WAR CLAIMS ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1969 WEDESDAY, MARCH 5, 1969 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SUBCOMMITTEE ON COMMERCE AND FINANCE, Washington, D.O. The subcommittee met at 10 a.m., pursuant to notice, in room 2154, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. John E. Moss (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Mr. Moss. The subcommittee will be in order. The hearings today are on two bills to amend the War Claims Act of 1948, H.R. 2669, introduced by our colleague on the committee, Mr. Friedel, relating to the priority in payment of claims of certain charitable organizations already adjudicated under existing programs, and H.R. 4204, by Mr. Rogers of Colorado, establishing a new program providing for payment of benefits to members of the Armed Forces held as prisoners of war in Vietnam on the same basis as benefits were paid to members of the Armed Forces held as prisoners of war during World War II and the Korean conflict. H.R. 2669-CHARITABLE ORGANIZATION CLAIMS With respect to H.R. 2669, the War Claims Act of 1948 provided for the establishment of a fund consisting of the proceeds of certain German and Japanese assets in the United States vested by the United States during World War II, with that fund being used for payment of war claims of American citizens against those countries, in lieu of reparations being obtained from those countries. from time to time by the Congress, culminating in legislation in 1962 establishing a number of additional categories covering death, disability, and property losses, and establishing certain priorities in payment of claims." paid in full, and claims of small business concerns for property losses Under these priorities, claims for disability and death were to be were to be paid in full. of those other claims being paid pro rata out of the remaining balances Other claims were to be paid in full up to $10,000, with the remainder in the war claims fund. present date, all awards on death, disability, and small business claims, Payments have been made on all claims allowed, so that as of the as well as all awards on claims under $10,000 have been paid in full, and proportionately reduced payments have been made on all other awards, including those which are the subject of this bill. No funds are available in the war claims fund at present for further payments; however, substantial amounts from the proceeds of vested assets are being held by the Department of Justice as reserves in case of adverse judgments in litigation presently underway. It is anticipated that these amounts will eventually be transferred to the war claims fund, and will be used for further payments on awards heretofore made and not paid in full. This bill will provide for certain religious and charitable claimants the same priority in payment as was the case of small business claimants, so that the future funds will be used to pay these claims in full, with proportionately reduced payments to other claimants. H.R. 4204-POW'S IN VIETNAM H.R. 4204 would amend section 6(e) of the War Claims Act of 1948 to provide for payment to members of the Armed Forces captured in Vietnam and held as prisoners of war the same benefits as were provided for members of the Armed Forces held as prisoners of war during World War II or the Korean conflict-$1 per day for each day on which the prisoner was not furnished the quantity or quality of food prescribed by the Geneva convention, and $1.50 per day for each day on which the forces by which he was held prisoner failed to meet the conditions and requirements of the Geneva convention relating to forced labor, or on which he received inhumane treatment while in the hands of those forces. These claims will be paid out of appropriated funds, as was the case with respect to prisoners of war during the Korean conflict. At this point in the record there will be set forth the text of the bills and the agency reports thereon, if there is no objection. Hearing none, the material will be included in the record, together with the statement of our colleague, the Honorable Sam Friedel, of Maryland, who is the author of H.R. 2669, who has other committee business requiring his presence. (The bills referred to, and reports thereon, follow :) [H.R. 2669, 91st Cong., 1st sess.] A BILL To amend section 213(a) of the War Claims Act of 1948 with respect to claims of certain nonprofit organizations Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That (a) paragraph (1) of section 213 (a) of the War Claims Act of 1948 (76 Stat. 1111; 50 U.S.C. App. 20171) is amended to read as follows: "(1) Payment in full of awards made pursuant to section 202(d) (1) and (2), and thereafter of any award made pursuant to section 202 (a) to any claimant (A) certified to the Commission by the Small Business Administration as having been, on the date of loss, damage, or destruction, a small business concern within the meaning now set forth in the Small Business Act, as amended, or (B) determined by the Commission to have been, on the date of loss, damage, or destruction, a nonprofit organization operated exclusively for the promotion of social welfare, religious, charitable, or educational purposes." (b) The Foreign Claims Settlement Commission is authorized to readjust the amount of any award which has been certified before the date of enactment of this Act pursuant to title II of the War Claims Act of 1948, as added by the Act of October 22, 1962 (76 Stat. 1107), but which as of the date of enactment of this Act has not been paid in full, in such manner as it may determine to be required to give effect to the amendment made by this Act to the same extent and with the same effect as if such amendment had taken effect on October 22, 1962. 2 [H.R. 4204, 91st Cong., 1st sess.] A BILL To amend section 6 of the War Claims Act of 1948 to include prisoners of war captured during the Vietnam conflict Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That section 6 of the War Claims Act of 1948 (50 United States Code, Appendix 2005) is amended by: (1) rewording subsection (e) (1) to read: "(e) (1) As used in this subsection the term 'prisoner of war' means any regularly appointed, enrolled, enlisted, or inducted member of the Armed Forces of the United States who was held as a prisoner of war for any period of time, by any hostile force with which the Armed Forces of the United States were actually engaged in armed conflict, between June 25, 1950, and August 21, 1954, or August 5, 1964, and the date ending the Vietnam conflict as shall hereafter be determined by Presidential proclamation or concurrent resolution of Congress except any such member who, at any time, voluntarily, knowingly, and without duress, gave aid to or collaborated with or in any manner served any such hostile force"; and (2) by rewording sub-section (5) (A) to read: “(A) August 21, 1954, for those with service during the Korean conflict"; and (3) by redesignating sub-section (5) (B) as sub-section (5) (C); and (4) by redesignating sub-section (5) (C) as sub-section (5) (D); and (5) by inserting immediately after sub-section (5) (A) the following new sub-section: "5) (B) effective date of this amendment for those with service in the Vietnam conflict." FOREIGN CLAIMS SETTLEMENT COMMISSION OF THE UNITED STATES, Hon. HARLEY O. STAGGERS, Chairman, Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: Further reference is made to your request of February 12, 1969, for a report by the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission on the bill H.R. 4204, 91st Congress, to amend section 6 of the War Claims Act of 1948 to include prisoners of war captured during the Vietnam Conflict. In effect, the bill would provide for the payment of compensation at the rate of $2.50 per day for every day a member of the Armed Forces of the United States was held as a prisoner of war by a hostile force from August 5, 1964 to some future date to be designated by the President or by the Congress. In order to carry out the purpose of the bill certain amendments are proposed to subsection (e) of section 6 of Title I of the War Claims Act of 1948, as amended. Subsection (e) of section 6 was added to the Act by Public Law 83-615, approved August 21, 1954. Subsection (e) of section 6 authorized the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission to receive and determine the amount of any claim filed by any prisoner of war for compensation for the failure of the hostile force by which he was held as a prisoner of war during the Korean Conflict, or its agents, to furnish him the quantity or quality of food prescribed for prisoners of war as prescribed under the terms of the Geneva Convention of July 27, 1929. Compensation is payable at the rate of $1.00 for each day on which he was held as a prisoner of war and on which such hostile force, or its agents, failed to furnish him such quantity or quality of food. Subsection (e) also provided an additional $1.50 per day for each day on which he was held as a prisoner of war based on the failure of the hostile force to meet the conditions and requirements prescribed under the Geneva Convention of 1929 relating to the labor and treatment of such prisoners. In case of death or determination of death of the person entitled to compensation, such compensation would be payable to certain specific survivors, including the widow, children, and parents of the deceased prisoner of war in that order of priority. A "prisoner of war" is defined under the present provisions of subsection (e), paragraph (1), as "any regularly appointed, enrolled, enlisted or inducted member of the Armed Forces of the United States who was held as a prisoner of war for any period of time subsequent to June 25, 1950, by any hostile force with which the Armed Forces of the United States were actually engaged in armed conflict subsequent to such date and prior to the date of enactment of this subsection, except any such member who, at any time, voluntarily, knowingly, and without duress, gave aid to or collaborated with or in any manner served any such hostile force." Payment of claims under subsection (e) of section 6 of the War Claims Act was authorized to be made out of appropriated funds. The bill, H.R. 4204, proposes to amend the definition of a "prisoner of war" under subsection (e) (1) by making a technical change in the dates of coverage under the completed Korean prisoner of war program and those prisoners to be covered during the Vietnam Conflict. Technical amendments are also proposed under subsection (e)(5) of the Act to up-date the claims filing and completion provisions for the Vietnam prisoner of war claimants. In this connection, the Commission is required to complete its determinations with respect to each claim filed no later than one year after the date on which such claim was filed. The Commission, after a study of the material contained in the State Department's so-called white paper on Vietnam prisoners of war ("Viet-nam Information Notes", Office of Media Service, Bureau of Public Affairs, Department of State, Number 9, August 1967), the research material prepared by the Foreign Affairs Division, Legislative Reference Service, Library of Congress, as published in the daily issue of the Congressional Record on August 9, 1967 (Vol. 113, No. 125, pages S 11181-87) and subsequent material, is of the opinion that there has been a gross mistreatment of American servicemen who were captured and held as prisoners of war in Vietnam and that such servicemen be provided some measure of relief over and above their regular pay and allowances. Accordingly, the Commission would recommend that some measure of relief be provided to these individuals. The Commission understands that there are estimated to be approximately 1275 American servicemen who are either classed as prisoners of war or missing in North and South Vietnam. The total number of prisoners is not known because, generally, there has been no identification of such prisoners despite the provisions of the Geneva Conventions of 1929 and 1949 which require the detaining power to make such identity. It is known, however, that in addition to at least several eligible survivors, a few prisoners have been released or escaped their captors and they, therefore, would be in a position to file claims for benefits within a short time after the enactment of H.R. 4204. The attention of the Committee is also invited to the fact that a number of civilian American citizens have been stationed in Vietnam during the past seven or eight years. Although the Commission has no specific information concerning the approximate number of these civilians or their present status, it is known, however, that some of these civilians have been, or are being, held by hostile forces in Vietnam as well as in other areas in Southeast Asia. Claims of civilian American citizens who were captured by the Japanese on United States territories and possessions and interned during World War II were provided for under section 5(a) through (e) of Title I of the War Claims Act of 1948, as amended. Section 5 (g) of the Act also provided compensation to civilian American citizens who were captured in Korea on or after June 26, 1950 by a hostile force. Compensation for both the World War II and Korean Conflict civilian internees was payable at the rate of $60 for each calendar month during which a civilian American citizen was at least 18 years of age and at the rate of $25 per month for each calendar month during which such citizen was under 18 years of age. Precedents for these claims have long been established by the Congress. Accordingly, the Commission recommends that consideration be given to the inclusion of the claims of civilian American citizens under the bill. The Commission also recommends to the Committee that reference be made to the Geneva Convention of August 12, 1949, instead of the Geneva Convention of July 27, 1929. In this connection, the Commission understands that the Government in North Vietnam is a party to the Geneva Convention of August 12, 1949, having acceded to it on June 28, 1957. Consequently, the bases for payment would be violations of the Convention of 1949 instead of the failure of a hostile force to meet the conditions and requirements prescribed in the 1929 Convention as is presently provided under subsection (e) of section 6 of the Act. The recommendation, therefore, would be to substitute language similar to that contained under subsections (d) (2) and (d) (3) of section 6 for subsection (e) of section 6 as well as the substitution of the 1949 Convention for the 1929 Convention. This would also require certain changes in the Act to include the appropriate articles of the later Convention. The Committee may also wish to consider the fact that the date of February 28, 1961 has been used in other legislation as the beginning date of the Vietnam Conflict and marks the appropriate date when American military advisers began to accompany their Vietnamese counterparts on military operations. Accordingly, it is recommended that the date of "February 28, 1961" be substituted for the date of “August 5, 1964" as it appears on line 1, page 2 of the bill. The Committee's attention is also invited to the bill, H.R. 6295, which was introduced on February 5, 1969 by Representative Tunney. This bill proposed a payment of $16.00 for each day a member of a uniformed service is in a "missing status." This would include members who were captured, beleaguered, or besieged by a hostile force, who were in such "missing status" before and after August 23, 1964. The bill which is presently pending before the Committee on Armed Services, would amend title 37 of the United States Code (Pay and Allowances of the Uniformed Services) to provide such compensation. Whether this bill would duplicate the purpose of H.R. 4204 the Commission cannot determine at this time. While the Commission is in full agreement with the intent and purpose of H.R. 4204 and would recommend its enactment, it nevertheless favors a broader coveraze of these claims as reflected in its recommendations outlined above. Whether the Committee may wish to consider the inclusion of these recommendations in the bill is, of course, a matter within the prerogative of the Committee. The Committee is informed that time has not permitted securing advice from the Bureau of the Budget as to the relationship of the pending legislation or the report to the program of the President. Sincerely yours, LEONARD V.B. SUTTON, Chairman. FOREIGN CLAIMS SETTLEMENT COMMISSION OF THE UNITED STATES, Washington, D.C. RECOMMENDED AMENDMENTS TO HIR. 4204, 91ST CONGRESS, TO PROVIDE FOR THE PAYMENT OF CIVILIAN INTERNEE AND PRISONER of War ComPENSATION DURING THE VIETNAM CONFLICT UNDER SECTIONS 5 AND 6 OF THE WAR CLAIMS ACT OF 1948, AS AMENDED That the War Claims Act of 1948 (50 United States Code, appendix 2001-2016) is amended by (1) rewording subsection (g) (1) of section 5 to read: “(g) (1) As used in this subsection, the term 'civilian American citizen' means any person who, being then a citizen of the United States, was captured in Korea between June 25, 1950 and August 21, 1954, or in Southeast Asia between February 28, 1961 and a date as shall hereafter be determined by Presidential proclamation or concurrent resolution of Congress, by any hostile force with which the Armed Forces of the United States were actually engaged in armed conflict between the dates specified, or who went into hiding in Korea or Southeast Asia, respectively, in order to avoid capture or internment by any such hostile force; except-~~ "(A) a person who at any time voluntarily, knowingly, and without duress, gave aid to or collaborated with or in any manner served any such hostile force; or "(B) a regularly appointed, enrolled, enlisted or inducted member of the Armed Forces of the United States."; (2) rewording sub-section 6(A) of section 5 (g) to read: "(A) August 21, 1954, for those individuals who are qualified as 'civilian American internees' during the Korean Conflict ;" and (3) redesignating sub-section 6(B) of section 5(g) as sub-section 6(C); and (4) redesignating sub-section 6(C) of section 5(g) as sub-section 6(D); and (5) inserting immediately after sub-section 6 (A) of section 5(g) the following new sub-section : "(6) (B) effective date of this amendment for any individual who is qualified as a civilian American citizen during the Vietnam Conflict."; 26-611-692 |