[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 125 (Wednesday, July 24, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H7351-H7353]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 MAKING TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS TO GUAM WORLD WAR II LOYALTY RECOGNITION 
                                  ACT

  Mr. SAN NICOLAS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass 
the bill (H.R. 1365) to make technical corrections to the Guam World 
War II Loyalty Recognition Act, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 1365

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

     SECTION 1. TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS TO GUAM WORLD WAR II LOYALTY 
                   RECOGNITION ACT.

       Title XVII of division A of Public Law 114-328 is amended--
       (1) in section 1703(e)--
       (A) by striking ``equal to'' and inserting ``not to 
     exceed''; and
       (B) by striking ``covered into the Treasury as 
     miscellaneous receipts'' and inserting ``used to reimburse 
     the applicable appropriations'';
       (2) in section 1704(a) by striking ``, subject to the 
     availability of appropriations,'' and inserting ``from the 
     Claims Fund''; and
       (3) by striking section 1707(a).

     SEC. 2. BUDGETARY TREATMENT OF TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.

       (a) Determination of Budgetary Effects.--As the budgetary 
     effects for spending provided by this Act were estimated and 
     offset as part of the enactment of the Guam World War II 
     Loyalty Recognition Act (title XVII of division A of Public 
     Law 114-328), the budgetary effects of this Act shall be 
     determined as if the amendments made by this Act were 
     included in the enactment of the Guam World War II Loyalty 
     Recognition Act (title XVII of division A of Public Law 114-
     328), for purposes of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 
     and the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010.
       (b) Pay-As-You-Go Compliance.--The budgetary effects of 
     this Act, for the purpose of complying with the Statutory 
     Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall be determined by reference 
     to the latest statement titled ``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO 
     Legislation'' for this Act, submitted for printing in the 
     Congressional Record by the Chairman of the House Budget 
     Committee, provided that such statement has been submitted 
     prior to the vote on passage.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Guam (Mr. San Nicolas) and the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Curtis) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Guam.


                             General Leave

  Mr. SAN NICOLAS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their 
remarks and include extraneous material on the measure under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Guam?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. SAN NICOLAS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record revised CBO materials.

                                                    U.S. Congress,


                                  Congressional Budget Office,

                                    Washington, DC, July 12, 2019.
     Hon. Raul M. Grijalva,
     Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources
     House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
     prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 1365, a bill to 
     make technical corrections to the Guam World War II Loyalty 
     Recognition Act. This cost estimate supersedes the estimate 
     transmitted on July 10, 2019.
       If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
     pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Matthew 
     Pickford.
           Sincerely,
                                      Phillip L. Swagel, Director.
       Enclosure.

H.R. 1365, A BILL TO MAKE TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS TO THE GUAM WORLD WAR II LOYALTY RECOGNITION ACT--AS REPORTED BY
                            THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES ON JULY 11, 2019
                                      [By fiscal year, millions of dollars]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                2019              2019-2024           2019-2029
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Direct Spending (Outlays).................................            0                        40            40
Revenues..................................................            0                         0             0
Deficit Effect............................................            0                        40            40
Spending Subject to Appropriation (Outlays)...............            0                         0             0
Statutory pay-as-you-go procedures apply?.................          Yes               Mandate Effects
Increases on-budget deficits in any of the four                      No                          Contains    No
 consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2030?...........                      intergovernmental
                                                                                         mandate?
                                                                                                 Contains priNote-sector
                                                                                         mandate?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

       H.R. 1365 would authorize a portion of customs duties and 
     federal income taxes collected in Guam to be spent to 
     compensate certain residents and surviving family members for 
     their treatment during the island's occupation by Japanese 
     military forces during World War II. Those customs duties and 
     income taxes are currently deposited in the Treasury as 
     miscellaneous receipts.
       Using information from the Department of Justice about how 
     much compensation is due, CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 
     1365 would increase direct spending by $40 million for 
     compensation payments as funds become available over the 
     2020-2023 period.
       The costs of the legislation (detailed in Table 1) fall 
     within budget function 800 (general government).

                         TABLE 1--ESTIMATED INCREASES IN DIRECT SPENDING UNDER H.R. 1365
                                      [By fiscal year, millions of dollars]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                          2019-
                                                    2019     2020     2021     2022     2023     2024     2024
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Estimated Budget Authority......................        0       12       12       12        4        0        40
Estimated Outlays...............................        0       12       12       12        4        0        40
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

       This estimate supersedes the CBO estimate for H.R. 1365, a 
     bill to make technical corrections to the Guam World War II 
     Loyalty Recognition Act that was transmitted on July 10, 
     2019. Although the five-year and ten-year totals are correct, 
     the initial estimate indicated that there would be some costs 
     in 2019. The legislation has not yet passed either House of 
     Congress and CBO assumes it would be enacted near the end of 
     fiscal year 2019. Given that timing, CBO expects spending 
     would probably commence in fiscal year 2020.
       The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Matthew 
     Pickford. The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, 
     Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
  Mr. SAN NICOLAS. Mr. Speaker, this marks the first time that I have 
taken to this floor to deliver remarks as a Member of Congress. My 
constituents can attest to the fact that I have never been one known to 
shy away from a microphone. However, the gravitas of H.R. 1365 that I 
bring to the floor today is of such consequence that I chose to 
withhold the privilege of this floor until this day.
  While H.R. 1365 is a bipartisan bill that would simply make technical 
corrections to the current Guam World War II Loyalty Recognition Act, 
it is the final component of a 75-year saga rooted in loyalty, faith, 
hope, and love in the midst of unimaginable suffering.
  The Guam World War II Loyalty Recognition Act was passed by Congress 
and signed into law at the end of 2016, recognizing the sacrifices the 
people of Guam endured at the hands of foreign occupiers during World 
War II. Nearly 78 years ago, foreign enemies bombed

[[Page H7352]]

Pearl Harbor and then made their way east, taking control of Guam from 
United States naval forces, many of which were evacuated prior to the 
invasion.
  The civilian population of Guam, regarded as Americans by the enemy, 
were left undefended, for all intents and purposes. In the 974 days of 
enemy occupancy, too many of the people of Guam, who today are American 
citizens, were injured, raped, maimed, murdered, and even forced to dig 
their own grave sites or those of their family and friends.
  These atrocities occurred due to the unwavering patriotism of the 
people of Guam.
  An 83-year-old survivor clearly remembers her family risking their 
lives to hide and care for the only living U.S. Navy soldier left on 
the island, who was tasked with sending information to our forces 
overseas. She shared her observations of enemy soldiers going village 
to village, looking for radioman George Tweed and leaving a trail of 
tortured and dead in their path.
  Another 83-year-old survivor shared how he witnessed his childhood 
friend beaten up every day just for looking American.
  One survivor, who was 5 years old at the time, testified to 
remembering her mother, pregnant with her sibling, after being severely 
beaten, hemorrhage to a slow death while performing forced labor under 
the grueling Sun. The baby did not survive either.
  Though our people experienced such cruel acts, we remained vigilant 
with the hope and faith that the United States would return and 
liberate us from enemy forces. Seventy-five years ago this past Sunday, 
true to their word, our servicemen took to the shores of Guam, many of 
whom gave their lives to reclaim the island, and rescued those left who 
survived the brutality.
  These stories are the memories of our survivors who continue to carry 
the heavy burdens of war post-liberation. These survivors, who were 
steadfast in their devotion to this country, the United States of 
America, were left out when America forgave its vanquished enemies from 
any form of redress to those who suffered under their occupation.
  Almost 3 years ago, Congress voted to pass the Guam World War II 
Loyalty Recognition Act, providing those remaining survivors with a 
Federal claims process to seek adjudicated compensation for wartime 
suffering, a Federal process that, today, 75 years later, has one final 
hurdle to clear with H.R. 1365 to make those who qualified whole. Of 
the over 14,000 who suffered, 3,663 survivors have filed claims, with 
many of the nearly 11,000 having passed before this process could even 
begin.
  Nonetheless, the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission, since October 
of last year, has certified over 600 claims, and the Commission 
continues to adjudicate all claims filed.
  Unfortunately, pertinent technical language was left out of the 
original bill, preventing the Department of the Treasury from making 
payments for claims adjudicated and certified for compensation by the 
Foreign Claims Settlement Commission. H.R. 1365 makes the necessary 
corrections to the Guam World War II Loyalty Recognition Act to see 
Congress' intent through, and it was drafted in close consultation with 
the Department of the Treasury and the Department of the Interior, to 
ensure the language's efficacy.
  Mr. Speaker, it is important to note for my colleagues that the 
moneys used for payment of these claims does not create a new expense 
category for the budget. I repeat, H.R. 1365 does not create a new 
expense category for the Federal budget. Instead, the moneys deposited 
in the Guam War Claims Fund is funding that originates from Guam's 
section 30 Federal income tax transfer payments, essentially moneys 
already due to the government of Guam. As such, funding for these 
claims do not represent a new expense but a reprogramming of existing 
expenses.
  It is also important to note that these claimants are not just 
constituents of mine. Many claimants live in 46 other States and 
territories and are constituents to 265 districts across our Nation. We 
have claimants in Alabama; Alaska; Arizona; Arkansas; California; 
Colorado; Connecticut; Florida; Georgia; Hawaii; Idaho; Illinois; 
Indiana; Iowa; Kansas; Kentucky; Louisiana; Maryland; Massachusetts; 
Michigan; Minnesota; Mississippi; Missouri; Montana; Nebraska; Nevada; 
New Hampshire; New Jersey; New Mexico; New York; North Carolina; Ohio; 
Oklahoma; Oregon; Pennsylvania; Rhode Island; South Carolina; South 
Dakota; Tennessee; Texas; Utah, the great State that my colleague this 
evening represents; Virginia; Washington; Washington, D.C.; Wisconsin; 
Wyoming; the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands; and Guam.
  Over these past 75 years, our World War II survivors and their 
families have made their home throughout this country. Notwithstanding 
our current political status, our sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, 
brothers, and sisters have died defending the freedom that liberators 
brought to our shores 75 years ago.

                              {time}  2115

  While we struggle on Guam under inequities and supplemental security 
income, Medicaid, and even basic voting rights, we remain the Sparta of 
America, with the highest per capita armed services recruitment rates 
in the country.
  The brutality of the enemy 75 years ago could not break the resolve 
of our relationship with the United States of America and the 
generations since then and, to this very day, reflect this exemplary 
patriotism in our rights of service and those who made the ultimate 
sacrifice.
  Mr. Speaker, I humbly ask my colleagues for their support in passing 
H.R. 1365 so the Greatest Generation of Guam who instilled in us this 
faith in American democracy can finally receive the long-awaited 
closure they have been seeking since the end of World War II.
  As a gracious victor who assumed the responsibility for postwar 
peace, the passage of H.R. 1365 represents an unreconciled act of grace 
by the United States of America to a people who suffered for their 
loyalty to America. Perhaps most importantly, it represents an 
affirmation that, while slow to turn, and sometimes too slow, the 
wheels of justice in the land of the free do eventually come full 
circle.
  A loyal people await the ultimate passage of H.R. 1365. And I am 
humbled to not only represent them in this body, but to extend my 
thanks on their behalf to the Speaker, majority leader, majority whip, 
committee chairs of jurisdiction, my minority leader, and ranking 
committee members who have made this moment possible, and to my 
colleagues on both sides of the aisle who, today, do us the tremendous 
honor of seeing this measure through this House.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CURTIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1365.
  As the gentleman has so well already explained, this bill would 
authorize the release of certain funds from the Guam Treasury that have 
been set aside to pay Guam World War II survivor claims.
  Many individuals living on the island during the Japanese occupation 
suffered injury and, in some cases, death.
  In 2016, Congress enacted the Guam World War II Loyalty Recognition 
Act to provide for the adjudication of claims and for the payment of 
compensation as recommended by the Guam War Claims Review Commission in 
their 2004 report. However, legislation and language in the act 
unintentionally prevented funds from being provided to World War II 
survivors and their heirs. This bill fixes the original act's language 
to ensure survivors can receive these claims.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of this measure. I have no additional 
speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. SAN NICOLAS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague on the other side of 
the aisle for his support.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to extend my appreciation to various individuals 
and entities for their unyielding support and assistance in pushing 
this bill forward.
  I thank Ms. Irene Sgambelluri, an 89-year-old war survivor who flew 
out

[[Page H7353]]

here on her own to take meetings at the White House and who now has a 
White House special assistant on speed dial; Congressman Kilili Sablan 
for his assistance in moving this bill through the process; my 
predecessors for laying much groundwork over many years that brings us 
to this inflection point; my leadership counterparts in Guam; the 
speaker of the Legislature of Guam and the Republican Party of Guam, 
who recognized and endorsed this very important bipartisan measure.
  Lastly, I want to thank the senior citizens of Guam, our war 
survivors whose sacrifices, patience, and fortitude have given us the 
strength and inspiration to bring this to closure on their behalf.
  I urge my colleagues to support the legislation, and I yield back the 
balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Guam (Mr. San Nicolas) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 1365, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________