Dana Rohrabacher: “Mr. Chairman, I am offering an amendment in support of former American prisoners of war who were used by slave labor by…”

“Mr. Chairman, I am offering an amendment in support of former American prisoners of war who were used by slave labor by Japanese corporations during the Second World War. These heroes survived the Bataan Death March, only to be transported to Japan and elsewhere in infamous death ships and then forced to work for Japanese companies under the most horrendous circumstances and conditions. Private employees in these corporations tortured and physically abused these American POWs while the corporations withheld essential medical care and even the most minimal amount of food. My amendment to H.R. 2500 would prohibit any funds in the act from being used by the United States government to prevent the former POWs from seeking a fair hearing against the Japanese companies who used them as slave labor in civil court. This amendment is supportive of H.R. 1198, which is a bill that I have authored and put into the hopper which has over 160 cosponsors which calls for the United States government not to interfere with the efforts of former World War II POWs to have their day in court. After the war, approximately 16,000 POWs returned all battered and nearly starved from their terrible ordeal, many permanently disabled; their lives changed forever. Many of them had died during the war; 11,000 POWs died at the hand of the Japanese corporate controllers.”