August 3, 1988

              August 4, 1988
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE
H6313
toassure that such a violation, of civil
rights never again occurs, and review
of administrative decisions and criminal convictions influenced by the hysteria of the time,
In addition, H.R. 442 now also contains redress for the Aleuts who suffered soduring their evacuation and
relocation.
This bill is certainly about the specific injuries suffered by a small group
of Americans. But the bill's impact
reaches much deeper, into the very
soul of our democracy. We want not
just to close the books on the sad
events of 1942: we want to make certain that such blatant constitutional
violations never again occur.
Today I hope that this body will
take another step toward righting a
monumental injustice. I hope that we
will resoundingly approve this report,
and in so doing, will reaffirm the precious rights and freedoms guaranteed
in our Constitution.
I applaud the hard work of the conferees in their careful consideration of
the many points covered in this bill,
and in crafting legislation to successfully meet the intent of both Houses.
I especially want to thank my good
friend, the distinguished gentleman
from Massaschusetts [Mr. Frank]
whose vision, brilliance anaTTuiEring
efforts made this bill a reality.
I also want to thank the majority
leader, Mr. Foley, for his sponsorship
of the bill, and the distinguished and
honorable gentleman from New Jersey
[Mr. Rqdino] the chair of the Com-
mittee on the Judiciary. This fine gentleman will shortly be retiring from
this body, after a long and distinguished career and we will miss him
greatly. This achievement will be
marked as another outstanding accomplishment among his long list of
achievements in service to this Nation.
Of course, I think Speaker Wright,
in his role as the original author arid
constant supporter of this bill. I also
commend Mr. Fish. Mr. Hyde. Mr.
Swbipall. Mr. Gingrich, Mr. Kemp,
.Mju., Young, and Mr. Blaz for their
support.
I also want to thank the hard-working House and Senate staff members
whose patience and determination
helped mold this legislation into a
well-written and historic bill.
This bill is a tribute to the bravery
of those who served in the 100th Ba-
tallion. 442d Regimental Combat
Team andThe Military Intelligence
Service during the Second World War.
This legislation touches a deep
chord in the hearts of the thousands
of loyal Americans whose rights were
summarily abrogated many years ago.
But though this is a deeply personal
issue for a small number, this legislation touches all of us, because it
touches the very core of our Nation.
Does our Constitution indeed protect
ail of us, regardless of race or culture?
Do our rights truly remain inalienable,
even in times of stress; and especially
in times of stress?
The passage of this legislation answers these questions with a resounding yes.
After many years of prayer, struggle,
and dreams, now the 100th Congress
takes its final action on H.R. 442.1 am
deeply honored to serve in this body,
with fine colleagues such as Mr.
Matstji and Mr. Lowhy, as it takes the
BraWsTep of admitting and redressing
a monumental injustice. I am delighted that this legislation has the support of the President.
Today we can again say yes to justice. I urge my colleagues to approve
this report.
Mr BQNKI=R. Mr. Speaker, I am extremely
pleased to rise today In support of the conference report on H.R. 442, the Civil Liberties
Act of 1988. At long last our Nation stands
on the threshold of providing restitution for
one of the most painful episodes in American
history—the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II.
This legislation finally acknowledges the injustice these U.S. citizens experienced and
makes a formal apology to them and their
families. In addition, the bill provides for restitution payments as compensation to Japanese-Americans and resident aliens who were
denied their civil liberties 40 years ago.
Certainly, the terrible injustice to these innocent people can never be fully undone. Forcing them to give up their homes and businesses and locking them up in concentration-like
camps was such a fundamental violation of
civil rights that it is near impossible to understand how it could ever have been tolerated
or how the damage can ever be repaired.
Mr. Speaker, I am hopeful, though that the
actions of the House of Representatives today
followed soon by the President's signature
making it law, will not only providing consolation to those who were so disgracefully treated but will also stand as a reminder to future
generations. We can never again allow our
country, which was founded on the principle
of individual freedom, to sacrifice those
sacred ideals to the hysteria of fear and
racism.
ML-MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise
in support of the conference report on H.R.
442.
This is long overdue legislation designed to
address the personal and financial injuries
caused by the internment of over 120,000
Americans of Japanese ancestry during most
of World War II.
Some erroneously view this legislation as a
gift to internees. Nothing could be further from
the truth.
This legislation is a gift from the internees
to each American who loves and respects our
Constitution. Because what this legislation
says is that we, in the Congress, recognize
the enormous blunder and disrespect for constitutional liberties which the internment was,
and that we vow never to permit it to reoccur.
The Constitution of the United States guarantees the rights of all citizens, including Japanese/Americans, in times of peace as well
as during times of war. This legislation sends
a clear message to our people that as a country, we will constantly uphold these rights for
all the racial groups, the ethnic groups and
the social groups which are part of this country.
The internment of Japanese-Americans was
ordered as a result of the conclusions of military leaders that Japanese-Americans—regardless how long they had lived here or their
unqualified loyalty to America—posed a military threat to the United States. That conclusion was not based on facts; it was not based
on law. It was based on racism pure and
simple. '—~
' in fact during the war, not a single person
of Japanese descent was convicted of espionage. Japanese-Americans were no different
from the Americans of German and Italian descent who had come to America seeking political and economic freedom. Yet they suffered
a fate far more cruel and unjust than any
other immigrant group.
I take this matter very personally, because
among the children with whom I grew up the
northern California in the 1940's were many
whose parents and siblings were assigned to
internment camps. Many of these Japanese-
Americans of Contra Costa_County were farmers and small businesspeople who lost their
possessions because of the internment policy.
In my district alone, the internment forced
1,200 people to leave their jobs, friends, and
possessions to spend up to 4 years in permanent relocation camps. One of those Contra
Costans, Chiyeko Tahira, was lucky enough to
have Caucasian friends with whom she hurriedly stored family china and other heirlooms
before she left for over 3 years internment in
Topaz, UT. Many others were not so lucky
and returned to find that the bams where they
had hidden their belongings had been looted
or burned.
Beyond the material loss was the physcho-
logical damage of having been suddenly uprooted and labeled a potential traitor. Over
7,000 of the internees were children less than
5 years old. These children were scared by
the strains of overcrowded, impoverished
Irving behind chain-link fences. Most of them
fortunately survived the internment experience, returned home, and began reconstruc-
turing their lives, burdened by financial loss
and social stigma And admirably, they maintained faith in a country that had broken faith
with them.
Forty years after that tragic period of American history, it falls to this Congress and this
generation of America to make amends for
the past error. In authorizing 520,000 to each
surviving internee, we make only a symbolic
effort to compensate these Japanese-Americans for their years of hardship. Twenty thousand dollars is not a great sum when we consider that settlements of up to S10,000 were
made for only 1 night of false imprisonment
during the Vietnam protests of the late sixties.
I am proud to be a cosponsor of this legislation, and we as Americans should be proud
that we have finally the courage to confront
this unpleasant chapter in our Nation's history
and attempt however symbolically, to right the
wrongs. In approving this conference report,
we do far more than acknowledge our debt to
the interned Japanese-American citizens of
the 1940's.
We reiterate our national commitment to the
pnmacy of our Constitution and the rule of law
which can be diminished neither by racial distinctions or the passage of time. By admitting
to our past mistakes, we are a better and
mora united country today.