Madeleine Bordallo: “I rise in support of H.R. 1595, the Guam World War II Loyalty Recognition Act; and I thank Chairman Nick Rahall and…”

“I rise in support of H.R. 1595, the Guam World War II Loyalty Recognition Act; and I thank Chairman Nick Rahall and Ranking Member Don Young for their leadership on this issue and their assistance in bringing this bill to the floor today. I also want to thank Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Chairman John Conyers of the House Committee on the Judiciary for their support of this bill and for their assistance in expediting its consideration today. H.R. 1595 implements the recommendations of the Guam War Claims Review Commission, which was authorized by Public Law 107-333 to review the war claims program for Guam, which Congress provided for following the occupation of Guam from December 8, 1941 to July 21, 1944. The review commission, appointed by the Secretary of the Interior, Gale Norton, in September of 2003, was mandated to determine whether there was parity of war claims paid to the residents of Guam under the Guam Meritorious Claims Act as compared with awards made to similarly affected United States citizens or nationals in territory occupied by the Imperial Japanese military forces during World War II. Further, the review commission was mandated to advise on any additional compensation that may be necessary to compensate the people of Guam for death, personal injury, forced labor, forced march and internment.”