MAY 9, 1955. Hon. EMANUEL CELLER, House of Representatives. DEAR MR. CELLER: Reference is made to your letter of April 20, 1955, relative to the hearings on H. R. 4045, 84th Congress, a bill to provide for settlement of claims for damages resulting from the disaster which occurred at Texas City, Tex., on April 16 and 17, 1947, presently scheduled for May 11, 1955 before Subcommittee No. 2 of the Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives, and the advisability of having a representative present the views of the Department of the Army at such hearings. The Secretary of Defense has been asked to report the views of the Department of Defense on the bill and has delegated the responsibility therefor to the Department of the Army. The Army report is in the process of being coordinated within the Department of Defense and will be presented to the committee prior to the hearings. Additionally, the Department of the Army, on behalf of the Department of Defense, submitted a very lengthy report on H. R. 8572, 83d Congress, a similar bill. That report sets out in detail the facts surrounding the events of April 16 and 17 at Texas City, and is set forth in full on pages 56 to 70 of the report of the Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives, to accompany H. R. 9785, 83d Congress. This report, together with that which will be submitted to the committee on H. R. 4045, 84th Congress, elaborately explains the position of the Department of Defense on the bill, and it does not appear that any additional information of value to the committee would be presented by having a witness testify at the hearings. Accordingly, in the absence of an indication that the committee desires the presence of a witness, the Department of the Army does not plan to present any testimony over and above the views reflected in the above-mentioned reports. Sincerely yours, ROBERT T. STEVENS, [H. Rept. No. 1623, 84th Cong., 1st sess.] TEXAS CITY DISASTER CONFERENCE REPORT The committee of conference on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses on the amendments of the House to the bill (S. 1077) to provide for settlement of claims for damages resulting from the disaster which occurred at Texas City, Texas, on April 16 and 17, 1947, having met, after full and free conference, have agreed to recommend and do recommend to their respective Houses as follows: That the Senate recede from its disagreement to the amendment of the House and agree to the same with an amendment as follows: In lieu of the matter proposed to be inserted by the House amendment insert the following: The Congress recognizes and assumes the compassionate responsibility of the United States for the losses sustained by reason of the explosions and fires at Texas City, Texas, and hereby provides the procedures by which the amounts shall be determined and paid. Sec. 2. The Secretary of the Army or such persons as he may designate shall investigate and settle claims against the United States for death, personal injury, and property losses proximately resulting from the disaster at Texas City, Texas, on April 16 and 17, 1947, commonly referred to as the Texas City disaster. Sec. 3. (a) Claimants shall submit their claims in writing to the Secretary of the Army, under such rules as he prescribes, within one hundred eighty days after the enactment of this Act. No claim shall be entertained by the Secretary of the Army unless it shall appear to his satisfaction that such claim was a part of a civil action filed against the United States in a United States district court prior to April 25, 1950, except that, for good cause, the Secretary may waive the limitation date of April 25, 1950, where it is shown that claimant, by reason of infancy, insanity, or other legal reason, was unable to bring such civil action. (b) The Secretary of the Army shall promulgate and publish rules of procedure for handling the claims referred to in section 2 within sixty days after the date of enactment of this Act. He shall determine and fix the amount of awards, if any, in each claim within twelve months from the date on which the claim was submitted. Except as otherwise provided herein, the law of the State of Texas shall apply. Sec. 4. Since it is the intention and purpose of this Act, and of the Congress, to relieve the claimants hereunder, the Secretary of the Army shall limit himself to the determination of— (1) whether the losses sustained resulted from the explosions and fires at Texas City on April 16 and 17, 1947; (2) the amounts to be allowed and paid pursuant to this Act; and (3) the persons entitled to receive the same. Sec. 5. (a) Claims for awards based on death shall be submitted only by duly authorized legal representatives. No claim under this subsection shall be approved by the Secretary of the Army in amount in excess of $25,000. (b) No claim for personal injuries may be approved by the Secretary of the Army in amount in excess of $25,000. (c) No claim for property losses may be approved by the Secretary of the Army in amount in excess of $25,000. Sec. 6. (a) In determining the amounts to be awarded for death, personal injury, or property losses, the Secretary of the Army shall reduce any such amount by an amount equal to the total of insurance benefits (except life insurance benefits), or other payments or settlements of any nature, previously paid with respect to such death claims, personal injury, or property loss. (b) Payments approved by the Secretary of the Army on death, personal injury, and property loss claims, shall not be subject to insurance subrogation claims in any respect. (c) The Secretary of the Army shall not include in an award any amount for reimbursement to any insurance company or compensation insurance fund for loss payments made by such company or fund. (d) Except as to the United States, no claim cognizable under this Act shall be assigned or transferred. Sec. 7. The Secretary of the Treasury shall pay out of moneys in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the claims referred to in this Act in the amounts approved for payment by the Secretary of the Army. Sec. 8. A payment made under the provisions of section 7 shall be in full settlement and discharge of all claims against the Government of the United States. Sec. 9. The Secretary of the Army shall require assignment to the United States of any right of action against a third party arising from the death, personal injury, or property loss claim with respect to which settlement is made. Sec. 10. The Secretary of the Army shall, twenty-four months after the date of enactment of this Act transmit to the Congress (a) a statement of each claim submitted to the Secretary of the Army in accordance with this Act which has not been settled by him, with supporting papers and a report of his findings of facts and recommendations; and (b) a report of each claim settled by him and paid pursuant to this Act. The reports shall contain a brief statement concerning the character and justice of each claim, the amount claimed, and the amount approved and paid. Sec. 11. Attorney and agent fees shall be paid out of the awards hereunder. No attorney or agent on account of services rendered in connection with each claim shall receive in excess of 10 per centum of the amount paid, any contract to the contrary notwithstanding. Whoever violates the provisions of this Act shall be fined a sum not to exceed $5,000. Sec. 12. If any particular provision of this Act or the application thereof to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the remainder of the Act shall not be affected thereby. And the House agree to the same. That the Senate recede from its disagreement to the amendment of the House to the title of the bill and agree to the same. EMANUEL CELLER, THOMAS J. LANE, WILLIAM E. MILLER, DEWITT S. HYDE, Managers on the Part of the House. OLIN D. JOHNSTON, THOS. C. HENNINGS, Jr., ARTHUR V. WATKINS, Managers on the Part of the Senate. STATEMENT OF THE MANAGERS ON THE PART OF THE HOUSE The managers on the part of the House at the conference on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses on the amendments of the Senate to the bill (S. 1077) to provide for settlement of claims for damages resulting from the disaster which occurred at Texas City, Tex., on April 16 and 17, 1947, submit the following statement in explanation of the effect of the action agreed upon and recommended in the accompanying conference report as to each of such amendments, namely: An issue of major concern at the conference was the statement in the House amendment denying any equitable or legal responsibility on the part of the United States for the disaster at Texas City, Tex. The Senate bill had already made a finding of equitable responsibility. However, since the circuit court of appeals and the Supreme Court found it unnecessary to determine this question, the conferees decided not to determine it either but to state, simply, that because of the enormity of the disaster and the great number of people either injured or killed the Government recognizes compassionate responsibility toward the innocent victims of the disaster. It should be clearly understood, however, that in no way is this action on the part of the conferees to be interpreted as acknowledging legal responsibility or negligence on the part of the Government. It is the express desire of the managers on the part of the House that the instant legislation will finally dispose of all claims presented to the Congress on behalf of those who suffered losses at Texas City. In order to set up a standard of measure to guide the Secretary of the Army in the processing of the claims hereunder, the conferees agreed to the amendment making the law of the State of Texas applicable to these claims. The law of Texas contains ample provision for governing the rights of survivors and of statutory beneficiaries who are authorized legal representatives. The conferees also agreed to raise the amounts which individuals, associations, corporations, etc., might receive for death, personal injury, or property loss from $20,000 to $25,000. It is the intention of the conferees that section 1 of title I, United States Code, be used by the Secretary of the Army in construing such terms as "person," "insanity," etc. There are several technical amendments which were agreed to in order to conform the provisions of the bill to the major changes mentioned above. |