Michael San Nicolas
The war claims correction bill will be brought to the floor in the U.S. House of Representatives for a vote next week.
On Tuesday morning, Del. Michael San Nicolas said H.R. 1365 will be brought to the floor some time during the next House session, which is scheduled for next week. He could not say what day that would happen. "The calendar is still fluid," he said.
In a statement to the media, the congressman said, "At this time we see no significant opposition, and look forward to a generally smooth passage of H.R. 1365 in the House of Representatives."
San Nicolas introduced H.R. 1365 to correct flaws in the World War II Loyalty Recognition Act, which was submitted by then-Del. Madeleine Bordallo in 2018.
The Foreign Claims Settlement Commission has already awarded more than $6.2 million in claims to over 600 survivors of the Japanese occupation during World War II. No checks have been issued because Bordallo neglected to include a provision to authorize the U.S. Treasury Department to make the payments in the bill she originally introduced.
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San Nicolas thanked the House leadership "for their support in bringing this measure to a vote so expeditiously, particularly Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Minority Leader (Kevin) McCarthy."
He also thanked House Budget Chairman John Yarmuth, who waived the "Pay-As-You-Go" provision, which typically requires an increase in federal spending to be offset by a revenue decrease.
However, payments on Guam war claims will have no impact on the federal budget since the money is coming from Section 30 funds already owed to Guam. Section 30 funds are income taxes paid to the U.S. Treasury by federal employees and military personnel on Guam, which are reimbursed to the Guam Department of Revenue and Taxation.
