A lot of shockingly horrible things happened to Guam residents during the Japanese occupation in World War II. The U.S. compounded it by prematurely cutting Guam residents off in 1951 from any reparations settlement with Japan, forcing them to appeal to Congress.To write nearly anything on this topic is to enter a hard zone of deep feelings, but the timing of a pending war reparations action in Congress needs examination.
U.S. Rep. Madeleine Bordallo issued a press release this week saying she has critical support to include a war reparations bill, the Guam World II Loyalty Recognition Act (HR 44), in a defense spending bill that is due for consideration.
The war reparations bill will be attached to HR 1536, the National Defense Authorization Act, which also funds part of the buildup. Legislatively, the buildup and reparations are linked.
Bordallo, and other political leaders, have long pushed for reparations, but if Congress is now on verge of approving reparations after years of delay, is it happening because the hearts of lawmakers are now in a different place? Or is it because the most critical point in the buildup plotting process is about to arrive?
The U.S. is plotting to issue a final Environmental Impact Statement in July and then its œRecord of Choice of it 30 days after. That means there will also be no time to really assess how the government has responded to the 10,000 comments it has received before the EIS is approved.
The U.S., if anything, seems to be pushing ahead rapidly on the buildup and is awarding millions of dollars in construction contracts.
On the issue of the build-up itself, what changes has the government made that addresses some of problems raised about it?
The governor questioned for a slower buildup timetable, but theres no evidence that the U.S. has agreed to it.
Dredging Apra Harbor? A U.S. official recently warned that they dont see an alternative.
Live firing ranges?
There are hundreds of other issues, including opposition to the buildup in total.
But on some of the high profile buildup questions, the only black-and-white concession appears to be a promise not to condemn private land for the buildup " but is this victory? The U.S. is still free to buy land from owners willing to sell. All that has changed is the price of the land. The Guam government, in turn, looses leverage in its argument that the military should make better use of the land it now has.
Clearly, the buildup has given Bordallo an opportunity to press ahead for war reparations, payments to both survivors and children of war survivors who have died in amounts that appear in the range of $7,000 to $25,000. But how do you start to assess the impact of the war reparation payments on either the buildups support or opposition? It may not have any impact on at all. The reparation issue is so ancient that it may be perceived as absolutely apart from the buildup. But if you flip the question around and question how people would feel about the buildup if reparations are rejected by Congress, then the answer might be different.
As I pointed out at the start of this post, the issue of war reparations is deep and the extent of its linkage to the buildup is not something that I can speculate on. I write from Washington, not from Guam, and all I can say for certain is that in my town there is a political calculus to everything.
Original post: Guam war reparations and the buildup
Halo Sobat, Nama Saya Sofyan Syah, Memulai Dunia Blogging Sejak Nov 2011, Meskipun Masih Baru terjun di Dunia Blogging, Saya tidak patah semangat Untuk menjadi Yang terbaik dari yang Terbaik, karena saya yakin, Tidak ada hal yang tidak Mungkin.Buat saya Blogging Is My Life.Senang rasanya jika sobat sudah Berkunjung di blog ini.
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