Fred Korematsu Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2021

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 181 To posthumously award a Congressional Gold Medal to Fred Korematsu, in recognition of his dedication to justice and equality. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES FEBRUARY 2, 2021 Ms. HIRONO (for herself, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. BENNET, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. CASEY, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Mr. DURBIN, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. MERKLEY, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. OSSOFF, Ms. ROSEN, Ms. SMITH, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. WARNER, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, and Mr. WYDEN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs A BILL To posthumously award a Congressional Gold Medal to Fred Korematsu, in recognition of his dedication to justice and equality. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fred Korematsu Con- 4 gressional Gold Medal Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Feb 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S181.IS S181 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 181 IS (1) On January 30, 1919, Fred Toyosaburo 1 Korematsu was born in Oakland, California to Japa- 2 nese immigrants. 3 (2) Fred Korematsu graduated from 4 Castlemont High School in 1937 and attempted to 5 enlist in the military twice but was unable to do so 6 because his selective service classification was 7 changed to enemy alien, even though Fred 8 Korematsu was a United States citizen. 9 (3) Fred Korematsu trained as a welder and 10 worked as a foreman at the docks in Oakland until 11 the date on which he and all Japanese Americans 12 were fired. 13 (4) On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked the 14 military base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, causing the 15 United States to declare war against Japan. 16 (5) On February 19, 1942, President Franklin 17 D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 (7 Fed. 18 Reg. 1407 (February 25, 1942)), which authorized 19 the Secretary of War to prescribe military areas— 20 (A) from which any or all people could be 21 excluded; and 22 (B) with respect to which, the right of any 23 person to enter, remain in, or leave would be 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Feb 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S181.IS S181 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 181 IS subject to any restriction the Military Com- 1 mander imposed in his discretion. 2 (6) On May 3, 1942, the Lieutenant General of 3 the Western Command of the Army issued Civilian 4 Exclusion Order 34 (May 3, 1942) (referred to in 5 this Act as the ‘‘Civilian Exclusion Order’’) directing 6 that all people of Japanese ancestry be removed 7 from designated areas of the West Coast after May 8 9, 1942, because people of Japanese ancestry in the 9 designated areas were considered to pose a threat to 10 national security. 11 (7) Fred Korematsu refused to comply with the 12 Civilian Exclusion Order and was arrested on May 13 30, 1942. 14 (8) After his arrest, Fred Korematsu— 15 (A) was held for 21⁄2 months in the Pre- 16 sidio stockade in San Francisco, California; 17 (B) was convicted on September 8, 1942, 18 of violating the Civilian Exclusion Order and 19 sentenced to 5 years of probation; and 20 (C) was detained at Tanforan Assembly 21 Center, a former horse racetrack used as a 22 holding facility for Japanese Americans before 23 he was exiled with his family to the Topaz in- 24 carceration camp in the State of Utah. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Feb 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S181.IS S181 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 181 IS (9) More than 120,000 Japanese Americans 1 were similarly detained, with no charges brought and 2 without due process, in 10 permanent War Reloca- 3 tion Authority camps and other temporary camps lo- 4 cated in the States of Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, 5 California, Colorado, Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming, 6 many in isolated areas. 7 (10) The people of the United States subject to 8 the Civilian Exclusion Order lost their homes, liveli- 9 hoods, and the freedoms guaranteed to all people of 10 the United States. 11 (11) Fred Korematsu unsuccessfully challenged 12 the Civilian Exclusion Order as it applied to him 13 and appealed the decision of the United States Dis- 14 trict Court to the United States Court of Appeals 15 for the Ninth Circuit, which sustained his conviction. 16 (12) Fred Korematsu was subsequently con- 17 fined with his family in the incarceration camp in 18 Topaz, Utah, for 2 years, and during that time, 19 Fred Korematsu appealed his conviction to the Su- 20 preme Court of the United States. 21 (13) On December 18, 1944, the Supreme 22 Court of the United States issued Korematsu v. 23 United States, 323 U.S. 214 (1944), which— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Feb 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S181.IS S181 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 181 IS (A) upheld the conviction of Fred 1 Korematsu by a vote of 6 to 3; and 2 (B) concluded that Fred Korematsu was 3 removed from his home not based on hostility 4 toward him or other Japanese Americans but 5 because the United States was at war with 6 Japan and the military feared a Japanese inva- 7 sion of the West Coast. 8 (14) In his dissenting opinion, Justice Frank 9 Murphy called the Civilian Exclusion Order the ‘‘le- 10 galization of racism’’. 11 (15) Two other Supreme Court Justices dis- 12 sented from the majority decision in Korematsu v. 13 United States, including Justice Jackson, who de- 14 scribed the validation of the principle of racial dis- 15 crimination as a ‘‘loaded weapon, ready for the hand 16 of any authority that can bring forward a plausible 17 claim of an urgent need’’. 18 (16) Fred Korematsu continued to maintain his 19 innocence for decades following World War II, and 20 his conviction hampered his ability to gain employ- 21 ment. 22 (17) In 1982, legal historian Peter Irons and 23 researcher Aiko Yoshinaga-Herzig gained access to 24 Government documents under section 552 of title 5, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Feb 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S181.IS S181 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 181 IS United States Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Free- 1 dom of Information Act’’), that indicate that while 2 the case of Fred Korematsu was before the Supreme 3 Court of the United States, the Government misled 4 the Supreme Court of the United States and sup- 5 pressed findings that Japanese Americans on the 6 West Coast were not security threats. 7 (18) In light of the newly discovered informa- 8 tion, Fred Korematsu filed a writ of error coram 9 nobis with the United States District Court for the 10 Northern District of California, and on November 11 10, 1983, United States District Judge Marilyn Hall 12 Patel issued her decision in Korematsu v. United 13 States, 584 F. Supp. 1406 (N.D. Cal. 1984), that— 14 (A) overturned the Federal conviction of 15 Fred Korematsu; 16 (B) concluded that, at the time that senior 17 Government officials presented their case before 18 the Supreme Court of the United States in 19 1944, the senior Government officials knew 20 there was no factual basis for the claim of mili- 21 tary necessity for the Civil Exclusion Order; 22 (C) acknowledged that ‘‘the government 23 knowingly withheld information from the courts 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Feb 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S181.IS S181 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 181 IS when they were considering the critical question 1 of military necessity’’ in the original case; 2 (D) recognized that ‘‘there is substantial 3 support in the record that the government de- 4 liberately omitted relevant information and pro- 5 vided misleading information in papers before 6 the court. The information was critical to the 7 court’s determination’’; and 8 (E) stated that although the decision of 9 the Supreme Court of the United States in 10 Korematsu v. United States, 323 U.S. 214 11 (1944), remains on the pages of United States 12 legal and political history, ‘‘[a]s historical 13 precedent it stands as a constant caution that 14 in times of war or declared military necessity 15 our institutions must be vigilant in protecting 16 constitutional guarantees’’. 17 (19) The Commission on Wartime Relocation 18 and Internment of Civilians, authorized by Congress 19 in 1980 to review the facts and circumstances sur- 20 rounding the relocation and incarceration of Japa- 21 nese Americans under Executive Order 9066 (7 Fed. 22 Reg. 1407 (February 25, 1942)), concluded that— 23 (A) the decision of the Supreme Court of 24 the United States in Korematsu v. United 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Feb 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S181.IS S181 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 181 IS States, 323 U.S. 214 (1944), is overruled by 1 the court of history; 2 (B) a grave personal injustice was done to 3 the United States citizens and resident aliens of 4 Japanese ancestry who, without individual re- 5 view or any probative evidence against them, 6 were excluded, removed, and detained by the 7 United States during World War II; and 8 (C) the exclusion, removal, and detention 9 of United States citizens and resident aliens of 10 Japanese ancestry were motivated largely by 11 ‘‘racial prejudice, wartime hysteria, and a fail- 12 ure of political leadership’’. 13 (20) The overturning of the conviction of Fred 14 Korematsu and the findings of the Commission on 15 Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians in- 16 fluenced the decision by Congress to pass the Civil 17 Liberties Act of 1988 (50 U.S.C. 4211 et seq.) to 18 request a Presidential apology and the symbolic pay- 19 ment of compensation to people of Japanese ances- 20 try who lost liberty or property due to discriminatory 21 actions of the Federal Government. 22 (21) On August 10, 1988, President Reagan 23 signed the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 (50 U.S.C. 24 4211 et seq.), stating, ‘‘[H]ere we admit a wrong; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Feb 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S181.IS S181 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 181 IS here we reaffirm our commitment as a nation to 1 equal justice under the law.’’. 2 (22) On January 15, 1998, President Clinton 3 awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the 4 highest civilian award of the United States, to Fred 5 Korematsu, stating, ‘‘[i]n the long history of our 6 country’s constant search for justice, some names of 7 ordinary citizens stand for millions of souls: Plessy, 8 Brown, Parks. To that distinguished list, today we 9 add the name of Fred Korematsu.’’. 10 (23) Fred Korematsu remained a tireless advo- 11 cate for civil liberties and justice throughout his life 12 by— 13 (A) speaking out against racial discrimina- 14 tion and violence; and 15 (B) cautioning the Government against re- 16 peating mistakes of the past that singled out in- 17 dividuals for heightened scrutiny on the basis of 18 race, ethnicity, nationality, or religion. 19 (24) On March 30, 2005, Fred Korematsu died 20 at the age of 86 in Marin County, California. 21 (25) Fred Korematsu is a role model for all 22 people of the United States who love the United 23 States and the promises contained in the Constitu- 24 tion of the United States, and the strength and per- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Feb 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S181.IS S181 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 181 IS severance of Fred Korematsu serve as an inspiration 1 for all people who strive for equality and justice. 2 SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 3 (a) AWARD AUTHORIZED.—The President pro tem- 4 pore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Rep- 5 resentatives shall make appropriate arrangements for the 6 posthumous award, on behalf of Congress, of a gold medal 7 of appropriate design to Fred Korematsu, in recognition 8 of his contributions to civil rights, his loyalty and patriot- 9 ism to the United States, and his dedication to justice and 10 equality. 11 (b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For the purposes of the 12 award referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the 13 Treasury (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall 14 strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, devices, and 15 inscriptions to be determined by the Secretary. 16 (c) SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.— 17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Following the award of the 18 gold medal in honor of Fred Korematsu under sub- 19 section (a), the gold medal shall be given to the 20 Smithsonian Institution, where it will be available 21 for display as appropriate and made available for re- 22 search. 23 (2) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 24 Congress that the Smithsonian Institution should 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Feb 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S181.IS S181 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 181 IS make the gold medal received under subparagraph 1 (1) available for— 2 (A) display, particularly at the National 3 Portrait Gallery; or 4 (B) loan, as appropriate, so that the medal 5 may be displayed elsewhere. 6 SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 7 Under regulations that the Secretary may promul- 8 gate, the Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 9 bronze of the gold medals struck under this Act, at a price 10 sufficient to cover the cost of the medals, including labor, 11 materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses. 12 SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS. 13 (a) NATIONAL MEDALS.—Medals struck under this 14 Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 51 of title 15 31, United States Code. 16 (b) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of section 17 5134 of title 31, United States Code, all medals struck 18 under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic items. 19 SEC. 6. AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS; PROCEEDS OF 20 SALE. 21 (a) AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS.—There is 22 authorized to be charged against the United States Mint 23 Public Enterprise Fund, such amounts as may be nec- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Feb 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S181.IS S181 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 181 IS essary to pay for the costs of the medals struck pursuant 1 to this Act. 2 (b) PROCEEDS OF SALE.—Amounts received from the 3 sale of duplicate bronze medals authorized under section 4 4 shall be deposited into the United States Mint Public 5 Enterprise Fund. 6 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Feb 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]