Federal government moves to pay Guam war reparations

The federal government is moving forward on a new law that requires the payment of war claims to Guam residents, according to a notice in the Federal Register.

The Foreign Claims Settlement Commission, which is part of the Justice Department, is seeking approval from the Office of Management and Budget to begin gathering information from as many as 5,000 people and estates on Guam related to war claims, the notice states. The information collected will be used by the commission to decide claims for compensation.

The 2017 defense budget included a section to pay war claims to those who were killed, injured, or subjected to forced labor, march or imprisonment during the Japanese occupation of the island during World War II. Payments would come from the island's federal Section 30 funding, the law states. Section 30 is income tax money collected from federal workers on Guam and remitted to the local government each year.  Any annual Section 30 funding in excess of $70 million would be earmarked to pay war claims.