An Act to authorize certain appropriations for the territories of the United States, to amend certain acts relating thereto, and for other purposes.
PL 95-134 (H.R.6550), enacted 10/15/1977

PUBLIC LAW 95-134—OCT. 15, 1977 
91 STAT. 1159 
Public Law 95-134 
95th Congress 
An Act 
To authorize certain appropriations for tlie territories of the United States, to 
amend certain Acts relating thereto, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the 
United States of America in Congress 
assembled, 
T I T L E I 
SEC. 101. (a) Section 2 of the Act of June 30,1954 (68 Stat. 330), as 
amended, is further amended by changing "and such amounts as were 
authorized but not appropriated for jfiscal year 1975," to read "and such 
amounts as were authorized but not appropriated for fiscal years 1975, 
1976, and 1977: for fiscal year 1978, $90,000,000; for fiscal year 1979, 
$122,700,000; for fiscal year 1980, $112,000,000;". 
(b) Section 2 of the Act of June 30,1954 (68 Stat. 330), as amended, 
is further amended by (1) deleting "but not to exceed $10,000,000," and 
(2) deleting all of the language beginning with the words "which 
amounts for each fiscal year" up to and including the words "calendar 
year 1974,". 
SEC. 102. Until the provisions of the covenant to establish a Com-
monwealth for the Northern Mariana Islands (90 Stat. 263) have been 
met and approved as required in section 1003(b) thereof, there is 
hereby authorized to be appropriated $13,515,000 for the government 
of the Northern Mariana Islands. When such conditions are met, the 
appropriations authorized in article VII, section 704, of said covenant 
shall become effective. 
SEC. 103. For the rehabilitation and resettlement of Enewetak Atoll 
in the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands there is hereby authorized 
to be appropriated $12,400,000 (July 1976 prices) plus or minus such 
amounts, if any, as may be justified by reason of ordinary 
fluctuations 
in construction costs as indicated by engineering cost indexes appli-
cable to the types of construction involved. 
SEC. 104. (a) In addition to appropriations authorized to compen-
sate inhabitants of Rongelap Atoll and Utirik Atoll in the Trust 
Territory of the Pacific Islands for radiation exposure sustained by 
them as a result of a thermonuclear detonation at Bikini Atoll in the 
Marshall Islands on March 1, 1954, pursuant to the Act of August 22, 
1964 (78 Stat. 598), effective October 1, 1977, there are authorized to 
be appropriated such amounts as may be necessary to carry out the 
provisions of this section and the Secretary of the Interior (hereafter 
m this section referred to as the "Secretary") is authorized and 
directed to make the payments as hereafter provided in this paragraph 
to individuals, or to their heirs or legatees, as the case may be, who 
were on March 1, 1954, residents on Rongelap Atoll or Utirik Atoll 
in the Marshall Islands: 
(1) The Secretary shall pay $25,000 to each such individual 
from whom the thyroid gland or a neurofibroma in the neck 
was surgically removed, or who has developed hypothyroidism, 
or who develops a radiation-related malignancy, such as leukemia. 
(2) The Secretary shall pay $1,000 to each individual who, 
on such date, was a resident on Utirik Atoll. 
Oct. 15, 1977 
[H.R. 6550] 
Territories of the 
United States. 
Appropriation 
authorization. 
Trust Territory of 
the Pacific 
Islands. 
48 u s e 1681 
note. 
Northern 
Mariana Islands. 
48 u s e 1681 
note. 
Enewetak Atoll. 
Rongelap Atoll 
and Utirik Atoll. 
Radiation 
victims. 
Payments to heirs 
or legatees. 
91 STAT. 1160 
PUBLIC LAW 95-134—OCT. 15, 1977 
Medical care and 
treatment. 
G>8t8. 
Report to 
congressional 
committees. 
Additional 
payment, 
limitation. 
Rongelap, Utirik, 
and Bikini Atolls, 
sums for 
community 
purposes. 
Rules and 
regulations. 
Adjudicated 
claims and final 
awards. 
50 u s e app. 
2018. 
(3) Where circumstances warrant, as he shall determine, the 
Secretary shall pay an amount not in excess of $25,000 as he deter-
mines to be an appropriate compassionate compensation to each 
such individual who has suffered any physical injury or harm 
from a radiation-related cause but who is not an individual 
described in paragraph (1). 
(4) In addition to the payments provided in paragraphs (1), 
(2), and (3) of this subsection, the Secretary snail provide by 
appropriate means adequate medical care and treatment for any 
person who has a continuing need for the care and treatment of 
any radiation injury or illness directly related to the thermo-
nuclear detonation referred to in paragraph (a) of this section. 
The costs of such medical care and treatment shall be assumed 
by the Administrator of the Energy Kesearch and Development 
Administration. 
(5) Not later than December 31, 1980, the Secretary shall 
report to the appropriate committees of the United States Congress 
for their consideration what, if any, additional compassionate 
compensation may be justified for those individuals continuing 
to suffer from injuries or illnesses directly related to radiation 
resulting from the thermonuclear detonation referred to in para-
graph (a) of this section. 
In the case of the demise of any individual entitled to receive payment 
under this section who expires before receiving such payment, the 
Secretary shall pay the amount which that individual would have been 
entitled to receive under this section to the heirs or legatees of such 
individual, in accordance with an appropriate method of distribution 
per stirpes, and not per capita. Where the demise of any individual 
eligible for payment under paragraph (1) or (3) supra is directly 
related to the thermonuclear detonation referred to in paragraph (a) 
of this section, the Secretary may make an additional compassionate 
payment not to exceed $100,000 to the heirs or legatees of such indi-
vidual. In determining the amount of such payment the Secretary shall 
consider, but is not limited to, the following: any payments which the 
deceased has received or would have been eligible to receive under this 
section, and loss of support, services, or contributions to the heirs or 
legatees. 
(b) For the use of each of the island communities of Kongelap, 
Utirik, and Bikini Atolls there is authorized to be appropriated 
$100,000. Such funds are to be paid by the Secretary, in conjunction 
with guidelines to be established by the High Commissioner of the 
Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, for such community purposes 
as the municipal councils of such island communities may direct. 
(c) A payment made under the provisions of this section shall be 
in full settlement and discharge of all claims against the United States 
arising out of the thermonuclear detonation on March 1,1954. 
(d) The decisions of the Secretary in allowing or denying any claim 
for payment under this section shall be final and conclusive on all 
questions of law and fact and not subject to review by any other official 
of the United States, or by any court by mandamus or otherwise. 
(e) The Secretary is authorized to make such rules and regulations 
as he determines necessary to carry out the provisions of this section. 
SEC. 105. In addition to amounts heretofore authorized pursuant to 
the Micronesian Claims Act of 1971 (85 Stat. 96), there are hereby 
authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of the Interior such 
sums as may be necessary to satisfy all adjudicated claims and final 
awards made by the Micronesian Claims Commission to date under 
PUBLIC LAW 95-134—OCT. 15, 1977 
91 STAT. 1161 
Contribution by 
Government of 
Japan. 
title I and title II of said 1971 Act, for full payment of such awards: 50 U
S
C app. 
Provided^ That no sums appropriated pursuant to this section may be 2019, 2020. 
paid on awards pursuant to title I of said 1971 Act until, subsequent 
to the date of enactment of this section, the Government of Japan has 
provided to the Government of the Trust Territory of the Pacific 
Islands a contribution, which contribution may be in goods and serv-
ices, which has a value as determined by the Secretary of the Interior 
equivalent to not less than 50 per centum of the total awards made 
pursuant to title I of said 1971 Act less $10,000,000 from such total: 
Provided further, That prior to making any payment on an award Award, review 
pursuant to either title I or title II of said 1971 Act, the Secretary 
shall review such award and determine whether any portion of such 
award constitutes interest not authorized to be awarded under the said 
1971 Act and shall exclude from his payment such amounts as he deter-
mines constitute such interest. The Secretary's determination of the 
proportion of any award which constitutes such interest and the pro-
portion which constitutes value shall be final and shall not be subject 
to judicial review. 
TITLE II 
SEC. 201. (a) There is hereby authorized to be appropriated to the 
Secretary of the Interior (hereinafter referred to as the Secretary), 
not to exceed $15,000,000 for a grant to the Government of Guam to 
assist in typhoon rehabilitation, upgrading and construction of public 
facilities, and maintenance of essential services. 
(b) Funds provided under this Act may be used by Guam as its 
matching share for Federal programs and services. 
(c) The Government of Guam in carrying out the purpose of this 
Act may utilize, to the extent practicable, the available services and 
facilities of agencies and instrumentalities of the United States Gov-
ernment on a reimbursable basis. Reimbursements may be credited to 
the appropriation or fund which provided the services and facilities. 
Agencies and instrumentalities of the United States Government may, 
when practicable, make available to the Government of Guam upon 
request of the Secretary such services and facilities as they are equipped 
to render or furnish, and they may do so without reimbursement if 
otherwise authorized by law. 
(d) The Secretary may place such stipulations as he deems appro-
priate on the use of funds appropriated pursuant to section 301(a). 
SEC. 202. Section 2 of the Guam Development Fund Act of 1968 
(82 Stat. 1172; 48 U.S.C. 1428) is amended by changing "SEC. 2." to 
"SEC. 2. (a)" and adding at the end thereof the following new sub-
section (b) : 
"(b) In addition to the appropriations authorized in subsection 
(a), $1,000,000 is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of 
the Interior to be paid to the Government of Guam annually for five 
fiscal years commencing in fiscal year 1978 to carry out the purposes 
of this Act". 
SEC. 203. The Organic Act of Guam (64 Stat. 394) as amended (48 
U.S.C. 1421 et seq.) is further amended: 
(a) by deleting from the first sentence of section 9-A(a) 
everything after the words "government of Guam"; adding a 
period after "Guam"; and inserting the following sentence; 
"Effective October 1, 1977, the salaiy and expenses of the Comp-
troller's office shall be paid from funds authorized to be appro-
propriated to the Department of the Interior."; 
Government of 
Guam. 
Services and 
facilities of U.S. 
Government, 
utilization. 
Post, p. 1162. 
Additional 
appropriation 
authorizations. 
Government 
comptroller, 
salary and 
expenses. 
48 USC 1422d. 
91 STAT. 1162 
PUBLIC LAW 95-134—OCT. 15, 1977 
48 u s e 1681b. 
Separate tax. 
48 u s e 1421i. 
District Court of 
Guam, review of 
claims. 
48 u s e 1424c. 
Land acquisitions 
effected through 
judicial 
condemnation 
proceedings. 
Fair 
compensation. 
Special masters 
or judges, 
employment. 
Attorney's fees, 
limitation. 
Violation, 
penalty. 
Grants to 
Government of 
Guam. 
Government 
comptroller, 
salaries and 
expenses. 
(b) the Act of June 30, 1954 (68 Stat. 330), as amended, is 
further amended by deleting the last sentence of section 4(a) ; 
(c) by changing the period at the end of section 31(a) to a 
colon and inserting the following: '•''Provided, That notwith-
standing any other provision of law, the Legislature of Guam 
may levy a separate tax on all taxpayers in an amount not to 
exceed 10 per centum of their annual income tax obligation to the 
Government of Guam.". 
SEC. 204. (a) Notwithstanding any law or court decision to the con-
trary, the District Court of Guam is hereby granted authority and 
jurisdiction to review claims of persons, their heirs or legatees, from 
whom interests in land on Guam were acquired other than through 
judicial condemnation proceedings, in which the issue of compensa-
tion was adjudicated in a contested trial in the District Court of 
Guam, by the United States between July 21,1944, and August 23,1963, 
and to award fair compensation in those cases where it is determined 
that less than fair market value Avas paid as a result of (1) duress, 
unfair influence, or other unconscionable actions, or (2) unfair, unjust, 
and inequitable actions of the United States. 
(b) Land acquisitions effected through judicial condemnation pro-
ceedings in which the issue of compensation was adjudicated in a 
contested trial in the District Court of Guam, shall remain res judicata 
and shall not be subject to review hereunder. 
(c) Fair compensation for purposes of this Act is defined as such 
additional amounts as are necessary to effect payment of fair market 
value at the time of acquisition, if it is determined that, as a result of 
duress, unfair influence, or other unconscionable actions, fair market 
value was not paid. Interest may not be allowed from the time of 
acquisition to the date of the award on such additional amounts as 
may be awarded pursuant to this section. 
(d) The District Court of Guam may employ and utilize the services 
of such special masters or judges as are necessary to carry out the 
intent and purposes hereof. 
(e) Awards made hereunder shall be judgments against the United 
States. 
(f) Attorney's fees paid by claimants to counsel representing them 
may not exceed 5 per centum of any additional award. Any agreement 
to the contrary shall be unlawful and void. Whoever, in the United 
States or elsewhere, demands or receives any remuneration in excess 
of the maximum permitted by this section shall be guilty of a mis-
demeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than 
$5,000 or imprisoned not more than twelve months, or both. A reason-
able attorney's fee may be awarded in appropriate cases. 
(g) All agencies and departments of the United States Government 
shall, upon request, deliver to the court any documents, records, and 
writings which are pertinent to any claim under review. 
SEC. 205. There is hereby authorized to be appropriated to the Sec-
retary of the Interior such sums as may be necessary for grants to the 
Government of Guam to meet the health care needs of Guam, but not 
to exceed $25,000,000: Provided, That no grant may be made by the 
Secretary of the Interior pursuant to this section without the prior 
approval of the Scjretary of Health, Education, and Welfare. 
TITLE III 
SEC. 301. (a) The Revised Organic Act of the Virgin Islands (68 
Stat. 504) as amended (48 U.S.C. 1599) is further amended as follows : 
Delete from the first sentence of section 17(a) everything after the 
PUBLIC LAW 95-134—OCT. 15, 1977 
91 STAT. 1163 
words "government of the Vir^n Islands", add a period after "Virgin 
Islands" and insert the following sentence: "Effective October 1,1977, 
the salary and expenses of the Comptroller's office shall be paid from 
funds authorized to be appropriated to the Department of the 
Interior.". 
(b) Section 9(d) of the Revised Organic Act of the Virgin Islands 
(68 Stat. 497; 48 U.S.C. 1541 et seq.) is amended by inserting immedi-
ately before the period at the end thereof the following: ", unless the 
legislature, after reconsideration upon motion of a member thereof, 
passes such items, parts, or portions so objected to by a vote of two-
thirds of all the members of the legislature." 
(c) Section 8 of the Eevised Organic Act of the Virgin Islands 
(48 U.S.C. 1574) is amended by adding at the end thereof the following 
new subsection: 
"(f) (1) The Legislature of the Virgin Islands may impose on the 
importation of any article into the Virgin Islands for consumption 
therein a customs duty. The rate of any customs duty imposed on any 
article under this subsection may not exceed— 
"(A) if an ad valorem rate, 6 per centum ad valorem; or 
"(B) if a specific rate or a combination ad valorem'and specific 
rate, the equivalent or 6 per centum ad valorem. 
"(2) Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit the Legislature of 
the Virgin Islands from permitting the duty-free importation of any 
article. 
"(3) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed as empowering 
the Legislature of the Virgin Islands to repeal or amend any provision 
in law in effect on the day before the date of the enactment of this 
subsection w^hich pertains to the customs valuation or customs classifi-
cation of articles imported into the Virgin Islands.". 
TITLE IV 
SEC. 401. The Secretary of the Interior is directed to submit to the 
Congress not later than January 1,1978, a report on Federal programs 
available to the territories of the United States indicating in such 
report what programs are available to each territory, what additional 
programs would be of benefit to such territory if made available, what 
changes or modifications to each program should be made to improve 
the operation and effectiveness of each program and the estimated costs 
of such program. There is hereby authorized to be appropriated for 
fiscal year 1978 $50,000 to assist the Secretary in the preparation of 
this report. 
SEC. 402. In order to compensate the territories of Guam and the 
Virgin Islands for xmexpected revenue losses occasioned by the Tax 
Reduction Act of 1975 and the Tax Reform Act of 1976 there is hereby 
authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary for grants to the govern-
ment of Guam not to exceed $15,000,000 and after October 1, 1977, 
for grants to the government of the Virgin Islands not to exceed 
$14,000,000, such sums being in addition to those previously author-
ized for such purposes. 
SEC. 403. Effective on the date of enactment of this Act, those laws, 
except for any laws administered by the Social Security Administra-
tion and except for medicaid which is now administered by the Health 
Care Financing Administration, which are referred to in section 502 
(a) (1) (except for the reference to the Micronesian Claims Act of 
1971 (85 Stat. 96)) of the Covenant to Establish a Commonwealth of 
the Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union With the United 
States of America, approved by joint resolution approved on March 24, 
Legislative 
procedure. 
48 use 1575. 
Customs duty. 
Rate, limitation. 
Duty-free 
importation. 
Federal programs, 
availability to 
U.S. territories. 
Report to 
Congress. 
43 u s e 1457 
note. 
Guam and the 
Virgin Islands. 
26 u s e 7651 
note. 
26 u s e 1 note. 
48 u s e 1681 
note. 
90 Stat. 268. 
50 u s e app. 
2018. 
91 STAT. 1164 
PUBLIC LAW 95-134—OCT. 15, 1977 
1976 (90 Stat. 263), and 502(a) (2) of said Covenant shall be applicable 
to the territories of Guam and the Virgin Islands on the same terms 
and conditions as such laws are applied to the Commonwealth of the 
Northern Mariana Islands. 
Insular Areas. 
48 u s e 1469a. 
Consolidation of 
grants. 
Allocation of 
funds. 
Grants-in-aid 
regulations; 
publication in 
Federal Register. 
Waivers. 
TITLE V 
SEC. 501. In order to minimize the burden caused by existing appli-
cation and reporting procedures for certain grant-in-aid programs 
available to the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Trust 
Territory of the Pacific Islands, and the Government of the Northern 
Mariana Islands (hereafter referred to as "Insular Areas") it is hereby 
declared to be the policy of the Congress that: 
(a) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, any 
department or agency of the Government of the United States which 
administers any Act of Congress which specifically provides for mak-
ing grants to any Insular Area under which payments received may 
be used by such Insular Area only for certain specified purposes (other 
than direct payments to classes of individuals) may, acting through 
appropriate administrative authorities of such department or agency, 
consolidate any or all grants made to such area for any fiscal year 
or years. 
(b) Any consolidated grant for any insular area shall not be less 
than the sum of all grants which such area would otherwise be entitled 
to receive for such year. 
(c) The funds received under a consolidated grant shall be expended 
in furtherance of the programs and purposes authorized 
for 
any of the grants which are being consolidated, which are authorized 
under any of the Acts administered by the department or agency 
making the grant, and which would be applicable to grants for such 
programs and purposes in the absence of the consolidation, but the 
Insular Areas shall determine the proportion of the funds granted 
which shall be allocated to such programs and purposes. 
(d) Each department or agency making grants-in-aid shall, by 
regulations published in the Federal Register, provide the method by 
which any Insular Area may submit (i) a single application for a 
consolidated grant for any fiscal year period, but not more than one 
such application for a consolidated grant shall be required by any 
department or agency unless notice of such requirement is transmitted 
to the appropriate committees of the United States Congress together 
with a complete explanation of the necessity for requiring such addi-
tional applications and (ii) a single report to such department or 
agency with respect to each such consolidated grant: Provided^ That 
nothing in this paragraph shall preclude such department or agency 
from providing adequate procedures for accounting, auditing, evaluat-
ing, and reviewing any programs or activities receiving benefits from 
any consolidated grant. The administering authority of any depart-
ment or agency, in its discretion, may (i) waive any requirement for 
matching funds otherwise required by law to be provided by the 
PUBLIC LAW 95-134—OCT. 15, 1977 
91 STAT. 1165 
Insular Area involved and (ii) waive the requirement that any 
Insular Area submit an application or report in writing with respect 
to any consolidated grant. 
Approved October 15, 1977. 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: 
HOUSE REPORT No. 95-228 (Comm. on Interior and Insular Affairs). 
SENATE REPORT No. 95-332 (Comm. on Energy and Natural Resources). 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 123 (1977): 
May 2, considered and passed House. 
July 25, considered and passed Senate, amended. 
Sept. 27, House agreed to certain Senate amendments with amendments. 
Sept. 28, Senate concurred in House amendments with an amendment. 
Sept. 29, 30, House concurred in Senate amendment with an amendment. 
Sept. 30, Senate concurred in House amendment.