Post by Deleted on Jun 20, 2019 11:01:48 GMT -5
I've heard many an argument that reparations for slavery are impossible because it's too difficult for the government to find people who had been wronged, or because it was too long ago.
Curiously, neither of these seemed to be an issue in 1988, when Ronald Reagan of all people signed a law that would give millions to the Japanese American victims of American concentration camps during WW2.
Acting to redress what many Americans now regard as a historic injustice, the Senate today voted overwhelmingly to give $20,000 and an apology to each of the Japanese-Americans who were driven from their homes and sent to internment camps in World War II.
The vote was 69 to 27 and followed an emotional debate. The bill's principal advocate, Senator Spark M. Matsunaga, a Japanese-American from Hawaii, almost wept as, recalling the suffering of internees, he related the story of an elderly man who crossed a fence to retrieve a ball for his grandchild and was machine-gunned to death.
The intensity of the debate, and Mr. Matsunaga's sorrow, seemed to symbolize the agony of conscience the nation has undergone over the internment issue - and the impossibility, despite the best intentions, of making more than a token apology now.
An estimated 60,000 of the 120,000 people interned are still alive. Those sent away as a result of an order issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1942 included 77,000 American citizens and 43,000 legal and illegal resident aliens. The last camp was closed in January 1946.
Under the legislation, $500 million would be paid in the year starting next Oct. 1, with $400 million paid the following year, then $200 million, then $100 million in each of the following two years.
Continue reading the main story
The measure differs slightly from a bill approved by the House of Representatives, so it must go back to the House for renewed passage, which is expected quickly.
''The awards will be made on the basis of age,'' Senator Matsunaga said at a press conference after the vote. The elderly will be given their awards first, he said. ''They are dying daily and weekly, so we have to take care of the elderly first,'' the Senator said. Awards to Be Tax Free
Anyone who spent any time in an internment camp will be eligible for an award, which will be tax free. Awards will go only to those who were actually interned, not to the estates of internees who are dead.
Representative Norman Y. Mineta, Democrat of California and the sponsor of the House version, joined Senator Matsunaga at the press conference and predicted that the conflicting versions would be reconciled with little trouble.
The bill then would go to the White House, which has expressed modest opposition, leading its proponents to hope that President Reagan would sign it. A White House spokesman declined to state the President's intentions today.
Asked if he thought President Reagan would sign the measure, Senator Matsunaga said he was optimistic after talking with the White House chief of staff, Howard Baker. Some Conservative Opposition
Those voting in favor included senators of all sectors of the two parties. The opponents were largely conservative Republicans, though there were several exceptions, such as Senators Alan Simpson of Wyoming, Ted Stevens of Alaska and Orrin G. Hatch of Utah. The senators from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut all voted in favor.
Senator Matsunaga, a Democrat who was wounded twice after participating in the Anzio landing in Italy in World War II, said during the debate, ''A stigma has haunted Japanese-Americans for the past 45 years.''
After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Mr. Matsunaga was detained with other Japanese-Americans at Camp McCoy, Wis., although he was a second lieutenant in the Army and a company commander. He and other internees petitioned President Roosevelt to give them a chance to serve. They were allowed to form the 100th Infantry Battalion, which became one of the most highly decorated in American military history.
Mr. Matsunaga's Democratic colleague from Hawaii, Daniel K. Inouye, served in the 442d Infantry Regimental Combat Team, a group of Japanese-American enlisted men who served under white officers. He lost his right arm fighting in Italy and was awarded a Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts. Sorrow Across the Years
Tears rose in Mr. Matsunaga's eyes as he recalled the internment camp incident. As Mr. Matsunaga faltered, Senator Stevens came to his rescue while Senator Matsunaga regained his composure and sipped a glass of water.
Those interned in camps behind barbed wire, Senator Stevens said, were ''people who had done no wrong at all.'' He told the Senate that the proposed compensation of $20,000 for each surviving internee was appropriate.
The Senate defeated amendments offered by conservatives concerned about the measure's cost, which has been estimated at $1.3 billion over five years.
The Reagan Admininistration has said it would support the bill if some modifications were made, such as excluding restitution to people who relocated, or sought relocation, in countries at war with the United States.
The Administration wants language to be clear that the payments are to go to living people only, and wants the payments spread out to $125 million a year for 10 years.
The vote was 69 to 27 and followed an emotional debate. The bill's principal advocate, Senator Spark M. Matsunaga, a Japanese-American from Hawaii, almost wept as, recalling the suffering of internees, he related the story of an elderly man who crossed a fence to retrieve a ball for his grandchild and was machine-gunned to death.
The intensity of the debate, and Mr. Matsunaga's sorrow, seemed to symbolize the agony of conscience the nation has undergone over the internment issue - and the impossibility, despite the best intentions, of making more than a token apology now.
An estimated 60,000 of the 120,000 people interned are still alive. Those sent away as a result of an order issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1942 included 77,000 American citizens and 43,000 legal and illegal resident aliens. The last camp was closed in January 1946.
Under the legislation, $500 million would be paid in the year starting next Oct. 1, with $400 million paid the following year, then $200 million, then $100 million in each of the following two years.
Continue reading the main story
The measure differs slightly from a bill approved by the House of Representatives, so it must go back to the House for renewed passage, which is expected quickly.
''The awards will be made on the basis of age,'' Senator Matsunaga said at a press conference after the vote. The elderly will be given their awards first, he said. ''They are dying daily and weekly, so we have to take care of the elderly first,'' the Senator said. Awards to Be Tax Free
Anyone who spent any time in an internment camp will be eligible for an award, which will be tax free. Awards will go only to those who were actually interned, not to the estates of internees who are dead.
Representative Norman Y. Mineta, Democrat of California and the sponsor of the House version, joined Senator Matsunaga at the press conference and predicted that the conflicting versions would be reconciled with little trouble.
The bill then would go to the White House, which has expressed modest opposition, leading its proponents to hope that President Reagan would sign it. A White House spokesman declined to state the President's intentions today.
Asked if he thought President Reagan would sign the measure, Senator Matsunaga said he was optimistic after talking with the White House chief of staff, Howard Baker. Some Conservative Opposition
Those voting in favor included senators of all sectors of the two parties. The opponents were largely conservative Republicans, though there were several exceptions, such as Senators Alan Simpson of Wyoming, Ted Stevens of Alaska and Orrin G. Hatch of Utah. The senators from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut all voted in favor.
Senator Matsunaga, a Democrat who was wounded twice after participating in the Anzio landing in Italy in World War II, said during the debate, ''A stigma has haunted Japanese-Americans for the past 45 years.''
After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Mr. Matsunaga was detained with other Japanese-Americans at Camp McCoy, Wis., although he was a second lieutenant in the Army and a company commander. He and other internees petitioned President Roosevelt to give them a chance to serve. They were allowed to form the 100th Infantry Battalion, which became one of the most highly decorated in American military history.
Mr. Matsunaga's Democratic colleague from Hawaii, Daniel K. Inouye, served in the 442d Infantry Regimental Combat Team, a group of Japanese-American enlisted men who served under white officers. He lost his right arm fighting in Italy and was awarded a Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts. Sorrow Across the Years
Tears rose in Mr. Matsunaga's eyes as he recalled the internment camp incident. As Mr. Matsunaga faltered, Senator Stevens came to his rescue while Senator Matsunaga regained his composure and sipped a glass of water.
Those interned in camps behind barbed wire, Senator Stevens said, were ''people who had done no wrong at all.'' He told the Senate that the proposed compensation of $20,000 for each surviving internee was appropriate.
The Senate defeated amendments offered by conservatives concerned about the measure's cost, which has been estimated at $1.3 billion over five years.
The Reagan Admininistration has said it would support the bill if some modifications were made, such as excluding restitution to people who relocated, or sought relocation, in countries at war with the United States.
The Administration wants language to be clear that the payments are to go to living people only, and wants the payments spread out to $125 million a year for 10 years.