Despite 'distractions' locally, San Nicolas deserves recognition for reparations efforts
Guam-specific legislation can move forward in the U.S. Congress with relative speed, and Del. Michael San Nicolas has shown this via the passage Thursday of House Resolution 1365, which he introduced to correct an oversight in the war reparations bill his predecessor Madeleine Bordallo had introduced.
H.R. 1365 was introduced in late February. Nearly five months later, it passed the House of Representatives with unanimous support. This legislation brings Guam's victims of Japanese atrocities in World War II closer to getting supplemental reparations.
The legislation offers a technical fix that would allow the U.S. Department of the Treasury to cut checks for Guam's wartime victims whose claims have been adjudicated by the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission. As of last month, the commission had approved more than 662 claims. More than 2,000 other claims have been submitted by the filing deadline in June last year.
The law covers claims for reparations for death, rape, personal injury, severe personal injury, forced labor, forced march, internment and hiding to evade internment. The law provides compensation to each survivor at an amount of $10,000, $12,000 or $15,000 depending on the severity of the adjudicated claim, the law states. For a deceased victim for whom a claim was filed by the deadline, an immediate family member can receive the payment.