H.R. 5972: To provide for the payment of compensation to members of the Armed Forces and civilian employees of the United States who, as prisoners of war, performed slave labor for Japanese corporations during World War II, to authorize the Secretary of Defense to accept contributions in order to provide additional compensation to such members and employees, to encourage Japanese corporations that benefitted from the use of slave labor to make contributions for such additional compensation, and for other purposes.
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H.R. 5972: To provide for the payment of compensation to members of the Armed Forces and civilian employees of the United States who, as prisoners of war, performed slave labor for Japanese corporations during World War II, to authorize the Secretary of Defense to accept contributions in order to provide additional compensation to such members and employees, to encourage Japanese corporations that benefitted from the use of slave labor to make contributions for such additional compensation, and for other purposes.
109th Congress · introduced 2006-07-28 · Armed Forces and National Security · Latest: Referred to the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Unconventional Threats and Capabilities.
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Follow this bill, step by step
- Where it came from: introduced 2006-07-28 · official record
- Who proposed it: Rep. Hunter, Duncan [R-CA-52] · what a sponsor is
- What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
- Where it stands now: Referred to the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Unconventional Threats and Capabilities. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
- If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.
Official title
To provide for the payment of compensation to members of the Armed Forces and civilian employees of the United States who, as prisoners of war, performed slave labor for Japanese corporations during World War II, to authorize the Secretary of Defense to accept contributions in order to provide additional compensation to such members and employees, to encourage Japanese corporations that benefitted from the use of slave labor to make contributions for such additional compensation, and for other purposes.
Plain summary
Directs the Secretary of Defense to pay compensation as prescribed under this Act to those living members of the Armed Forces and U.S. civilian employees who were captured by Japan, who were used as slave labor during World War II, and whose application for compensation is approved. Authorizes the Secretary of Defense to accept any monetary contribution (with exceptions) made by any person upon on the condition that the contribution be used to provide such compensation to a selected veteran or civilian internee. Requires amounts received as contributions to be deposited in the Department of Defense General Gift Fund. States that, any amount paid to a selected veteran or civilian internee as compensation under this Act is in addition to any other amount paid to such veteran or civilian internee under any other provision of law as compensation for the performance of slave labor during World War II. Expresses the sense of Congress regarding contributions by certain Japanese corporations.
Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.
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What does this mean? (plain words)
Official text
To provide for the payment of compensation to members of the Armed Forces and civilian employees of the United States who, as prisoners of war, performed slave labor for Japanese corporations during World War II, to authorize the Secretary of Defense to accept contributions in order to provide additional compensation to such members and employees, to encourage Japanese corporations that benefitted from the use of slave labor to make contributions for such additional compensation, and for other purposes.
Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)
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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes
Officials and money
Sponsor: Rep. Hunter, Duncan [R-CA-52] · 43 cosponsors
Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.
Cosponsors on this site
Christopher H. Smith (R-NJ), Ken Calvert (R-CA), Harold Rogers (R-KY), Robert B. Aderholt (R-AL), Mike Rogers (R-AL)
No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.
Words on this page, explained (1)
- Authorization
- A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.
Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.
Sources
- Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)
- Congress.gov
- Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-109hr5972.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/109/hr>
Record fed-us-cong109-hr5972 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong109 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong109