The Office of Alien Property has no information concerning the number of persons who would be made eligible for the return of vested property by the proposed amendment to the second proviso of section 32 (a) (2) (D). However, it is no doubt insubstantial in relation to the total number of persons whose assets have been vested. Furthermore, it appears that the beneficiaries of the bill would consist for the most part of former enemy nationals who have been fortunate enough to be admitted to this country under circumstances permitting their naturalization. Thus, the bill would prefer them over former enemy owners of vested property who have not emigrated and those who have migrated to countries other than the United States. There appears to be no basis for this preference. The bill is open to the construction that it would repeal the terminal date of September 29, 1950, mentioned above and substitute the date of its own enactment. If this construction were adopted, the bill would make new numbers of persons eligible to claim return by virtue of reacquisition after September 29, 1950, of American citizenship once lost by marriage. There would appear to be no reason for this result and, if enacted, the bill should be amended to retain the September 29, 1950, date. Section 33 of the Trading With the Enemy Act, when originally enacted on August 8, 1946, limited the time for filing claims for return to 2 years from vesting or 2 years from the date of enactment, whichever was later. The section was amended on July 1, 1948, to extend the time for filing to April 30, 1949, or 2 years from the date of vesting, whichever was later. A further extension of time was enacted on February 9, 1954, to permit filing within 1 year from that date or 2 years from the date of vesting, whichever was later. The Office of Alien Property has received a substantial number of inquiries from persons claiming eligibility under the existing provisions of section 32 (a) (2) (D) who did not file claims for the return of vested property within the statutory period now prescribed by section 33. It appears that even apart from the time limitation on the filing of claims, all but a small portion of these persons are ineligible for return under present law and are not in the new category proposed by the subject bill. Consequently, it seems clear that lifting the bar of section 33 as proposed by the bill would result, for the most part, in the filing of claims which could not be allowed. These claims would entail a considerable amount of work on the part of the Office of Alien Property in processing them for disallowance and would appreciably delay the termination of its work. On the other hand, it would result in the return of vested property to only a small number of persons. For the reasons set forth above the Department of Justice is unable to recommend the enactment of the bill. The Bureau of the Budget has advised that there is no objection to the submission of this report. Sincerely, Hon. J. PERCY PRIEST, WILLIAM P. ROGERS, Deputy Attorney General. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, Chairman, Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: This is in response to your request for the views of the Department of Justice concerning the bill (S. 1146) to further amend section 20 of the Trading With the Enemy Act, relating to fees of agents, attorneys, and representatives. As you know, this legislation was introduced in the Senate as S. 1146 and in the House as H. R. 3460 at the request of the Attorney General for the reasons set forth in identical letters to the Vice President and to the Speaker dated January 27, 1955. On March 19, 1956, S. 1146 passed the Senate without any substantive changes. Attached for ready reference is a copy of the Attorney General's letter to the Speaker. In view of the noncontroversial nature of this legislation, it is hoped that your committee may give it early and favorable consideration. Sincerely, THE SPEAKER, House of Representatives, Washington, D. C. WILLIAM P. ROGERS, Deputy Attorney General. OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL, DEAR MR. SPEAKER: There is attached for your consideration and appropriate action a legislative proposal to further amend section 20 of the Trading With the Enemy Act, relating to fees of agents, attorneys, and representatives. With respect to certain claims for returns or payments under the Trading With the Enemy Act, as amended, the President or his designee is required to make a determination that the individual fees paid to attorneys or other representatives of claimants "do not exceed fair compensation for the services rendered and that the aggregate of the fees does not exceed 10 per centum of the value of such property or interest or proceeds or of such payment" (60 Stat. 54; 50 U. S. C. App. 20). The attached proposal, which this Department recommends be enacted, while retaining the 10 percent ceiling on the aggregate of the fees would eliminate the requirement of determining that the individual fees do not exceed fair compensation. The required examination into individual fees has proved to be an extremely onerous burden which serves no useful purpose. Not only has experience shown that in the vast majority of cases the fees requested have been fair, but the 10 percent ceiling which would remain on the aggregate of the fees would continue to serve as a guard against unreasonable individual fees, since most claims involve relatively small amounts. Where substantial amounts are involved, claimants can secure competent independent opinions as to the reasonableness of fees and do not require governmental assistance or protection. Furthermore, there would seem to be no reason why claimants under the Trading With the Enemy Act should be afforded a protection not accorded to any other claimants against the United States. The early introduction of this proposal would be appreciated. The Bureau of the Budget has advised that there is no objection to the submission of this recommendation. Chairman, Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, House of Representatives, Washington, D. C. MY DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: This is in reply to your letter of March 22, 1956, requesting the views of this Bureau with respect to S. 1146, a bill to further amend section 20 of the Trading With the Enemy Act, relating to fees of agents, attorneys, and representatives. For the reasons given in the Attorney General's letter transmitting the draft bill which was introduced as S. 1146, the Bureau of the Budget recommends that your committee give favorable consideration to that bill. Sincerely yours, PERCY RAPPAPORT, Assistant Director. TREASURY DEPARTMENT. Washington, D. C., June 5, 1956. Hon. J. PERCY PRIEST, Chairman, Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, MY DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: Reference is made to your request for the views of this Department on S. 2226 entitled "To authorize the Attorney General to dispose of the remaining assets seized under the Trading With the Enemy Act prior to December 18, 1941." The bill would provide for closing out the administration of World War I assets by the Office of Alien Property. (1) It would transfer certain unclaimed funds to miscellaneous receipts and would provide, in the case of funds held for claimants from specified countries, that the claimants would have 2 years during which they might begin judicial proceedings for recovery of the amount of their claims. (2) It would transfer to Treasury the remaining proceeds from the liquidation of certain assets of the Austro-Hungarian Bank. These proceeds are now held by the Department of Justice for the accounts of Czechoslovakia, Poland, and Rumania. The portion held for the account of Rumania would be deposited in the Rumanian Claims Fund to be distributed among Americans having claims against Rumania in accordance with Public Law 285, 84th Congress (69 Stat. 562). The remaining portions would be held in accounts blocked under Executive Order 8389 of April 10, 1940, as amended. (3) It would also transfer to the Treasury certain assets to be liquidated or to be held pending ultimate disposition. The Treasury recommends favorable consideration for this bill. The Department has been advised by the Bureau of the Budget that there is no objection to the submission of this report to your committee. Very truly yours, W. RANDOLPH BURGESS, Acting Secretary of the Treasury. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, Hon. J. PERCY PRIEST, BUREAU OF THE BUDGET, Washington, D. C.. June 6, 1956. Chairman, House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, House of Representatives, Washington D. C. MY DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: This refers to your letter of May 24, 1956, requesting the comments of the Bureau of the Budget on S. 2226, a bill to authorize the Attorney General to dispose of the remaining assets seized under the Trading With the Enemy Act prior to December 18, 1941. With the exception of two amendments, S. 2226 is identical to H. R. 6909 and H. R. 6921 on which the Bureau favorably commented in our respective letters of July 6, 1955, and March 14, 1956. The amendments provide (1) that remaining proceeds acquired from Rumanian assets seized prior to December 18, 1941, be transferred to the Treasury and deposited to the Rumanian Claims Fund to be distributed among Americans having claims against Rumania in accordance with Public Law 285, 84th Congress, and (2) that certain unclaimed funds be transferred to the Treasury and placed in miscellaneous receipts and held for claimants from specified countries, provided that claimants would have 2 years to begin judicial proceedings for recovery of the amount of their claims. The Department of Justice has recently made a favorable report to your committee on S. 2226. For the reasons set out in that report and our previous letters on H. R. 6909 and H. R. 6921, the Bureau of the Budget recommends enactment of S. 2226. Sincerely yours, PERCY RAPPOPORT, Assistant Director. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, D. C., June 5, 1956. DEAR MR. PRIEST: Further reference is made to your letter of May 24, 1956, in which you requested a report on S. 2226, as amended by the Senate, which is now before your committee for consideration. The bill authorizes the Attorney General to dispose of the remaining assets seized under the Trading With the Enemy Act prior to December 18, 1941. S. 2226 as originally introduced in the Senate was identical to H. R. 6909 and H. R. 6971. The Department's comments on the latter two bills were contained in letters to you of July 13, 1955, and February 27, 1956, respectively. There fore, our comments will be confined to the two amendments to the bill adopted by the Senate. In the first place subsection (c) was amended to provide that the portion of the funds credited on the books of the Attorney General in trust No. 6179 belonging to Rumania would be covered by the Secretary of the Treasury into the Rumanian claims fund created by section 302 of the International Claims Settlement Act of 1949, as amended, for disbursement under section 309 of that act. The Department interposes no objections to this amendment. The second amendment related to subsection (d) of the bill which deals with the funds credited on the books of the Attorney General in accounts designated as Trust Nos. 47675, 47677, and 47687. The bill as originally introduced provided that the funds in these accounts be carried with the Treasury in the names of persons certified to the Secretary of the Treasury by the Attorney General to be the claimants thereto. Provision was also made for such claimants to file claims with the Secretary of the Treasury in order to recover the funds in their names. The amendment adopted by the Senate provides for the transfer of the funds in these accounts to the miscellaneous receipts of the Treasury and gives any person having any claims to the funds so transferred the right to file an action in the District Court of the United States for the District of Columbia within a period of 2 years for the recovery of the funds so claimed. While this amendment is not in accord with the procedures adopted in Public Law 285, 84th Congress, the Department is not disposed to interpose objection thereto in view of the small amount of funds involved in the claims and the length of time during which the claims could have been asserted. The Department has been informed by the Bureau of the Budget that there is no objection to the submission of this report. Sincerely yours, Hon. J. PERCY PRIEST, Chairman, Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: This is in response to your request for the views of the Department of Justice concerning S. 2226 to authorize the Attorney General to dispose of the remaining assets seized under the Trading With the Enemy Act prior to December 18, 1941. S. 2226 and its companion, H. R. 6909, were introduced pursuant to requests of the Attorney General in identical letters to the Vice President and the Speaker dated June 7, 1955. The purpose of the bills is to permit the Department of Justice to terminate its administration of the remaining amount of the assets originally seized by the World War I Alien Property Custodian. Background information and an analysis of the proposed legislation are contained in the explanatory statement which accompanied the Attorney General's letter of June 7, 1955. The Senate passed S. 2226 on May 21, 1956, with amendments to sections 1 (c) and 1 (d). Section 1 (c) as originally drafted directed in the Attorney General to transfer certain funds of the Czechoslovakian, Polish, and Rumanian Governments to the Treasury to be carried in blocked acounts. Subsequent to the introduction of S. 2226 the Rumanian Government funds, amounting to $87,294.12, became subject to vesting and transfer to the Rumanian claims fund in the Treasury under Public Law 285, 84th Congress (69 Stat. 562), amending the International Claims Settlement Act of 1949. Public Law 285 provides that the Rumanian claims fund shall be the source of compensation for Americans who have claims against Rumania. In order to obviate the necessity of transferring the sum of $87,294.12 to a blocked account in the Treasury in the name of the Rumanian Government, vesting it and then transferring it back to the Treasury for deposit in the Rumanian claims fund, the Department of Justice suggested an amendment to section 1 (c) of S. 2226 which was adopted by the Senate in passing the bill. This amendment would authorize the Attorney General to transfer the $87,294.12 to the Treasury for deposit directly in the Rumanian claims fund without any intermediate steps. The Senate amendment to section 1 (d) concerns funds claimed prior to World War II by various Polish, Czechoslovakian, Bulgarian, Hungarian, and Rumanian private claimants. Information has been received with respect to very few of these claimants since the end of the war and no payments have been made on their claims since their countries came under Communist control. Section 1 (d) as originally drafted would direct the Attorney General to transfer these funds to accounts in the Treasury in the names of the various claimants, to be held subject to blocking controls under Executive Order 8389, as amended. The Secretary of the Treasury would be authorized to approve claims to the funds at such time as proof could be made, subject to any restrictions in existence pursuant to Executive Order 8389, as amended. The Senate amendment to section 1 (d) would require the Attorney General to transfer these funds to miscellaneous receipts in the Treasury and would afford claimants 2 years within which to file suits in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia to establish their claims for recovery. The Department has no objection to this amendment. It is recommended that your committee take favorable action on S. 2226 with a view to its early enactment into law. The Bureau of the Budget has advised that there is no objection to the submission of this report. Sincerely, Mr. KLEIN. We have about a half an hour. WILLIAM P. ROGERS, Deputy Attorney General. Mr. McCormack will testify here tomorrow morning on his bill. Mr. Wiener, I understand you wanted to testify on a bill. Mr. WIENER. Yes, sir. Mr. KLEIN. Can you limit yourself to 25 minutes? Mr. WIENER. I think I can finish in 20 minutes, Mr. Chairman. Mr. KLEIN. Would you stay here, Mr. Clay, and listen to this testimony and perhaps we might want to get your comments? STATEMENT OF MYRON WIENER, COUNSEL FOR THE FAR EAST GROUP, INC. Mr. WIENER. Mr. Chairman, my name is Myron Wiener. I am a lawyer with offices at Washington, D. C. We appear in favor of Congressman Younger's bill, H. R. 10549. By "we," I mean the Far East Group, Inc., for whom I am the counsel. At the outset, Mr. Chairman, I should like, if I may, to dispel some possible misapprehension which may have arisen this morning. At least I may have some misconceptions as to the testimony given. I understood Commissioner Clay to say with respect to the Burdick bill and the Younger bill, the latter being 10549, that the objections of his Commission to the latter bill were these: First, that the bill was so general and so vague, particularly with regard to definition of claim, that it would be administratively unworkable. Second, to include, as the Younger bill does, the payment to Americans of claims as a result of Japanese action in the proposed administration bill, to compensate Americans having claims as a result of German action would be to utilize German funds for the payment of Americans having claims as a result of Japanese action. On both of these points we respectfully beg to take issue. |