I
103D CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4741
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
in World War II, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JULY 13, 1994
Mr. UNDERWOOD introduced the following bill; which was referred jointly to
the Committees on Natural Resources and 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 in World
War II, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Guam War Restitution
Act’’.
SEC. 2. AMENDMENT TO THE ORGANIC ACT OF GUAM.
The Organic Act of Guam (48 U.S.C. 1421 et seq.)
is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
‘‘SEC. 36. RECOGNITION OF DEMONSTRATED LOYALTY OF
THE PEOPLE OF GUAM TO THE UNITED
STATES, AND THE SUFFERING AND DEPRIVA-
TION ARISING THEREFROM, DURING WORLD
WAR II.
‘‘(a) APPLICATION OF SECTION.—This section shall
apply to Guamanians who did not meet the one-year time
limitation for filing of death or personal injury claims
specified in the first section of the Act of November 15,
1945 (Chapter 483; 59 Stat. 582), or who suffered other
compensable injuries if such Guamanians, their heirs or
next of kin, meet the eligibility, time limitation for filing,
and other criteria set forth in this section.
‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this section:
‘‘(1) AWARD.—The term ‘award’ means the
amount of compensation payable under subsection
(c).
‘‘(2) BENEFIT.—The term ‘benefit’ means the
amount of compensation payable under subsection
(d).
‘‘(3) BOARD.—The term ‘Board’ means the
Guam Restitution Trust Fund Board of Directors
established by subsection (h).
‘‘(4) CLAIMS FUND.—The term ‘Claims Fund’
means the Guam Restitution Claims Fund estab-
lished by subsection (f)(1).
‘‘(5) COMPENSABLE INJURY.—The term ‘com-
pensable injury’ means one of the following three
categories of injury incurred during, or as a result
of, World War II:
‘‘(A) Death.
‘‘(B) Personal injury.
‘‘(C) Forced labor, forced march, or in-
ternment.
‘‘(6) GUAMANIAN.—The term ‘Guamanian’
means any person who resided in the territory of
Guam during the period beginning December 8,
1941, and ending September 2, 1945, and who was
a United States citizen or national during the pe-
riod.
‘‘(7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means
the Secretary of the Interior.
‘‘(8) TRUST
FUND.—The term ‘Trust Fund’
means the Guam Restitution Trust Fund established
by subsection (g)(1).
‘‘(c) GENERAL AUTHORITY
OF SECRETARY
AND
BOARD; REQUIREMENTS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may receive,
examine, and render final decisions concerning
claims for awards under subsection (d) and benefits
under subsection (e) filed in accordance with this
section. The Secretary may certify and disburse pay-
ments from the Claims Fund, and the Board may
certify and disburse payments from the Trust Fund,
in accordance with this section.
‘‘(2) REQUIRED INFORMATION FOR INCLUSION
IN CLAIMS FOR AWARDS AND BENEFITS.—A claim
for an award or benefit under this section shall be
made under oath and shall include—
‘‘(A) the claimant’s name and age;
‘‘(B) the village in which the claimant re-
sided at the time the compensable injury oc-
curred;
‘‘(C) the approximate date or dates when
the compensable injury incurred;
‘‘(D) a brief description of the compen-
sable injury being claimed;
‘‘(E) the circumstances leading up to that
compensable injury; and
‘‘(F) in the case of an award based on
death as the compensable injury and in the case
of a claim for a benefit, proof of the relation-
ship of the claimant to the deceased.
‘‘(3) TIME
LIMITATION
APPLICABLE
TO
SEC-
RETARY.—The Secretary shall act expeditiously in
the examination, determination, and certification of
submitted claims, but in no event later than one
year after the expiration of the time to be issued by
the Secretary.
‘‘(d) ELIGIBILITY.—
‘‘(1) ELIGIBILITY FOR AWARDS.—To be eligible
for an award under this section, the following cri-
teria must be met:
‘‘(A) The claimant is a living Guamanian
who personally received the compensable injury,
except that in a claim for death, a claimant
may be the heir or next of kin of the decedent
Guamanian.
‘‘(B) The claimant files a claim with the
Secretary for a compensable injury containing
all the information required by subsection
(c)(2).
‘‘(C) The claimant is able to furnish either
proof of the compensable injury or is able to
produce affidavits by two witnesses to the com-
pensable injury.
the Board at any time, by such procedures as
the Board may prescribe.
‘‘(3) LIMITATION ON ELIGIBILITY FOR AWARDS
AND BENEFITS.—(A) A claimant may only be eligi-
ble for an award arising out of one category of com-
pensable injury.
‘‘(B) A claimant may only be eligible for bene-
fits arising out of one category of compensable in-
jury.
‘‘(e) PAYMENTS.—
‘‘(1) CERTIFICATION.—The Secretary shall cer-
tify all awards for payment, and the Board shall cer-
tify all benefits for payment, under this section.
‘‘(2) AWARDS.—The Secretary shall pay the fol-
lowing amounts as an award to each eligible claim-
ant under subsection (d)(1) from the Claims Fund:
‘‘(A) $20,000 for the category of death.
‘‘(B) $7,000 for the category of personal
injury.
‘‘(C) $5,000 for the category of forced
labor, forced march, or internment.
‘‘(3) BENEFITS.—The Secretary shall pay the
following amounts as a benefit to each eligible claim-
ant under subsection (d)(2) from the Trust Fund:
‘‘(A) $7,000 for the category of personal
injury.
‘‘(B) $5,000 for the category of forced
labor, forced march, or internment.
‘‘(4) REFUSAL
TO
ACCEPT
PAYMENT.—If a
claimant refuses to accept a payment under para-
graph (2) or (3), an amount equal to such payment
shall remain in the Claims Fund or Trust Fund, as
appropriate, and no payment may be made under
this section to such claimant at any future date.
‘‘(5) 
PRORATED
PAYMENTS
RELATED
TO
CLAIMS FOR THE SAME DEATH.—Payment of the
award or benefit relating to death shall be prorated
among the heirs or next of kin claiming for the same
death, as provided in the Guam probate laws.
‘‘(6) ORDER
OF
PAYMENTS.—The Secretary
shall endeavor to make payments under this section
to eligible individuals in the order of date of birth
(with the oldest individual on the date of the enact-
ment of this Act or, if applicable, that individual’s
survivors under paragraph (6), receiving full pay-
ment first), until all eligible individuals have received
payment in full.
‘‘(f) GUAM RESTITUTION CLAIMS FUND.—
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in
the Treasury of the United States the Guam Res-
titution Claims Fund, to be administered by the Sec-
retary of the Treasury, as directed by the Secretary
of the Interior. Amounts in the Claims Fund shall
only be available for disbursement by the Secretary
of the Interior in the amounts specified in subsection
(e). In the event that all eligible claims have been
paid and a balance exists in the Claims Fund, any
unobligated funds shall be transferred to the Trust
Fund 60 days after the final report required in sub-
section (j)(3) is submitted to Congress.
‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON USE OF AMOUNTS FROM
CLAIMS FUND.—No cost incurred by the Secretary
in carrying out this section shall be paid from the
Claims Fund or set off against, or otherwise de-
ducted from, any payment under this section to any
eligible claimant.
‘‘(g) GUAM RESTITUTION TRUST FUND.—
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in
the Treasury of the United States the Guam Res-
titution Trust Fund, which shall be administered by
the Secretary of the Treasury.
‘‘(2) INVESTMENTS.—Amounts in the Trust
Fund shall be invested in accordance with section
9702 of title 31, United States Code.
‘‘(3) USES.—Amounts in the Trust Fund shall
be available only for disbursement by the Board in
accordance with subsection (h).
‘‘(h) GUAM RESTITUTION TRUST FUND BOARD OF
DIRECTORS.—
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established
the Guam Restitution Trust Fund Board of Direc-
tors, which shall be responsible for making disburse-
ments from the Trust Fund in the manner provided
in this subsection.
‘‘(2) USES.—The Board may make disburse-
ments from the Trust Fund only—
‘‘(A) to sponsor research and public edu-
cational activities so that the events surround-
ing the wartime experiences and losses of the
Guamanian people will be remembered, and so
that the causes and circumstances of this and
similar events may be illuminated and under-
stood;
‘‘(B) to disburse available funds as benefits
to eligible claimants through a revolving fund
for such purposes as post-secondary scholar-
ships, first-time home ownership loans, and
other suitable purposes as may be determined
by the Board; and
‘‘(C) for reasonable administrative ex-
penses of the Board, including expenses in-
curred under paragraphs (3)(C), (4), and (5).
‘‘(3) MEMBERSHIP.—(A) The Board shall be
composed of nine members appointed by the Sec-
retary from recommendations made by the Governor
of Guam, from individuals who are not officers or
employees of the United States Government.
‘‘(B)(i) Except as provided in subparagraphs
(B) and (C), members shall be appointed for terms
of three years.
‘‘(ii) Of the members first appointed—
‘‘(I) five shall be appointed for terms of
three years, and
‘‘(II) four shall be appointed for terms of
two years,
as designed by the Secretary at the time of appoint-
ment.
‘‘(iii) Any member appointed to fill a vacancy
occurring before the expiration of the term for which
such member’s predecessor was appointed shall be
appointed only for the remainder of such term. A