Edward M. Kennedy: “on behalf of Senators Dodd, DeConcini, Kerry, and myself, I am introducing legislation to address the health and…”

“on behalf of Senators Dodd, DeConcini, Kerry, and myself, I am introducing legislation to address the health and disability needs of civilian ex-prisoners of war. The bill concerns basic issues of fairness and justice for a group of Americans who have endured a great deal of suffering and who urgently need relief. In 1948, Congress passed the War Claims Act which extended health disability and detention benefits to more than 6,000 American civilians interned by the Japanese during World War II. Most of them were private citizens residing in the Philippines at the outbreak of the war. Like military ex-POW's, civilian internees suffer from a number of physical and psychological disabilities caused by their imprisonment. Among the most common are gum disease caused by their poor diet in the internment camps, and post-traumatic stress syndrome. The War Claims Act created a War Claims Commission to administer benefits to these individuals. That function was later taken over by the Department of Labor's Office of Worker's Compensation Program [OWCP]. It also established eligibility criteria, benefit levels, and procedural requirements that claimants must meet in order to receive medical and disability benefits.”