The secretary of the U.S. Department of Interior has endorsed passage of Guam Delegate Michael San Nicolas’ war claims correction bill.
On June 18, DOI Secretary Robert Bernhardt sent letters to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, urging both the House and Senate "to expedite its consideration and approval" of H.R. 1365.
"The Department of the Interior," wrote Bernhardt, “respectfully requests prompt congressional action to enact the bill and thereby allow Treasury to start distributing payments for certified claims before Guam's historic (Liberation) event."
San Nicolas said he was “deeply grateful for the plain urgency and clear support" expressed by Bernhardt in his letter.Â
"This clear signal from the Administration reassures bi-partisan support at the federal level, and affirms that H.R. 1365 is the appropriate vehicle to get War Claims paid," San Nicolas said in a release.
H.R. 1365 was unanimously approved by the House Natural Resources Committee last week. It's now awaiting a vote by the full House.
The measure was introduced by San Nicolas to correct flaws in the World War II Loyalty Recognition Act, which was submitted last year by then-Delegate Madeleine Bordallo.
Bordallo's bill did not include authorization for the release of reparations already awarded to survivors. As a result, the U.S. Treasury Department had not issued $6.2 million in compensation awards to 622 of the island's manamko' who are waiting for their checks.
