The Legislature hereby finds and determines that loans made for the purpose of assisting land claimants under the Omnibus Territories Act of
1977 (48 U.S.C. § 1424c) are of such vital need to the economy of Guam
as to warrant additional risk and subsidies not normally assumed or provided in the loans and loan guarantees allowed by the Corporation. The factors creating such vital need include, but are not limited to, the following:

(a) That, a very substantial percentage of the lands in Guam are owned by the government of the United States, having been taken from the former owners through proceedings in eminent domain, or under threat of eminent domain, following World War II. By passage of the Omnibus Territories Act of 1977, the Congress of the United States granted to the District Court of Guam authority and jurisdiction to review claims of persons, their heirs or legatees, from whom interests in land on Guam were acquired by the United States between July 21, 1944 and August 23, 1963, other than through judicial condemnation proceedings in which the issue of compensation was adjudicated in a contested trial in the District Court of Guam;

(b) That, the taking of said lands adversely affect nearly every family in Guam. These takings completely changed the lifestyle and

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economy of Guam from a series of self-sustaining agricultural communities to a cash economy, wherein it became necessary for the population to obtain cash income to provide for their livelihood;

(c) That, as a result of the military government of Guam, and its limiting effect upon the economy of Guam and the commercial activities of its citizens, the prices paid for land by the United States under eminent domain proceedings during this period are believed by the former landowners, and the general population of Guam, to have been much too low and thereby very unfair;

(d) That, as a result of the foregoing problems of military government and economic deprivations of the population of Guam, approximately one thousand (1,000) families have filed claims in the District Court of Guam for additional compensation for their lands taken between July 21, 1944 and August 23, 1963. Some of these cases have been under litigation as long as four (4) years. That, because of the large number of cases, and the large number of families affected, there has been a serious and adverse effect upon the economy of Guam and the well-being of its citizens. Additionally, the costs of processing this litigation are beyond the means of most of the citizens of Guam who are entitled to relief under the provisions of the Omnibus Territories Act of 1977, and there is a widespread public need throughout Guam that loan funds be made available to assist in the disposition of the litigation for the general welfare of this Territory;

(e) That, the result of a successful conclusion of the land claims cases will be the payment of large sums of money to the people of Guam for the deprivation of their property without the payment of adequate consideration, and the availability of these funds to the claimants will benefit all of Guam by reducing dependency on social programs; by allowing Guamanian families to provide advanced and technical education for their children; by providing Guamanians capital for business ventures in Guam; by expanding the supply of money available in the territory of Guam; and will generally benefit the economic future of Guam in a very large measure; and

(f) That, it is in the public interest, and sound public policy, for every assistance to be provided by the government of Guam to these

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land claimants who have suffered hardship so long, through no fault of their own, by the loss of their property to assist the military forces of the United States for the benefit of Guam.

SOURCE: GC §53610, as added by P.L. 16-111.