Fred Korematsu Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 924 To award posthumously a Congressional Gold Medal to Fred Korematsu, in recognition of his contributions to civil rights, his loyalty and patriot- ism to the Nation, and his dedication to justice and equality. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 30, 2019 Mr. TAKANO introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on House Administration, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speak- er, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the ju- risdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To award posthumously a Congressional Gold Medal to Fred Korematsu, in recognition of his contributions to civil rights, his loyalty and patriotism to the Nation, and 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 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 The Congress finds the following: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:17 Feb 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H924.IH H924 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 924 IH (1) On January 30, 1919, Fred Toyosaburo 1 Korematsu was born in Oakland, California, to Jap- 2 anese 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 23:17 Feb 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H924.IH H924 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 924 IH 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 preamble as the ‘‘Civilian Exclusion Order’’) di- 6 recting that all people of Japanese ancestry be re- 7 moved from designated areas of the West Coast 8 after May 9, 1942, because people of Japanese an- 9 cestry in the designated areas were considered to 10 pose a threat to 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 21:01 Feb 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H924.IH H924 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 924 IH (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 located in isolated desert areas 4 of the States of Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colo- 5 rado, Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming. 6 (10) The people of the United States subject to 7 the Civilian Exclusion Order lost their homes, liveli- 8 hoods, and the freedoms guaranteed to all people of 9 the United States. 10 (11) Fred Korematsu unsuccessfully challenged 11 the Civilian Exclusion Order as it applied to him 12 and appealed the decision of the United States Dis- 13 trict Court to the United States Court of Appeals 14 for the Ninth Circuit, which sustained his conviction. 15 (12) Fred Korematsu was subsequently con- 16 fined with his family in the incarceration camp in 17 Topaz, Utah, for 2 years, and during that time, 18 Fred Korematsu appealed his conviction to the Su- 19 preme Court of the United States. 20 (13) On December 18, 1944, the Supreme 21 Court of the United States issued Korematsu v. 22 United States, 323 U.S. 214 (1944), which— 23 (A) upheld the conviction of Fred 24 Korematsu by a vote of 6 to 3; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:17 Feb 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H924.IH H924 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 924 IH (B) concluded that Fred Korematsu was 1 removed from his home not based on hostility 2 toward him or other Japanese Americans but 3 because the United States was at war with 4 Japan and the military feared a Japanese inva- 5 sion of the West Coast. 6 (14) In his dissenting opinion in Korematsu v. 7 United States, 323 U.S. 214 (1944), Justice Frank 8 Murphy called the Civilian Exclusion Order the ‘‘le- 9 galization of racism’’. 10 (15) Two other Supreme Court Justices dis- 11 sented from the majority decision in Korematsu v. 12 United States, including Justice Jackson who de- 13 scribed the validation of the principle of racial dis- 14 crimination as a ‘‘loaded weapon, ready for the hand 15 of any authority that can bring forward a plausible 16 claim of an urgent need’’. 17 (16) Fred Korematsu continued to maintain his 18 innocence for decades following World War II, and 19 his conviction hampered his ability to gain employ- 20 ment. 21 (17) In 1982, legal historian Peter Irons and 22 researcher Aiko Yoshinaga-Herzig gained access to 23 Government documents under section 552 of title 5, 24 United States Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Free- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:17 Feb 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H924.IH H924 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 924 IH dom of Information Act’’), that indicate that while 1 the case of Fred Korematsu was before the Supreme 2 Court of the United States, the Federal Government 3 misled the Supreme Court of the United States and 4 suppressed findings that Japanese Americans on the 5 West Coast were not security threats. 6 (18) In light of the newly discovered informa- 7 tion, Fred Korematsu filed a writ of error coram 8 nobis with the United States District Court for the 9 Northern District of California, and on November 10 10, 1983, United States District Judge Marilyn Hall 11 Patel issued her decision in Korematsu v. United 12 States, 584 F. Supp. 1406 (N.D. Cal. 1984), that— 13 (A) overturned the conviction of Fred 14 Korematsu; 15 (B) concluded that, at the time that senior 16 Government officials presented their case before 17 the Supreme Court of the United States in 18 1944, the senior Government officials knew 19 there was no factual basis for the claim of mili- 20 tary necessity for the Civil Exclusion Order; 21 (C) acknowledged that ‘‘the government 22 knowingly withheld information from the courts 23 when they were considering the critical question 24 of military necessity’’ in the original case; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:17 Feb 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H924.IH H924 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 924 IH (D) recognized that ‘‘there is substantial 1 support in the record that the government de- 2 liberately omitted relevant information and pro- 3 vided misleading information in papers before 4 the court. The information was critical to the 5 court’s determination’’; and 6 (E) stated that although the decision of 7 the Supreme Court of the United States in 8 Korematsu v. United States, 323 U.S. 214 9 (1944), remains on the pages of United States 10 legal and political history, ‘‘[a]s historical 11 precedent it stands as a constant caution that 12 in times of war or declared military necessity 13 our institutions must be vigilant in protecting 14 constitutional guarantees’’. 15 (19) The Commission on Wartime Relocation 16 and Internment of Civilians, authorized by Congress 17 in 1980 to review the facts and circumstances sur- 18 rounding the relocation and incarceration of Japa- 19 nese Americans under Executive Order 9066 (7 Fed. 20 Reg. 1407 (February 25, 1942)), concluded that— 21 (A) the decision of the Supreme Court of 22 the United States in Korematsu v. United 23 States, 323 U.S. 214 (1944), is overruled by 24 the court of history; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:17 Feb 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H924.IH H924 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 924 IH (B) a grave personal injustice was done to 1 the United States citizens and resident aliens of 2 Japanese ancestry who, without individual re- 3 view or any probative evidence against them, 4 were excluded, removed, and detained by the 5 United States during World War II; and 6 (C) the exclusion, removal, and detention 7 of United States citizens and resident aliens of 8 Japanese ancestry was motivated largely by 9 ‘‘racial prejudice, wartime hysteria, and a fail- 10 ure of political leadership’’. 11 (20) The overturning of the conviction of Fred 12 Korematsu and the findings of the Commission on 13 Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians in- 14 fluenced the decision by Congress to pass the Civil 15 Liberties Act of 1988 (50 U.S.C. 4211 et seq.) to 16 request a Presidential apology and the symbolic pay- 17 ment of compensation to people of Japanese ances- 18 try who lost liberty or property due to discriminatory 19 actions of the Federal Government. 20 (21) On August 10, 1988, President Reagan 21 signed the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 (50 U.S.C. 22 4211 et seq.), stating, ‘‘[H]ere we admit a wrong; 23 here we reaffirm our commitment as a nation to 24 equal justice under the law.’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:17 Feb 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H924.IH H924 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 924 IH (22) On January 15, 1998, President Clinton 1 awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the 2 highest civilian award of the United States, to Fred 3 Korematsu, stating, ‘‘[i]n the long history of our 4 country’s constant search for justice, some names of 5 ordinary citizens stand for millions of souls: Plessy, 6 Brown, Parks. To that distinguished list, today we 7 add the name of Fred Korematsu.’’. 8 (23) Fred Korematsu remained a tireless advo- 9 cate for civil liberties and justice throughout his life 10 by— 11 (A) speaking out against racial discrimina- 12 tion and violence; and 13 (B) cautioning the Federal Government 14 against repeating mistakes of the past that sin- 15 gled out individuals for heightened scrutiny on 16 the basis of race, ethnicity, nationality, or reli- 17 gion. 18 (24) On March 30, 2005, Fred Korematsu died 19 at the age of 86 in Marin County, California. 20 (25) Fred Korematsu is a role model for all 21 people of the United States who love the United 22 States and the promises contained in the Constitu- 23 tion of the United States, and the strength and per- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:17 Feb 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H924.IH H924 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •HR 924 IH 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) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 4 the House of Representatives and the President pro tem- 5 pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 6 for the posthumous presentation, on behalf of Congress, 7 of a gold medal of appropriate design in commemoration 8 to Fred Korematsu, in recognition of his contributions to 9 civil rights, his loyalty and patriotism to the Nation, and 10 his dedication to justice and equality. 11 (b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For the purposes of the 12 presentation referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary 13 of the Treasury (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Sec- 14 retary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, 15 devices, and inscriptions to be determined by the Sec- 16 retary. 17 (c) SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.— 18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Following the award of the 19 gold medal under subsection (a), the gold medal 20 shall be given to the Smithsonian Institution, where 21 it shall be available for display as appropriate and 22 made available for research. 23 (2) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 24 Congress that the Smithsonian Institution shall 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:17 Feb 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H924.IH H924 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •HR 924 IH make the gold medal received under paragraph (1) 1 available for— 2 (A) display, particularly at the National 3 Portrait Gallery; and 4 (B) loan, as appropriate, so that the medal 5 may be displayed elsewhere. 6 SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 7 The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 8 bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 3 9 under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, at 10 a price sufficient to cover the cost thereof, including labor, 11 materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses, 12 and the cost of the gold medal. 13 SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS. 14 (a) NATIONAL MEDALS.—The medals struck pursu- 15 ant to this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 16 51 of title 31, United States Code. 17 (b) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of section 18 5134 of title 31, United States Code, all medals struck 19 under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic items. 20 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:17 Feb 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H924.IH H924 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS