One Hundred Third Congress
of the
United States or America

AT THE FIRST SESSION

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
the fifth day of January, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-three

An Act

To provide for additional development at War in the Pacific National Historical Park, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

Congress finds that—

(1) June 15 through August 10, 1994, marks the 50th anniversary of the Mariana campaign of World War II in which American forces captured the islands of Saipan and Tinian in the Northern Marianas and liberated the United States Territory of Guam from Japanese occupation;

(2) an attack during this campaign by the Japanese Imperial fleet, aimed at countering the American forces that had landed on Saipan, led to the battle of the Philippine Sea which resulted in a crushing defeat for the Japanese by United States naval forces and the destruction of the effectiveness of the Japanese carrier-based airpower;

(3) the recapture of Guam liberated one of the few pieces of United States territory that was occupied for two and one-half years by the enemy during World War II and restored freedom to the indigenous Chamorros on Guam who suffered as a result of the Japanese occupation;

(4) Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard units distinguished themselves with their heroic bravery and sacrifice;

(5) the Guam Insular Force Guard the Guam militia, and the people of Guam earned the highest respect for their defense of the island during the Japanese invasion and their resistance during the occupation; their assistance to the American forces as scouts for the American invasion was invaluable; and their role, as members of the Guam Combat Patrol, was instrumental in seeking out the remaining Japanese forces and restoring peace to the island;

(6) during the occupation, the people of Guam—

(A) were forcibly removed from their homes;

(B) were relocated to remote sections of the island;

(C) were required to perform forced labor and faced other harsh treatment, injustices, and death; and

(D) were placed in concentration camps when the American invasion became imminent and were brutalized by their occupiers when the liberation of Guam became apparent to the Japanese;

SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

It is the sense of Congress that—

(1) an appropriate commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Mariana campaign should be planned by the United States in conjunction with the Government of Guam and the Government of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands;

(2) the Secretary of the Interior should take all necessary steps to ensure that appropriate visitor facilities at War in the Pacific National Historical Park on Guam are expeditiously developed and constructed; and

(3) the Secretary of the Interior should take all necessary steps to ensure that the monument referenced in section 3(b) is completed before July 21, 1994, for the 50th anniversary commemoration, to provide adequate historical interpretation of the events described in section 1.

SEC. 3. WAR IN THE PACIFIC NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK.

(a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Subsection (k) of section 6 of the Act entitled "An Act to authorize appropriations for certain insular areas of the United States, and for other purposes", approved August 18, 1978 (92 Stat. 493; 16 U.S.C. 410dd) is amended by striking "$500,000" and inserting "$8,000,000".

(b) DEVELOPMENT.—Section 6 is further amended by adding at the end the following subsections:

"(l) Within the boundaries of the park, the Secretary is authorized to construct a monument which shall commemorate the loyalty of the people of Guam and the herosim of the American forces that liberated Guam.

"(m) Within the boundaries of the park, the Secretary is authorized to implement programs to interpret experiences of the people of Guam during World War II, including, but not limited to, oral histories of those people of Guam who experienced the occupation.

"(n) Within six months after the date of enactment of this subsection, the Secretary, through the Director of the National Park Service, shall develop and transmit to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives a report containing updated cost estimates for the development of the park. Further, this report shall contain a general plan to implement subsections (l) and (m), including, at a minimum, cost estimates for the design and construction of the monument authorized in section (l).

H. R. 1944—3

"(o) The Secretary, may take such steps as may be necessary to preserve and protect various World War II vintage weapons and fortifications which exist within the boundaries of the park.".

APPROVED DEC 17, 1993

Speaker of the House of Representatives
President of the Senate Pro Tempore