§4143 Payment of Awards; Priorities; Limitations

Summary

The Secretary of the Treasury must pay awards from the War Claims Fund in a set order. First, the highest-priority awards are paid in full. Next, awards to claimants certified as small businesses at the time of loss or found to be nonprofit groups for social, religious, charitable, or educational purposes are paid in full. After that, other awards are paid out in equal amounts to each claimant or up to the award amount, whichever is less, with total payments on any such award not to exceed $10,000. Then similar equal payments are made to individuals and corporations not already fully paid, with total payments on any such award capped at $35,000. Finally, the remaining unpaid award balances (including recertified awards) are paid pro rata, so each unpaid award gets a share based on how much money is available compared to the total unpaid balances. No payment can exceed an award’s unpaid balance. Payments already made on certain Hungarian awards count toward this, and recertified Hungarian awards won’t get more until the distribution rate on the main awards is higher; recertified awards are limited to 40% of their amount. Payments and applications follow Treasury rules. For most purposes, an “award” means all awards certified for the same person. If a claimant is dead or legally disabled, the legal representative is paid. If the amount is $1,000 or less and there is no executor or administrator, Treasury may pay whoever it finds entitled without full estate proceedings. A partial payment does not erase a claimant’s rights against a foreign government for the unpaid part. Payments for losses in the Commonwealth of the Philippines cannot exceed the amount paid for similar awards under the Philippine Rehabilitation Act of 1946.