[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 112 (Friday, August 3, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8918-S8922]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. FEINGOLD (for himself, Mr. Grassley, and Mr. Kennedy):
  S. 1356. A bill to establish a commission to review the facts and 
circumstances surrounding injustices suffered by European Americans, 
European Latin Americans, and European refugees during World War II; to 
the Committee on the Judiciary.
  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Wartime 
Treatment of European Americans and Refugees Study Act. This bill would 
create a Commission to review the United States Government's treatment 
during World War II of German Americans, Italian Americans, certain 
Latin Americans, and refugees of Nazi Germany.
  I am very pleased that my distinguished colleagues, Senators Grassley 
and Kennedy, have joined me as cosponsors of this important bill. I 
particularly want to thank them for their input and valuable 
contributions to this bill.
  The allied victory in the Second World War was an American triumph, 
and most of all, a triumph for human freedom. Today we rightly 
celebrate the contributions of what Tom Brokaw has called the Greatest 
Generation, the courage displayed by so many Americans in that terrible 
struggle should be a source of pride for every American.
  Those Americans fought, and often gave their lives, to restore 
freedom and democracy abroad. But, as brave Americans fought enemies in 
Europe and the Pacific, here at home the U.S. government was curtailing 
the freedom of its own people. Of course, every nation has the duty to 
protect its homefront in wartime. But, even in war, we must respect the 
basic freedoms for which so many Americans have given their lives, 
including untold numbers of German and Italian Americans.
  Many Americans are by now aware that during World War II, under the 
authority of Executive Order 9066, our government forced more than 
100,000 ethnic Japanese from their homes and into camps. This 
evacuation policy forced Japanese Americans to endure great hardship. 
Approximately 15,000 additional ethnic Japanese were selectively 
interned in government operated internment camps. They often lost their 
basic freedoms, their livelihood, and perhaps worst of all, suffered 
the shame and humiliation of being locked behind barbed wire and 
military guard, by their own government. Under the Civil Liberties Act 
of 1988, this shameful episode in American history received the 
official condemnation it deserved. Under the Act, people of Japanese 
ancestry who suffered either relocation or selective internment 
received an apology and reparations, on behalf of the people of the 
United States.

[[Page S8919]]

  But, while the treatment of Japanese Americans has finally received 
the attention it deserves by the public, most Americans have never even 
heard about the approximately 11,000 ethnic Germans living in America, 
the 3,200 ethnic Italians living in America, or the scores of ethnic 
Bulgarians, Hungarians, Rumanians or other European Americans who were 
taken from their homes and placed into internment camps during World 
War II. Hundreds remained interned for up to three years after the war 
was over.
  Today I introduce legislation to convene an independent commission to 
examine this tragic history, try to understand why it happened, and to 
try to ensure that it never happens again. We must learn the lessons of 
history, however painful they might be for us, and for the families 
that endured this shameful treatment. In a time of American heroism 
abroad, here at home we faltered. We failed to protect the liberty of 
all Americans. Through our restrictive immigration policies, we also 
failed to offer safe harbor to European refugees fleeing Nazi genocide. 
We turned away thousands of refugees fleeing Germany, delivering many 
of them to their deaths.
  As a Nation we have been slow to address our conduct during the war. 
There has finally been some measure of justice for Japanese Americans 
who suffered in the United States, however little or however late. And 
Congress has finally begun to address the treatment of Italian 
Americans. Last year, the President signed into law The Wartime 
Violation of Italian American Civil Liberties Act, which called for a 
report from the Department of Justice detailing injustices suffered by 
Italian-Americans during World War II. I believe that this is a step in 
the right direction, but an independent panel should be convened to 
conduct a full and thorough review.
  I think many Americans would be surprised to learn that, to this day, 
more than 50 years later, there has been no recognition of the ordeal 
of thousands of German Americans during and after the Second World War. 
There has been no justice for ethnic Germans living in America who were 
branded ``enemy aliens'' by their own government. The U.S. government 
limited their travel, imposed curfews and seized their personal 
property. Thousands were interned in camps, often separated from other 
members of their family, living in miserable conditions. Many of these 
families, including American children, were later shipped back to war-
torn Europe in exchange for Americans held there, and suffered 
terribly. It is past time for the U.S. Government to recognize the pain 
and anguish these actions caused.
  And there has been no justice for European Latin Americans, including 
German and Austrian Jews, who were actually repatriated or deported to 
hostile, war-torn European Axis powers, often as part of an exchange 
for Americans being held in those countries. The U.S. government 
uprooted these people from their homes and forced them into camps in 
the United States, essentially kidnaping them from nations not even 
directly involved in the War. Again, many were then shipped for 
exchange to Europe.
  And finally, there has been no justice for Europeans, often Jews, who 
sought refuge from the Nazis on our shores. We must examine the U.S. 
immigration policies of the 1930s and 1940s that turned these people 
away, and often delivered them into the hands of the Third Reich.
  This legislation proposes an independent commission to look at U.S. 
policies during World War II, including the policies regarding German 
and Italian Americans, European Latin Americans, and the refugee 
immigration policies of the World War II era.
  In the 1940s, Germans and Italians were the two largest foreign-born 
populations in the United States. Under the policy put in place by the 
U.S. government, thousands of aliens were simply arrested by the FBI. 
Far more often than not, these arrests were based on highly 
questionable evidence. Those arrested were held indefinitely pending a 
hearing. Many times their families did not know where they had been 
taken for weeks, and if both parents were taken, children were often 
left to fend for themselves until family members or local governments 
took custody of them.
  They received a brief hearing before local hearing boards during 
which the local U.S. Attorney acted as prosecutor. The hearing boards 
then recommended to the Department of Justice whether they should be 
released, paroled, or interned for the duration of the War. Despite the 
serious nature of this proceeding, those arrested did not have the 
right to have their own lawyer and did not have the right to confront 
witnesses against them. The hearing boards would then send their 
recommendations to the Department of Justice, where a final 
determination could take months. Internment orders were issued for the 
duration of the war. Ironically, many were interned on Ellis Island, 
where immigrants had been welcomed for decades.
  Families, often left destitute, struggled to survive and often lost 
their homes. Finally, the government would permit families to join 
their loved ones in a family camp, where they would live indefinitely 
behind barbed wire. These spouses and children were frequently American 
citizens.
  In addition to internment, all enemy aliens during World War II were 
subject to strict regulations affecting their daily lives. Enemy aliens 
were required to carry photo-bearing identification booklets at all 
times, were forbidden to travel beyond a five mile radius of their 
homes, were required to turn in any short wave radios and cameras they 
owned. They were required to given the government a full-week's notice 
if they planned to spend a night away from home, and could not ride in 
airplanes. Thousands of enemy aliens were prohibited from entering 
military zones, some even evacuated from their homes. Many aliens and 
European American citizens were also subject to restrictions in or 
excluded from military areas that collectively covered one-third of the 
country.

  As I've said, there has been some recognition of the wrongs done to 
Italian Americans during the war, but there has yet to be any formal 
recognition of the pain that German American families went through. So 
I want to take a few moments to give examples to help my colleagues and 
the public understand the kind of harassment they endured.
  The FBI searched tens of thousands of alien residences between 1943 
and 1945. The stories of homes ransacked, or people being taken from 
their families for years, are chilling. Take the case of Guenther 
Greis. Mr. Greis, as U.S. citizen, was 17 years old when World War II 
began in 1941. On December 7, 1941 Guenther's father, a German citizen 
who had lived in the U.S. for at least 15 years, and worked in the 
chemical industry, was arrested.
  Weeks passed before Guenther, his mother, and his family of four 
boys, three born in the United States, finally learned where their 
missing father had been taken. He was to be interned for the duration 
of the war. In the meantime, Guenther's family had struggled to keep 
their home. Even as their father was being detained by the government, 
two sons enlisted in the merchant Marines and served in the Pacific War 
Zone on behalf of the United States. The remaining family eventually 
was sent to the internment camp in Crystal City, TX, until Guenther and 
his brother were released in 1946. Guenther's parents remained interned 
until 1947, two years after the end of the war. To this day, the Greis 
family does not have explanation of why their father was interned.
  Or take the story of Anton Schroeger, a German citizen who came to 
America at the age of 16, and by the time World War II began, had lived 
half his life in America. When World War II broke out, Anton was lucky 
to have a relatively high paying job as a skilled painter at the 
Milwaukee Road repair shops. Based on what Anton believed to be a false 
tip from somebody who wanted his job, however, Anton was arrested while 
at work, and taken to a series of interment camps. After his arrest, 
his wife, Anna, insisted on joining him in the internment camps, and, 
in fact, gave birth to a daughter in a camp in Texas. After World War 
II, Anton earned a living working at lower paying jobs. Despite this 
ordeal, Anton eventually became a U.S. citizen in 1952. His family is 
certain that Anton did not engage in any activity that deserved such 
treatment.
  Let me say here that there may have been people affected by these 
policies

[[Page S8920]]

who harbored sympathy for our adversaries, and was potentially 
dangerous. And every government must take steps to protect its 
homefront in a time of war. But even the people who may have posed a 
threat to our security should have had the basic protections enshrined 
in our Constitution. War tests all of our principles and values, 
without question. But it is during these times of conflict, and fear, 
that we need to protect those principles the most.
  At least 11,000 German-Americans were placed in internment camps 
during WWII. Thousands more were denied basic freedoms that most of us 
today take for granted. These Germans and German-Americans deserve a 
full fact-finding review and acknowledgement from the U.S. government, 
and they deserve to have their story told so that we may strive to 
ensure that the individual rights of all Americans will remain free 
from arbitrary persecution.
  The work of the commission created by this bill would include a 
review of The Alien Enemy Act of 1798, which permitted this treatment 
under U.S. law and remains on the books today. So, the first act of the 
Commission would involve a full and thorough review of the federal 
government's treatment of European Americans and European Latin 
Americans.
  The second part of the Commission's work would be to study America's 
treatment of refugees from Nazi Germany. After Hitler took power in 
1933, the freedoms of German Jews were eroded until many of them sought 
desperately to flee the country. First came an economic boycott, the 
loss of civil rights, citizenship, and jobs.
  Then, in November 1938, came the Kristallnacht pogrom, and 
ultimately, incarceration and systematic murder in concentration camps. 
Unfortunately, as restrictions began to tighten and many Jews sought 
refuge outside of Nazi Germany, America, instead of acting as a haven 
for these refugees, was tightening its immigration rules. Between 1933 
and 1939, 300,000 Germans, mostly Jews fleeing Nazi persecution, 
applied for visas to America. Yet only about 90,000 applicants were 
ever admitted into our nation.
  The requirements just to be considered for a visa were formidable. An 
applicant had to submit an application, a birth certificate, a 
certificate of good conduct from the German police, affidavits of good 
conduct, submit to a physical exam, proof of permission to leave a 
country of origin, proof of booked passage to the U.S., two sponsors in 
America, and on and on. These requirements made immigrating to the U.S. 
very difficult. Then, in 1941, a new regulation forbidding the granting 
of a visa to anyone who had relatives in an Axis-occupied territory 
essentially made seeking refuge in America impossible for many Jews.
  Thanks to research conducted by the United States Holocaust Museum 
and other American scholars, we now have a fuller understanding of the 
ramifications of U.S. immigration policies. To put the tragic results 
of those policies into perspective, I'll recount the fate of the 
passengers aboard a ship called the St. Louis. The St Louis sailed from 
Hamburg in April 1939 with 937 passengers aboard. Over 900 of those 
passengers were Jews, attempting to flee Germany. America denied entry 
to the refugees on the ship, and it eventually sailed back to Antwerp 
in June 1939. From there, the refugees frantically searched for new 
countries to offer them protection. Some of them succeeded, while many 
did not, and were later detained and killed at Auschwitz.
  Some attempts were made to allow the most vulnerable of these 
refugees, children, into the United States. On February 9, 1939 the 
Wagner-Rogers refugee bill was introduced in this very Senate. The bill 
would have allowed admission to the United States of 20,000 German 
refugee children under the age of 14 over a period of two years, in 
addition to the immigration normally permitted. But sadly, that bill 
was not even considered by the full Senate.
  The United States' failure to offer refuge to Jews attempting to flee 
the Nazis is one of the most shameful periods in our history. We closed 
our borders to people fleeing persecution, and at the same time, within 
those borders, we treated too many people of ``enemy ethnicity'' as 
threats to a national security. The purpose of this proposed 
commission, is to understand and acknowledge the United States' actions 
during this period. As a Nation, we have repeatedly called on other 
countries to acknowledge their wartime offenses against civilians. 
Today we have to ask of ourselves what we ask of other nations--why did 
we do it, and how can we prevent it from happening again?
  During the Second World War, we defeated terrible enemies abroad, but 
we also lost something of ourselves as we denied freedoms to people at 
home. For many, the nation they called home would never be the same to 
them after their loyalty was questioned, and their lives were ripped 
apart. Too many German and Italian Americans were harassed and 
humiliated by the country where they lived, struggled, raised children, 
ran businesses, and built their dreams for a better life. This was the 
country they chose, like millions before them, and like each and every 
one of us. I hope by establishing a commission we can better understand 
how we allowed such a gross injustice, and how we can guard against 
implementing similar policies in the future.
  No American can justify using ethnicity as a basis for the terrible 
treatment these people endured. And there's no way we can justify the 
policy which allowed European Latin Americans to be torn from their 
homes, brought here to the U.S. under deplorable conditions to be 
interned, and sometimes deported back to hostile European nations. 
Finally, there's surely no way we can justify our World War II era 
immigration policy, which undoubtedly led to the deaths of thousands of 
people--people who turned to the U.S., in fear and desperation, for a 
safe harbor, and were tragically turned away.
  We cannot learn from this troubling history unless we first seek to 
acknowledge it and understand it. Coming to terms with these events 
will be difficult, but for the families who suffered under these 
wartime policies, it will be, at long last, a recognition of the ordeal 
they went through at the hands of their own government. I urge my 
colleagues to support this legislation, so that we can learn from this 
painful past, and ensure that we will never again let our worst fears 
drive us to neglect our most cherished freedoms. Thank you, Mr. 
President.
  I ask unanimous consent that the full text of the Wartime Treatment 
of European Americans and Refugees Study Act be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill as ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 1356

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Wartime Treatment of 
     European Americans and Refugees Study Act''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) The United States has long encouraged other nations to 
     acknowledge their wartime offenses against civilians. Now, 
     the United States Government should fully assess its 
     treatment of European Americans and European Latin Americans 
     during World War II and its effect on Italian American, 
     German American, and other European American communities.
       (2) The United States Government should also fully assess 
     its treatment of European refugees who fled persecution and 
     genocide in Europe to seek refuge in the United States prior 
     to and during World War II.
       (3) During World War II, the United States Government 
     branded as ``enemy aliens'' more than 600,000 Italian-born 
     and 300,000 German-born United States resident aliens and 
     their families and required them to carry Certificates of 
     Identification, limited their travel, and seized their 
     personal property. At that time, these groups were the two 
     largest foreign-born groups in the United States.
       (4) During World War II, the United States Government 
     arrested, interned or otherwise detained thousands of 
     European Americans, some remaining in custody for years after 
     cessation of World War II hostilities, and repatriated, 
     exchanged, or deported European Americans, including 
     American-born children, to hostile, war-torn European Axis 
     nations, many to be exchanged for Americans held in those 
     nations.
       (5) Pursuant to a policy coordinated by the United States 
     with Latin American countries, many European Latin Americans, 
     including German and Austrian Jews, were captured, shipped to 
     the United States and interned. Many were later expatriated, 
     repatriated or deported to hostile, war-torn European Axis 
     nations during World War II, most to be exchanged for 
     Americans and Latin Americans held in those nations.

[[Page S8921]]

       (6) Millions of European Americans served in the armed 
     forces and thousands sacrificed their lives in defense of the 
     United States.
       (7) The wartime policies of the United States Government 
     were devastating to the Italian Americans and German American 
     communities, individuals and their families. The detrimental 
     effects are still being experienced.
       (8) Prior to and during World War II, the United States 
     restricted the entry of European refugees who were fleeing 
     persecution and sought safety in the United States. During 
     the 1930's and 1940's, the quota system, immigration 
     regulations, visa requirements, and the time required to 
     process visa applications affected the number of European 
     refugees, particularly those from Germany and Austria, who 
     could gain admittance to the United States.
       (9) Time is of the essence for the establishment of a 
     Commission, because of the increasing danger of destruction 
     and loss of relevant documents, the advanced age of potential 
     witnesses and, most importantly, the advanced age of those 
     affected by the United States Government's policies. Many who 
     suffered have already passed away and will never know of this 
     effort.

     SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) During world war ii.--The term ``during World War II'' 
     refers to the period between September 1, 1939, through 
     December 31, 1948.
       (2) European americans.--
       (A) In general.--The term ``European Americans'' refers to 
     United States citizens and permanent resident aliens of 
     European ancestry, including Italian Americans, German 
     Americans, Hungarian Americans, Romanian Americans, and 
     Bulgarian Americans.
       (B) Italian americans.--The term ``Italian Americans'' 
     refers to United States citizens and permanent resident 
     aliens of Italian ancestry.
       (C) German americans.--The term ``German Americans'' refers 
     to United States citizens and permanent resident aliens of 
     German ancestry.
       (3) European refugees.--The term ``European refugees'' 
     refers to European nationals who desired to flee persecution 
     and genocide in Europe and to enter the United States during 
     the period between January 1, 1933 and December 31, 1945 but 
     were denied entry.
       (4) European latin americans.--The term ``European Latin 
     Americans'' refers to persons of European ancestry, including 
     Italian or German ancestry, residing in a Latin American 
     nation during World War II.

     SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION.

       (a) In General.--There is established the Commission on 
     Wartime Treatment of European Americans and Refugees 
     (referred to in this Act as the ``Commission'').
       (b) Membership.--The Commission shall be composed of 11 
     members, who shall be appointed not later than 90 days after 
     the date of enactment of this Act as follows:
       (1) Five members shall be appointed by the President.
       (2) Three members shall be appointed by the Speaker of the 
     House of Representatives, in consultation with the minority 
     leader.
       (3) Three members shall be appointed by the majority leader 
     of the Senate, in consultation with the minority leader.
       (c) Terms.--The term of office for members shall be for the 
     life of the Commission. A vacancy in the Commission shall not 
     affect its powers, and shall be filled in the same manner in 
     which the original appointment was made.
       (d) Representation.--The Commission shall include 2 members 
     from the Italian American community and 2 members from the 
     German American community representing their wartime 
     treatment interests. The Commission shall also include 2 
     members representing the interests of European refugees.
       (e) Meetings.--The President shall call the first meeting 
     of the Commission not later than 120 days after the date of 
     enactment of this Act.
       (f) Quorum.--Six members of the Commission shall constitute 
     a quorum, but a lesser number may hold hearings.
       (g) Chairman.--The Commission shall elect a Chairman and 
     Vice Chairman from among its members. The term of office of 
     each shall be for the life of the Commission.
       (h) Compensation.--
       (1) In general.--Members of the Commission shall serve 
     without pay.
       (2) Reimbursement of expenses.--All members of the 
     Commission shall be reimbursed for reasonable travel and 
     subsistence, and other reasonable and necessary expenses 
     incurred by them in the performance of their duties.

     SEC. 5. DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION.

       (a) In General.--It shall be the duty of the Commission to 
     review--
       (1) the United States Government's wartime treatment of 
     European Americans and European Latin Americans as provided 
     in subsection (b)(1); and
       (2) the United States Government's refusal to allow 
     European refugees fleeing persecution in Europe entry to the 
     United States as provided in subsection (b)(2).
       (b) Scope of Review.--
       (1) European americans and european latin americans.--The 
     Commission's review shall include, but not be limited to, the 
     following:
       (A) A comprehensive review of the facts and circumstances 
     surrounding United States Government actions during World War 
     II which violated the civil liberties of European Americans 
     and European Latin Americans pursuant to the Alien Enemy Act 
     (50 U.S.C. 21-24), Presidential Proclamations 2526, 2527, 
     2655, 2662, Executive Orders 9066 and 9095, and any directive 
     of the United States Armed Forces pursuant to such law, 
     proclamations, or executive orders respecting the 
     registration, arrest, exclusion, internment, exchange, or 
     deportment of European Americans and European Latin 
     Americans. This review shall include an assessment of the 
     underlying rationale of the United States Government's 
     decision to develop related programs and policies, the 
     information the United States Government received or acquired 
     suggesting the related programs and policies were necessary, 
     the perceived benefit of enacting such programs and policies, 
     and the immediate and long-term impact of such programs and 
     policies on European Americans and European Latin Americans 
     and their communities.
       (B) A review of United States Government action with 
     respect to European Americans pursuant to the Alien Enemy Act 
     (50 U.S.C. 21-24) and Executive Order 9066 during World War 
     II, including registration requirements, travel and property 
     restrictions, establishment of restricted areas, raids, 
     arrests, internment, exclusion, policies relating to the 
     families and property that excludees and internees were 
     forced to abandon, internee employment by American companies 
     (including a list of such companies and the terms and type of 
     employment), exchange, repatriation, and deportment, and the 
     immediate and long-term effect of such actions, particularly 
     internment, on the lives of those affected. This review shall 
     include a list of all temporary detention and long-term 
     internment facilities.
       (C) A brief review of the participation by European 
     Americans in the United States Armed Forces including the 
     participation of European Americans whose families were 
     excluded, interned, repatriated, or excluded.
       (D) A recommendation of appropriate remedies, including how 
     civil liberties can be better protected during war, or an 
     actual, attempted, or threatened invasion or inclusion, an 
     assessment of the continued viability of the Alien Enemy Act 
     (50 U.S.C. 21-24), and public education programs related to 
     the United States Government's wartime treatment of European 
     Americans, European Latin Americans, and European refugees 
     during World War II.
       (2) European refugees.--The Commission's review shall cover 
     the period between January 1, 1933, through December 31, 
     1945, and shall include, to the greatest extent practicable, 
     the following:
       (A) A review of the United States Government's refusal to 
     allow European refugees entry to the United States, including 
     a review of the underlying rationale of the United States 
     Government's decision to refuse the European refugees entry, 
     the information the United States Government received or 
     acquired suggesting such refusal was necessary, the perceived 
     benefit of such refusal, and the impact of such refusal on 
     European refugees.
       (B) A review of Federal refugee policy relating to those 
     fleeing persecution or genocide, including recommendations 
     for making it easier for future victims of persecution or 
     genocide to obtain refuge in the United States.
       (c) Field Hearings.--The Commission shall hold public 
     hearings in such cities of the United States as it deems 
     appropriate.
       (d) Report.--The Commission shall submit a written report 
     of its findings and recommendations to Congress not later 
     than 18 months after the date of the first meeting called 
     pursuant to section 4(e).

     SEC. 6. POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.

       (a) In General.--The Commission or, on the authorization of 
     the Commission, any subcommittee or member thereof, may, for 
     the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this Act, hold 
     such hearings and sit and act at such times and places, and 
     request the attendance and testimony of such witnesses and 
     the production of such books, records, correspondence, 
     memorandum, papers, and documents as the Commission or such 
     subcommittee or member may deem advisable. The Commission may 
     request the Attorney General to invoke the aid of an 
     appropriate United States district court to require, by 
     subpoena or otherwise, such attendance, testimony, or 
     production.
       (b) Government Information and Cooperation.--The Commission 
     may acquire directly from the head of any department, agency, 
     independent instrumentality, or other authority of the 
     executive branch of the Government, available information 
     that the Commission considers useful in the discharge of its 
     duties. All departments, agencies, and independent 
     instrumentalities, or other authorities of the executive 
     branch of the Government shall cooperate with the Commission 
     and furnish all information requested by the Commission to 
     the extent permitted by law, including information collected 
     as a result of Public Law 96-317 and Public Law 106-451. For 
     purposes of the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(9)), the 
     Commission shall be deemed to be a committee of jurisdiction.

     SEC. 7. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.

       The Commission is authorized to--
       (1) appoint and fix the compensation of such personnel as 
     may be necessary, without regard to the provisions of title 
     5, United

[[Page S8922]]

     States Code, governing appointments in the competitive 
     service, and without regard to the provisions of chapter 51 
     and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title relating to 
     classification and General Schedule pay rates, except that 
     the compensation of any employee of the Commission may not 
     exceed a rate equivalent to the rate payable under GS-15 of 
     the General Schedule under section 5332 of such title;
       (2) obtain the services of experts and consultants in 
     accordance with the provisions of section 3109 of such title;
       (3) obtain the detail of any Federal Government employee, 
     and such detail shall be without reimbursement or 
     interruption or loss of civil service status or privilege;
       (4) enter into agreements with the Administrator of General 
     Services for procurement of necessary financial and 
     administrative services, for which payment shall be made by 
     reimbursement from funds of the Commission in such amounts as 
     may be agreed upon by the Chairman of the Commission and the 
     Administrator;
       (5) procure supplies, services, and property by contract in 
     accordance with applicable laws and regulations and to the 
     extent or in such amounts as are provided in appropriation 
     Acts; and
       (6) enter into contracts with Federal or State agencies, 
     private firms, institutions, and agencies for the conduct of 
     research or surveys, the preparation of reports, and other 
     activities necessary to the discharge of the duties of the 
     Commission, to the extent or in such amounts as are provided 
     in appropriation Acts.

     SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       From funds currently authorized to the Department of 
     Justice, there are authorized to be appropriated not to 
     exceed $850,000 to carry out the purposes of this Act.

     SEC. 9. SUNSET.

       The Commission shall terminate 60 days after it submits its 
     report to Congress.

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I am honored to join Senator Feingold and 
my other colleagues in the Senate in introducing the Wartime Treatment 
of European Americans and Refugees Study Act. This legislation will 
authorize the study of U.S. policies and practices during World War II 
that resulted in severe civil liberties violations against European 
Americans and European Latin Americans. The bill also authorizes an 
investigation into U.S. refugee policy during World War II that caused 
many persons seeking safe haven to be turned away from our shores.
  This bill will examine these issues by establishing a commission to 
investigate U.S. policies and programs during that period. Other 
countries are re-examining their own policies, and so must the United 
States. Identifying the abuses of the past is one of the best ways to 
ensure that they never happen again. I urge the Senate to adopt this 
important legislation.
                                 ______