[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]
[H.R. 1944 Engrossed Amendment House (EAH)]
103d CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1944
_______________________________________________________________________
AMENDMENT
TO
SENATE AMENDMENT
In the House of Representatives, U. S.,
November 21, 1993.
Resolved, That the House agree to the amendment of the Senate to
the bill (H.R. 1944) entitled ``An Act to provide for additional
development at War in the Pacific National Historical Park, and for
other purposes'', with the following
AMENDMENT:
In lieu of the matter inserted by said amendment, insert:
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;
(7) the liberation of the Mariana Islands marked a pivotal
point in the Pacific war and led to the American victories at
Iwo Jima, Okinawa, the Philippines, Taiwan, and the south China
coast, and ultimately against the Japanese home islands;
(8) the Mariana Islands of Guam, Saipan, and Tinian
provided, for the first time during the war, air bases which
allowed land-based American bombers to reach strategic targets
in Japan; and
(9) the air offensive conducted from the Marianas against
the Japanese war-making capability helped shorten the war and
ultimately reduced the toll of lives to secure peace in the
Pacific.
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).
``(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.''.
Attest:
Clerk.