Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment

              H6208
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD —HOUSE
July 21, 1980
n„n K332 of title 5. United    agreed upon by the Chairman of the Com
.|S^Cod^forCte.Th^. including travel-
fime"he or she Is engaged in the actual performance of his or her duties as a member
of the Commission. A member of the Com
mission who is an officer or employee of the
United States Government shall serve without additional compensation. All members
of the Commission shall be reimbursed for
travel, subsistence, and other necessary expenses incurred by them in the performance
of their duties.
jrcrcEsTJr the commission
-~  Sec. 4. (a) Trshall be the duty of the Commission to—
(1) review the facts and circumstances
surrounding Executive Order Numbered
9066, Issued February 19. 1942, and the impact of such Executive order on American
citizens and permanent resident aliens;
(2) review directives of United States
military forces requiring the relocation and,
in some cases, detention in internment camps
of American citizens, including Aleut civilians, and permanent resident aliens of the
Aleutian and Pribilof Islands; and_
(3) recommend appropriate remedies.
<b) The Commission shall bold public
hearings in such cities of the United States
that it finds appropriate.
(c) The Commission shall submit a written
report of its findings and recommendations
to Congress not later than the date which Is
one year after the date of the first meeting
called pursuant to section 3(d) of this Act.
POWERS   Or   THE   COMMISSION
Sec. C. (a) The Commission or, on the
authorization of the Commission, any subcommittee or member thereof, may. for the
purpose of carrying out the provisions of this
Act, hold such hearings and sit and act at
- such times and places, and request the attendance and testimony of such witnesses
and the production of such boofcs, records,
correspondence, memorandum, papers, and
documents as the Commission or such subcommittee or member may deem advisable.
The Commission may request the Attorney
General to invoke the aid of an appropriate
United States district court to require, by
subponea or otherwise, such attendance, testimony, or production.
(b) The Commission may acquire directly
from the head of any department, agency,
Independent instrumentality, or other authority of the executive branch of the Government, available information which the
Commission considers useful In the discharge
of Its duties. All departments, agencies, and
independent instrumentalities, or other authorities of the executive branch of the Government shall cooperate, with the Commission
and furnish all Information requested by the
Commission to the exent permitted by law.
ADMINISTRATIVE   PROVISIONS
Sec. 6. The Commission is authorized to—
(1) appoint and, fix the compensation of
such personnel as may be necessary, without
regard to the provisions of title S, United
States Code, governing appointments in the
competitive service, and without regard to
the provisions of chapter fil and subchapter
m of chapter 53 of such title relating to
classification and General Schedule pay rates,
except that the compensation of any employee of the Commission may not exceed
a rate equivalent tcdhe rate payable under
GS-18 of the General Schedule under section
6332 of such title; ,.
(2) obtain the services of experts and consultants in accordance with the provisions of
section 3109 of such title; — -';   *t	
(S) enter into agreements with the Administrator of General Services for procurement of necessary financial and administrative services, for -which payment shall be
made by reimbursement from funds of the
Commission  In such  amounts as may be
mission and the Administrator:
<4) procure supplies, services, and property by contract in accordance with applicable laws and regulations and to the extent
or to such amounts as are provided to appropriation Acts; and
(S) enter Into contracts with Federal or
State agencies, private firms, institutions,
and agencies for the conduct of research or
surveys, the preparation of reports, and other
activities necessary to the discharge of the
duties of the Commission, to the extent or
to such amounts as are provided to appropriation Acta.
termination
Sec. 7. The Commission shall terminate
ninety days after the date on which the report of the Commission Is submitted to Congress pursuant to section 4(c) of this Act.
AtTTHOElZATION OP APPROPRIATIONS
Sec. 8. To carry out the provisions of this
Act. there are authorized to be appropriated
«1,500,000.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, a second is not required
on this motion.
The gentleman from California (Mr.
Danielson) will be recognized for 20
minutes, and the gentleman from California (Mr. Moorhead) will he recognized for 20 minutes. -t.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman
from California (Mr. Danielson) .   .
Mr. DANIELSON. Mr. Speaker, I yield
myself such time as I may consume.
(Mr. DANIELSON asked and was given
permission to revise and extend his remarks.) -,
Mr. DANIELSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise
in support of H.R. 5499, as amended by
the Judiciary Committee. This bill will
establish a commission to study the internment of Japanese-American pursuant to Executive Order 9066, and the
relocation and, in some cases, Internment of certain American citizens of the
Aleutian and Pribilof Islands, during
World Warn. .        - ,
On February 19, 1942, President
Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive
Order 9066, which authorized establishment of mliltary areas for the internment of American citizens and resident
aliens. That order resulted in the evacuation and internment of more than
120,000 Japanese-American civilian citizens and resident aliens..
Executive Order 9066 empowered military commanders to prescribe certain
military areas from which they could exclude any persons. The order did not specifically mention or specify any particular groups, but was used to intern Japanese-Americans as a "military necessity."
However, only Japanese-Americans on
the U.S. mainland were interned. Further, only persons of Japanese descent
were involved in this internment process. American citizens of German or
Italian ancestry, and German and Italian aliens, were not interned and were
not restricted...   ^-.
Also, during World War H, approximately 1,000 VS. citizens of the Aleutian
and Pribilof Islands were relocated and,
in some cases, interned on the mainland
■because of the threat of military action
against those islands. Evidence submitted at the hearings on this bill indicates
that   during   that   internment,   many
Aleuts died from lack of adequate shelter jsoor sanitary conditions and inadequate medical care. Since that situation
has never been fully examined, the committee felt it was a proper subject to
include as a part of the work of the
Commission.
On June 2,1980, the Subcommittee on
Administrative Law and Governmental
Relations, which I cha.ii, held * hearing
on this subject and received testimony
from various witnesses. Those witnesses
presented a compelling case for the creation of this Commission. The committee
heard of cases in which Americans of
Japanese descent were stripped of their
worldly possessions and forced to relocate in internment camps, many miles
from their homes, on very short notice.
The testimony revealed that the deprivation of liberty and the taking of property from those Japanese-Americans
took place without court trials, without
any accusations being brought by the
Government, and without any findings
of wrongdoing by those Americans.
The committee also received testimony from representatives of Native
American Aleut citizens of the Pribilof
and Aleutian Islands who described the
relocation and internment of approximately 1,000 citizens by the American
military forces during World War II. It
was revealed that many American citizens and residents of the Aleutian and
Pribilof Islands were removed from their
homes by U.S. military forces and detained in internment camps maintained
in southeastern Alaska by officials of the
U.S. Department of the Interior from
1942 until 1945. That relocation followed
the Japanese bombing of Dutch Harbor
on the Aleutian chain. The testimony
indicated that these Aleut citizens were
kept in camps and other facilities and
their ' movements were severely restricted. Further, at those camps there
was inadequate shelter, medical support
and clothing which resulted in disease
and suffering causing death to many of
the Aleuts. Because of that testimony.
the committee felt that a study of this
situation should be included as a part
of the work of the Commission.
It Is intended that the Commission
will have a threefold function. First,
there will be an educational purpose,
where, through hearings and appropriate publicity, Americans of all ages will
be fully informed about this unfortunate
episode in our history. Second, the committee hopes that the Commission's
findings will serve a deterrent function,
where a comprehensive study of these
events will serve as a warning to future
generations so that an occurrence such
as this should not, and will not, happen
again. Finally, the committee feels that
the Commission's deliberations will provide a focus-for a discusion of the various redress proposals that have been
suggested and thereby appropriate recommendations to the Congress can be
made.  -
Mr. Speaker. I strongly support the
establishment of this Commission. I feel
It is a necessary step toward redressing
the grievances of many American citizens who were treated so unfairly by our
Government during World War H.
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