, manner, and form and con17 taining such information as the Secretary specifies. 

18 (c) AUTHORIZATION FOR APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

19 are authorized to be appropriated $5,000,000, to remain 

20 available for obligation until September 30, 2012, to carry 

21 out the grant program under this section. In addition, the 

22 Secretary of the Interior may use unobligated funds made 

23 available to the Secretary that may be used for such pur24 pose to carry out this section. 

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