[House Report 105-361]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



105th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 1st Session                                                    105-361
_______________________________________________________________________


 
                  FOR THE RELIEF OF ROY DESMOND MOSER
_______________________________________________________________________


 October 31, 1997.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House and 
                         ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Hyde, from the Committee on the Judiciary, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 2731]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the 
bill (H.R. 2731) for the relief of Roy Desmond Moser, having 
considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment 
and recommend that the bill do pass.

                          PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

    This bill provides that for the purpose of determining 
eligibility for relief under the Agreement Between the 
Government of the United States and the Government of the 
Federal Republic of Germany Concerning Final Benefits to 
Certain United States Nationals Who Were Victims of National 
Socialist Measures of Persecution, Roy Desmond Moser will be 
deemed to be a naturalized citizen of the United States as of 
August 8, 1942, the date he entered the U.S. Armed Forces.

                BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR THE LEGISLATION

    Roy Desmond Moser served in the Armed Forces of the United 
States during World War II. During his service he was captured 
by the Nazis and interned at the infamous concentration camp 
known as Buchenwald.
    Mr. Moser was held as a prisoner of war at Stalag 9B, one 
of the most brutal of the Nazi POW camps. From there, he and 
350 of his American comrades were transported to Berga, a sub-
camp of Buchenwald. There they were confined in unhealthy, 
degrading and inhumane conditions, subsisting on a starvation 
diet, subjected to forced labor, and brutalized by camp guards. 
After only six weeks at Berga, 24 had perished from starvation, 
overwork, disease and physical abuse. In early April 1945, the 
remaining prisoners were driven on a death march away from the 
advancing Allied front. Of the 280 American POWs who survived, 
most weighed less than 90 pounds when they were finally 
liberated.
    Mr. Moser was born in Canada and immigrated to the United 
States with his parents as an infant. Mr. Moser never completed 
his naturalization prior to going to war. He survived the war, 
came to the United States as a war hero, and obtained his 
American citizenship.
    Fifty years later, when he applied for compensation under a 
United States and Germany agreement as an American national who 
was a victim of Nazi persecution, he was informed that he was 
not eligible because he was not a U.S. citizen at the time of 
the persecution.
    According to the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission, Mr. 
Moser is one of only two individuals that fall into this 
category. In the formal denial, the Foreign Claims Settlement 
Commission stated that they were bound by the international 
agreement and could not allow this otherwise deserving 
individual inclusion in the reparation group.

                                HEARINGS

    The Committee's Subcommittee on Immigration and Claims held 
no hearings on H.R. 2731.

                        COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION

    On October 29, 1997, the Committee on the Judiciary met in 
open session and ordered reported favorably the bill H.R. 2731, 
by voice vote, a quorum being present.

                      COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS

    In compliance with clause 2(l)(3)(A) of rule XI of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee reports 
that the findings and recommendations of the Committee, based 
on oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) of rule X of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives, are incorporated in the 
descriptive portions of this report.

         COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT REFORM AND OVERSIGHT FINDINGS

    No findings or recommendations of the Committee on 
Government Reform and Oversight were received as referred to in 
clause 2(l)(3)(D) of rule XI of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives.

               NEW BUDGET AUTHORITY AND TAX EXPENDITURES

    Clause 2(l)(3)(B) of House Rule XI is inapplicable because 
this legislation does not provide new budgetary authority or 
increased tax expenditures.

               CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE

    In compliance with clause 2(l)(3)(C) of rule XI of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee sets 
forth, with respect to the bill, H.R. 2731, the following 
estimate and comparison prepared by the Director of the 
Congressional Budget Office under section 403 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                  Washington, DC, October 30, 1997.
Hon. Henry J. Hyde,
Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary, U.S. House of Representatives, 
        Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 2731, a bill for 
the relief of Roy Desmond Moser.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Mark 
Grabowicz.
            Sincerely,
                                              James L. Blum
                                   (For June E. O'Neill, Director).
    Enclosure.

               CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE

H.R. 2731--A bill for the relief of Ray Desmond Moser

    CBO estimates that enacting this legislation would not 
affect the federal budget. Because H.R. 2731 would not affect 
direct spending or receipts, pay-as-you-go procedures would not 
apply. This bill contains no intergovernmental or private-
sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 
of 1995 and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal 
governments.
    H.R. 2731 would classify Roy Desmond Moser as a naturalized 
citizen of the United States as of August 8, 1942. This action 
would make him eligible for reparations from Germany relating 
to his imprisonment during World War II. According to the 
Foreign Claims Settlement Commission, enacting this legislation 
would not affect the commission's operation.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Mark Grabowicz. 
This estimate was approved by Robert A. Sunshine, Deputy 
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

                   constitutional authority statement

    Pursuant to rule XI, clause 2(l)(4) of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, the Committee finds the authority for 
this legislation in Article 1, Section 8, Clause 10 of the 
Constitution.

                              agency views

    The comments of the Immigration and Naturalization Service 
on H.R. 2731 are as follows:
                        U.S. Department of Justice,
                    Immigration and Naturalization Service,
                                  Washington, DC, October 30, 1997.
Hon. Henry J. Hyde,
Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary, U.S. House of Representatives, 
        Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: Per your request for a report relative 
to H.R. 2731, for the relief of Roy Desmond Moser.
    The bill would make Mr. Moser eligible for compensation by 
deeming him a naturalized U.S. citizen as of the date he began 
his military service for the purposes of the Foreign Claims 
Settlement Act.
    In lieu of a report, I am enclosing the attached memorandum 
that was provided by the Immigration and Naturalization 
Service, Office of Naturalization Operations to the Foreign 
Claims Settlement Commission concerning the beneficiary. I am 
hopeful that the summary will be sufficient.
            Sincerely,
                                            Allen Erenbaum,
                          Acting Director, Congressional Relations.


                               memorandum


    Subject: FCSC Holocaust Survivors Claims Program Claimant 
HS-147: Roy Desmond Moser.
    Date: August 18, 1997.
    To: Foreign Claims Settlement Commission (FCSC).
    From: Office of Naturalization Operations (INS).

    Pursuant to the Agreement Between the U.S. and the Federal 
Republic of Germany Concerning Final Benefits to Certain United 
States Nationals Who Were Victims of National Socialist 
Measures of Persecution, September 19, 1995, U.S.-Germany, art. 
1-5, KAV No. 4453, (1995 WL 723998 (Treaty)), certain United 
States survivors of the Holocaust are eligible for compensation 
if they establish United States citizenship at the time of 
persecution and internment in a concentration camp(s) or under 
comparable conditions. See also 61 FR 30638 (June 17, 1996); 62 
FR 5486 (February 5, 1997). Your office has indicated that the 
relevant period of United States citizenship for claimants 
under the Holocaust Survivors Claims program is 1933 to June 
1945.
    We have reviewed Roy Desmond Moser's documentation and his 
parents' Service files, C6-548-526 & C7-344-332. From this 
review, it appears that Mr. Moser WAS NOT a United States 
citizen during the relevant period.
    Service records indicate that Roy Desmond Moser was born on 
February 17, 1923 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. His father 
was Roland Richard Moser, born on February 29, 1896, in Moser 
River, Nova Scotia, Canada. The record contains conflicting 
dates for Roland Moser's first entry into the United States 
with the earliest claimed date of September 1922, but a Form 1-
404, Certificate of Admission of Alien, reflecting an admission 
date of October 23, 1922. Roland Moser applied for 
naturalization in 1954, and was naturalized on June 14, 1954, 
in Dorchester, Massachusetts. Roland Moser's record contains no 
other documentation reflecting entries into, or residence in, 
the United States prior to 1923. Further, there is no 
indication that Roland Moser was a United States citizen at 
birth or acquired citizenship prior to his naturalization in 
1954.
    Mr. Moser's mother was Alice Louisa Moser, Born on May 6, 
1892, in Burlingham, England. Alice Moser married Roland Moser 
on October 12, 1917, in Liverpool, England. The record reflects 
that Alice Moser entered the United States on September 9, 
1923. She was naturalized on December 15, 1944, in Dorchester, 
Massachusetts. There is no indication that Alice Moser was a 
United States citizen at birth or acquired United States 
citizenship prior to 1994. In addition, there is no indication 
that Alice Moser resided in the United States prior to Mr. 
Moser's birth.
    Mr. Moser's file indicates that he applied for 
naturalization under section 701 of the Nationality Act of 
1940, 54 Stat. 1137, based on his military service in the 
United States Army from August 8, 1942 to October 23, 1945. Mr. 
Moser was naturalized on April 1, 1946, in Dorchester, 
Massachusetts. Service records also indicate that Mr. Moser 
married Thelma Moser, a United States citizen, on October 26, 
1945.
    As Mr. Moser was born in 1923, section 1993 of the Revised 
Statutes (R.S. 1993), was the applicable law at the time of his 
birth. Section 1993 provided that: ``Any child heretofore born 
or hereafter born out of the limits and jurisdiction of the 
United States, whose fathers were or may be at the time of 
their birth citizens thereof are declared to be citizens of the 
United States; but the rights of citizenship shall not descend 
to children whose father never resided in the United States.''
    Based on the conditions for citizenship specified under 
R.S. 1993, it appears Mr. Moser was not a citizen at birth 
during the specified period (1933 to 1945) because there is no 
evidence that his father resided in the United States prior to 
Louis' birth in 1936. Similarly, there is no evidence that Mr. 
Moser's mother was a United States citizen prior to 1936 or had 
any residence in the United States prior to 1936 that would 
permit her to transmit citizenship. Further, though Mr. Moser's 
mother naturalized in 1945, Mr. Moser did not acquire 
citizenship upon her naturalization.
    Under section 314 of the Nationality Act of 1940, alien 
children born outside of the United States to alien parents 
could automatically acquire citizenship if: (1) both parents 
naturalized; of (2) one parent naturalized, if the other was 
deceased or the parents were divorced and the child was in the 
legal custody of the naturalizing parent; and (3) the child was 
under the age of eighteen (18) and residing permanently in the 
United States at the time of naturalization or before 18 years 
of age. See Act of October 14, 1940, 54 Stat. 1137, formerly 8 
U.S.C. Sec. 907. Mr. Moser did not meet any of these conditions 
as he was over the age of minority at the time of both his 
mother's and father's naturalization. Thus, there is no 
indication that Mr. Moser was a citizen, by birth or 
naturalization, during the specified period.

                               

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