for less than the full allowable amount of such claim, shall be entitled, under such regulations as the Commission may prescribe, to a hearing before the Commission or its representatives with respect to such claim Upon such hearing, the Commission may affirm, modify, or revise its former action with respect to such claim, including a denial or reduction in the amount theretofore allowed with respect to such claim The action of the Commission in allowing or denying any claim under this Act shall be final and conclusive on all questions of law and fact and not subject to review by any other official of the United States or by any court by mandamus or otherwise, and the Comptroller General is authorized and directed to allow credit in the accounts of any certifying or disbursing officer for payments in accordance with such action

AMENDMENTS TO TRADING WITH THE ENEMY ACT

SEC. 12. (a) The fourth sentence of section 34 (a) of the Trading With the Enemy Act of October 6, 1917, as amended, is amended by striking out "those of other natural persons who are and have been since the beginning of the war residents of the United States and who have not during the war been interned or paroled pursuant to the Alien Enemy Act;".

(b) The Trading With the Enemy Act of October 6, 1917, as amended, is hereby amended by adding at the end thereof the following new section:

"SEC. 39. No property or interest therein of Germany, Japan, or any national of either such country vested in or transferred to any officer or agency of the Government at any time after December 17, 1941, pursuant to the provisions of this Act, shall be returned to former owners thereof or their successors in interest. and the United States shall not pay compensation for any such property or interest therein. The net proceeds remaining upon the completion of administration, liquidation, and disposition pursuant to the provisions of this Act of any such property or interest therein shall be covered into the Treasury at the earliest practicable date. Nothing in this section shall be construed to repeal or otherwise affect the operation of the provisions of section 32 of this Act or of the Philippine Property Act of 1946."

WAR CLAIMS FUND

SEC. 13. (a) There is hereby created on the books of the Treasury of the United States a trust fund to be known as the War Claims Fund. The War Claims Fund shall consist of all sums covered into the Treasury pursuant to the provisions of section 39 of the Trading With the Enemy Act of October 6, 1917, as amended. The moneys in such fund shall be available for expenditure only as provided in this Act or as may be provided hereafter by the Congress.

(b) The Federal Security Administrator is authorized and directed to estimate and certify to the Secretary of the Treasury the total amount which will be required to pay all benefits payable as a result of the enactment of section 5 (f) of this Act. The Secretary of the Treasury shall, subsequent to payment of all claims certified for payment pursuant to sections 4, 5, and 6 of this Act, transfer from the War Claims Fund to the general fund of the Treasury a sum equal to the total amount so certified by the Federal Security Administrator. No benefits shall be payable as a result of the enactment of section 5 (f) of this Act until such time as such sum is so transferred.

(c) The Federal Security Administrator is authorized and directed to estimate and certify to the Secretary of the Treasury the total amount which will be required to pay all additional benefits payable as a result of the enactment of section 4 (c) of this Act. The Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer from the War Claims Fund to the general fund of the Treasury a sum equal to the total amount so certified by the Federal Security Administrator.

(d) The Secretary of State is authorized and directed to certify to the Secretary of the Treasury the total amount of all obligations cancelled pursuant to the provisions of section 4 (b) (1) of this Act. The Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer from the War Claims Fund to the general fund of the Treasury an amount equal to the total amount so certified.

(e) There are hereby authorized to be appropriated, out of any money in the War Claims Fund, such sums as may be necessary to enable the Commission to carry out its functions under this Act

PAYMENTS TO CERTAIN MEMBERS OF RELIGIOUS ORDERS

SEC. 14. In any case in which any money is payable as a result of the enactment of this Act to any person who is prevented from accepting such money by the

rules, regulations, or customs of the church or the religious order or organization of which he is a member, such money shall be paid, upon the request of such person, to such church or to such religious order or organization.

STATEMENT

There is created by section 2a War Claims Commission to be composed of three persons appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Two of its members shall be members of the bar of the highest court of any State, Territory, or the District of Columbia.

Section 3 gives the Commission created by section 2 the power to receive and adjudicate according to law such claims as the bill

enumerates.

In order to facilitate the giving of immediate relief to those American citizens who were imprisoned by the enemy during the war, the act makes provision for them in three separate sections.

The first of these sections permits the Commission to receive and adjudicate according to law claims of those men who were employed by contractors of the Government on Wake, Guam, and Cavite.

Section 5 permits those civilian American citizens, with certain exceptions, who were captured by the Imperial Japanese Government on Midway, Guam, Wake, the Philippine Islands, or any Territory or possession of the United States attacked or invaded by such Government, to receive detention benefits for each month of their imprisonment, and disability benefits for certain types of injuries received while imprisoned.

Former military personnel who were held as prisoners of war by any former enemy of the United States are permitted to file claims with the Commission for any violation of that provision of the Geneva Convention of July 27, 1929 which requires that the detaining government furnish food of the same sort and amount that it furnishes to its own troops.

Under section 7 the Commission is authorized to receive and adjudicate according to law claims of religious organizations located in the Philippines for expenditures incurred by them in furnishing shelter. food, clothing, hospitalization, medicines, and medical services, and for other relief in the Philippines to members of armed forces of United States or to civilian internees.

Section 8 directs the Commission to inquire into and report to the President, for submission to the Congress, with respect to war claims arising out of World War II other than those which it is authorized to receive and adjudicate under the act.

The Commission is directed in section 9 to make reports to Congress on its progress.

Section 10 fixes the percentage of a claim which may be paid for services rendered any claimant under this act.

Hearings (before the Commission) are permitted claimants under section 11 should their claim be denied or granted in a lesser amount by the Commission. Determinations of the Commission shall be final and conclusive on all questions of law and fact.

Section 12 of this act amends the Trading With the Enemy Act so as to retain the enemy assets now held in the hands of the Alien Property Custodian and makes the residue of such assets available for the creation of the war-claims fund as set forth below.

By section 13 a war-claims fund is created in the Treasury of the United States out of which awards are to be paid to the claimants specified in this act.

Members of a church, religious order, or organization who are not legally capable of receiving their awards due to laws of their church, religious order, or organization may, by section 14, request that such award be paid to the church, religious order, or organization of which he is a member.

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80TH CONGRESS 2d Session

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SENATE

{{No. 1743

REPORT

AMENDING THE RECONSTRUCTION FINANCE CORPORATION ACT, AS AMENDED

JUNE 16 (legislative day, JUNE 15), 1948.-Ordered to be printed

Mr. CAIN, from the Committee on Banking and Currency, submitted the following

REPORT

(To accompany S. 2877]

The Committee on Banking and Currency, which has had under consideration various bills relating to aid in the production of housing in the Portland-Vancouver, the Spokane, Wash., and the Helena, Mont., areas, report favorably a bill to amend the Reconstruction Finance Corporation Act, as amended, with the recommendation that the bill do pass.

The purpose of this bill is to alleviate the situation that has recently developed as a result of floods, especially in the Portland-Vancouver, the Spokane, Wash., and the Helena, Mont., areas.

The amount presently available for disaster loans by the RFC is limited to $25,000,000 outstanding at any one time, $21,000,000 of which is now unused. The bill would increase the amount permitted to be outstanding at any one time to $45,000,000 and at the same time would permit the RFC to make disaster loans without regard to the present 10-year limitation on maturities.

The necessity for the enactment of this legislation arises primarily because of the acute housing situation, requiring repair and restoration in the devastated areas.

While the committee has not specifically provided in the bill a dollar limitation for loans made for dwelling accommodations, the committee urges that generally the RFC, in the administration of this law, should not exceed $7,500 for any dwelling designed for a single-family residence, $12,500 for a two-family residence, $16,000 for a three-family residence, or $18,500 for a four-family residence. Under the present law maturities for all loans made by the RFC, including disaster loans, are limited to 10 years. This bill would

remove this limitation as to maturities, but only with respect to disaster loans. However, it is contemplated that in no situation will a maturity in excess of 25 years be permitted. The committee believes the maximum assistance in the devastated areas can be achieved, particularly with respect to the repair and restoration of dwellings, only by the removal of the existing maturity limitation.

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