IIB 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 44 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
FEBRUARY 24, 2009 
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources 
AN ACT 
To implement the recommendations of the Guam War Claims 
Review Commission. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Guam World War II Loyalty Recognition Act’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 
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. Grants program to memorialize the occupation of Guam during World 
War II. 
Sec. 6. Authorization of appropriations. 
SEC. 2. RECOGNITION OF THE SUFFERING AND LOYALTY 
OF THE RESIDENTS OF GUAM. 
(a) RECOGNITION OF THE SUFFERING OF THE RESI-
DENTS OF GUAM.—The United States recognizes that, as 
described by the Guam War Claims Review Commission, 
the residents of Guam, on account of their United States 
nationality, suffered unspeakable harm as a result of the 
occupation of Guam by Imperial Japanese military forces 
during World War II, by being subjected to death, rape, 
severe personal injury, personal injury, forced labor, 
forced march, or internment. 
(b) RECOGNITION OF THE LOYALTY OF THE RESI-
DENTS OF GUAM.—The United States forever will be 
grateful to the residents of Guam for their steadfast loy-
alty to the United States of America, as demonstrated by 
the countless acts of courage they performed despite the 
threat of death or great bodily harm they faced at the 
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hands of the Imperial Japanese military forces that occu-
pied Guam during World War II. 
SEC. 3. PAYMENTS FOR GUAM WORLD WAR II CLAIMS. 
(a) PAYMENTS
FOR DEATH, PERSONAL INJURY, 
FORCED LABOR, FORCED MARCH, AND INTERNMENT.— 
Subject to section 6(a), after receipt of certification pursu-
ant to section 4(b)(8) and in accordance with the provi-
sions of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury shall make 
payments as follows: 
(1) RESIDENTS INJURED.—The Secretary shall 
pay compensable Guam victims who are not de-
ceased before any payments are made to individuals 
described in paragraphs (2) and (3) as follows: 
(A) If the victim has suffered an injury de-
scribed in subsection (c)(2)(A), $15,000. 
(B) If the victim is not described in sub-
paragraph (A) but has suffered an injury de-
scribed in subsection (c)(2)(B), $12,000. 
(C) If the victim is not described in sub-
paragraph (A) or (B) but has suffered an in-
jury described in subsection (c)(2)(C), $10,000. 
(2) SURVIVORS OF RESIDENTS WHO DIED IN 
WAR.—In the case of a compensable Guam decedent, 
the Secretary shall pay $25,000 for distribution to 
eligible survivors of the decedent as specified in sub-
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section (b). The Secretary shall make payments 
under this paragraph after payments are made 
under paragraph (1) and before payments are made 
under paragraph (3). 
(3) SURVIVORS OF DECEASED INJURED RESI-
DENTS.—In the case of a compensable Guam victim 
who is deceased, the Secretary shall pay $7,000 for 
distribution to eligible survivors of the victim as 
specified in subsection (b). The Secretary shall make 
payments under this paragraph after payments are 
made under paragraphs (1) and (2). 
(b) DISTRIBUTION OF SURVIVOR PAYMENTS.—Pay-
ments under paragraph (2) or (3) of subsection (a) to eli-
gible survivors of an individual who is a compensable 
Guam decedent or a compensable Guam victim who is de-
ceased shall be made as follows: 
(1) If there is living a spouse of the individual, 
but no child of the individual, all of the payment 
shall be made to such spouse. 
(2) If there is living a spouse of the individual 
and one or more children of the individual, one-half 
of the payment shall be made to the spouse and the 
other half to the child (or to the children in equal 
shares). 
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(3) If there is no living spouse of the individual, 
but there are one or more children of the individual 
alive, all of the payment shall be made to such child 
(or to such children in equal shares). 
(4) If there is no living spouse or child of the 
individual but there is a living parent (or parents) 
of the individual, all of the payment shall be made 
to the parents (or to the parents in equal shares). 
(5) If there is no such living spouse, child, or 
parent, no payment shall be made. 
(c) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this Act: 
(1) COMPENSABLE
GUAM
DECEDENT.—The 
term ‘‘compensable Guam decedent’’ means an indi-
vidual determined under section 4(a)(1) to have been 
a resident of Guam who died or was killed as a re-
sult of the attack and occupation of Guam by Impe-
rial Japanese military forces during World War II, 
or incident to the liberation of Guam by United 
States military forces, and whose death would have 
been compensable under the Guam Meritorious 
Claims Act of 1945 (Public Law 79–224) if a timely 
claim had been filed under the terms of such Act. 
(2) COMPENSABLE
GUAM
VICTIM.—The term 
‘‘compensable Guam victim’’ means an individual de-
termined under section 4(a)(1) to have suffered, as 
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a result of the attack and occupation of Guam by 
Imperial Japanese military forces during World War 
II, or incident to the liberation of Guam by United 
States military forces, any of the following: 
(A) Rape or severe personal injury (such 
as loss of a limb, dismemberment, or paralysis). 
(B) Forced labor or a personal injury not 
under subparagraph (A) (such as disfigure-
ment, scarring, or burns). 
(C) Forced march, internment, or hiding 
to evade internment. 
(3) DEFINITIONS OF SEVERE PERSONAL INJU-
RIES
AND
PERSONAL
INJURIES.—The Foreign 
Claims Settlement Commission shall promulgate reg-
ulations to specify injuries that constitute a severe 
personal injury or a personal injury for purposes of 
subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively, of para-
graph (2). 
SEC. 4. ADJUDICATION. 
(a) AUTHORITY OF FOREIGN CLAIMS SETTLEMENT 
COMMISSION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Foreign Claims Settle-
ment Commission is authorized to adjudicate claims 
and determine eligibility for payments under section 
3. 
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(2) RULES AND REGULATIONS.—The chairman 
of the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission shall 
prescribe such rules and regulations as may be nec-
essary to enable it to carry out its functions under 
this Act. Such rules and regulations shall be pub-
lished in the Federal Register. 
(b) CLAIMS SUBMITTED FOR PAYMENTS.— 
(1) SUBMITTAL
OF
CLAIM.—For purposes of 
subsection (a)(1) and subject to paragraph (2), the 
Foreign Claims Settlement Commission may not de-
termine an individual is eligible for a payment under 
section 3 unless the individual submits to the Com-
mission a claim in such manner and form and con-
taining such information as the Commission speci-
fies. 
(2) FILING PERIOD FOR CLAIMS AND NOTICE.— 
All claims for a payment under section 3 shall be 
filed within one year after the Foreign Claims Set-
tlement Commission publishes public notice of the 
filing period in the Federal Register. The Foreign 
Claims Settlement Commission shall provide for the 
notice required under the previous sentence not later 
than 180 days after the date of the enactment of 
this Act. In addition, the Commission shall cause to 
be publicized the public notice of the deadline for fil-
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ing claims in newspaper, radio, and television media 
on Guam. 
(3) ADJUDICATORY
DECISIONS.—The decision 
of the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission on 
each claim shall be by majority vote, shall be in writ-
ing, and shall state the reasons for the approval or 
denial of the claim. If approved, the decision shall 
also state the amount of the payment awarded and 
the distribution, if any, to be made of the payment. 
(4) DEDUCTIONS IN PAYMENT.—The Foreign 
Claims Settlement Commission shall deduct, from 
potential payments, amounts previously paid under 
the Guam Meritorious Claims Act of 1945 (Public 
Law 79–224). 
(5) INTEREST.—No interest shall be paid on 
payments awarded by the Foreign Claims Settlement 
Commission. 
(6) REMUNERATION
PROHIBITED.—No remu-
neration on account of representational services ren-
dered on behalf of any claimant in connection with 
any claim filed with the Foreign Claims Settlement 
Commission under this Act shall exceed one percent 
of the total amount paid pursuant to any payment 
certified under the provisions of this Act on account 
of such claim. Any agreement to the contrary shall 
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be unlawful and void. Whoever demands or receives, 
on account of services so rendered, any remunera-
tion in excess of the maximum permitted by this sec-
tion shall be fined not more than $5,000 or impris-
oned not more than 12 months, or both. 
(7) APPEALS AND FINALITY.—Objections and 
appeals of decisions of the Foreign Claims Settle-
ment Commission shall be to the Commission, and 
upon rehearing, the decision in each claim shall be 
final, and not subject to further review by any court 
or agency. 
(8) CERTIFICATIONS FOR PAYMENT.—After a 
decision approving a claim becomes final, the chair-
man of the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission 
shall certify it to the Secretary of the Treasury for 
authorization of a payment under section 3. 
(9) TREATMENT
OF
AFFIDAVITS.—For pur-
poses of section 3 and subject to paragraph (2), the 
Foreign Claims Settlement Commission shall treat a 
claim that is accompanied by an affidavit of an indi-
vidual that attests to all of the material facts re-
quired for establishing eligibility of such individual 
for payment under such section as establishing a 
prima facie case of the individual’s eligibility for 
such payment without the need for further docu-
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mentation, except as the Commission may otherwise 
require. Such material facts shall include, with re-
spect to a claim under paragraph (2) or (3) of sec-
tion 3(a), a detailed description of the injury or 
other circumstance supporting the claim involved, in-
cluding the level of payment sought. 
(10) RELEASE OF RELATED CLAIMS.—Accept-
ance of payment under section 3 by an individual for 
a claim related to a compensable Guam decedent or 
a compensable Guam victim shall be in full satisfac-
tion of all claims related to such decedent or victim, 
respectively, arising under the Guam Meritorious 
Claims Act of 1945 (Public Law 79–224), the imple-
menting regulations issued by the United States 
Navy pursuant thereto, or this Act. 
(11) PENALTY FOR FALSE CLAIMS.—The provi-
sions of section 1001 of title 18 of the United States 
Code (relating to criminal penalties for false state-
ments) apply to claims submitted under this sub-
section. 
SEC. 5. GRANTS PROGRAM TO MEMORIALIZE THE OCCUPA-
TION OF GUAM DURING WORLD WAR II. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Subject to section 6(b) and in 
accordance with this section, the Secretary of the Interior 
shall establish a grants program under which the Sec-
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retary shall award grants for research, educational, and 
media activities that memorialize the events surrounding 
the occupation of Guam during World War II, honor the 
loyalty of the people of Guam during such occupation, or 
both, for purposes of appropriately illuminating and inter-
preting the causes and circumstances of such occupation 
and other similar occupations during a war. 
(b) ELIGIBILITY.—The Secretary of the Interior may 
not award to a person a grant under subsection (a) unless 
such person submits an application to the Secretary for 
such grant, in such time, manner, and form and con-
taining such information as the Secretary specifies. 
SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
(a) GUAM WORLD WAR II CLAIMS PAYMENTS AND 
ADJUDICATION.—For purposes of carrying out sections 3 
and 4, there are authorized to be appropriated 
$126,000,000, to remain available for obligation until Sep-
tember 30, 2013, to the Foreign Claims Settlement Com-
mission. Not more than 5 percent of funds made available 
under this subsection shall be used for administrative 
costs. 
(b) GUAM WORLD WAR II GRANTS PROGRAM.—For 
purposes of carrying out section 5, there are authorized 
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to be appropriated $5,000,000, to remain available for ob-
ligation until September 30, 2013. 
Passed the House of Representatives February 23, 
2009. 
Attest: 
LORRAINE C. MILLER, 
Clerk. 
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