House Rules Committee Blocks H.R. 44 Again

Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo today announced that the House Committee on Rules has prevented the text of H.R. 44, the Guam World War II Loyalty Recognition Act, from being considered as an amendment to H.R. 4310, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2013. Therefore, Guam war claims will not be included in the FY13 NDAA, which the House is expected to vote on tomorrow.

Congresswoman Bordallo’s amendment, designated Amendment #45, included the text of H.R. 44 as well as an offset to address Republican concerns about the cost of the bill. Her proposal would offset the cost of war claims using only additional Section 30 funds received above FY12 levels that are derived from additional military forces on Guam due to the build-up. The recent Memorandum of Agreement between the IRS and the Department of Defense provides for the cover over of taxes from all rotational (UDP) and permanently-stationed Marines who are expected on Guam as part of the military realignment in the Pacific. This agreement will increase the amount of available Section 30 funds.

During a closed-door meeting of the Rules Committee last night, Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts spoke in support of Amendment #45 and requested a recorded vote for its inclusion. All Republicans, however, voted against the measure to block its consideration on the House floor. Republican leadership raised concerns that H.R. 44 had not gone through regular order in the House Committee on Natural Resources, where the bill was referred shortly after introduction in the 112th Congress. War claims was not included in the FY12 NDAA due to similar procedural concerns.

“I am disappointed the Republican-led Rules Committee has once again prevented H.R. 44 from a vote on the House floor as an amendment to the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2013,” said Congresswoman Bordallo. “Since last year, I have worked with the House Natural Resources Committee to hold a hearing on H.R. 44, which occurred in July, to address any concerns, and move the bill forward. I have identified an offset, pursuant to the Resources Committee’s request; however, it has yet to be included in a mark-up that will allow it to move out of Resources for further consideration in the House. It is time for this Congress to afford the people of Guam the right to have an up or down vote on this important legislation.

“Despite this setback, I would like to thank my colleagues, Resources Ranking Member Edward Markey and Congressman McGovern, for their efforts in working to include H.R. 44 in the NDAA.  I appreciate their continued support, and I will seek every opportunity to bring war claims to the floor, either as stand-alone legislation or as an amendment to another bill.”