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Title 50, War and National DefenseRelease 119-110

§4143 Payment of Awards; Priorities; Limitations

Title 50 › CHAPTER 51 — WAR CLAIMS › SUBCHAPTER II — TITLE II OF WAR CLAIMS ACT OF 1948 › § 4143

Last updated Sep 23, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary of the Treasury must pay money from the War Claims Fund in a set order. First, full payments go to certain special awards and then to awards for small businesses certified by the Small Business Administration and to nonprofit groups run for social welfare, religion, charity, or education. Next, the remaining awards get equal partial payments, with each payment on an award not exceeding $10,000 total. After that, other awards to individuals and corporations get equal partial payments, with each award capped at $35,000 total. Any leftover money is split pro rata across the unpaid balances of all remaining awards, and no payment can be more than what is still owed. Earlier payments made on awards against the Government of Hungary that were recertified count in this step. No payment on a recertified award is made until awards in the main group have a higher percentage paid, and no recertified award payment can exceed 40% of that award. Payments and claims must follow rules the Treasury creates. For most payment steps, all awards for the same person are added together. If a claimant is dead or legally disabled, the money goes to their legal representative. If the payment is $1,000 or less and there is no executor, the Treasury can pay whoever it finds entitled. A partial payment does not cancel a claimant’s right to seek the unpaid balance from a foreign government. Payments for losses in the Commonwealth of the Philippines cannot exceed the amounts paid under the Philippine Rehabilitation Act of 1946.

Full Legal Text

Title 50, §4143

War and National Defense, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Order of priority of payments
The Secretary of the Treasury shall pay out of the War Claims Fund on account of awards certified by the Commission pursuant to this subchapter as follows and in the following order of priority:
(1)Payment in full of awards made pursuant to section 4132(d)(1) and (2) of this title, and thereafter of any award made pursuant to section 4132(a) of this title to any claimant (A) certified to the Commission by the Small Business Administration as having been, on the date of loss, damage, or destruction, a small business concern within the meaning now set forth in the Small Business Act, as amended [15 U.S.C. 631 et seq.], or (B) determined by the Commission to have been, on the date of loss, damage, or destruction, a nonprofit organization operated exclusively for the promotion of social welfare, religious, charitable, or educational purposes.
(2)Thereafter, payments from time to time on account of the other awards made pursuant to section 4132 of this title in an amount which shall be the same for each award or in the amount of the award, whichever is less. The total payment made pursuant to this paragraph on account of any award shall not exceed $10,000.
(3)Thereafter, payments from time to time on account of the other awards made to individuals and corporations pursuant to section 4132 of this title and not compensated in full under paragraph (1) or (2) of this subsection in an amount which shall be the same for each award or in the amount of the award, whichever is less. The total payment pursuant to this paragraph on account of any award shall not exceed $35,000.
(4)Thereafter, payments from time to time on account of the unpaid balance of each remaining award made pursuant to section 4132 of this title or recertified pursuant to subsection (b) of section 4139 of this title which shall bear to such unpaid balance the same proportion as the total amount in the War Claims Fund and available for distribution at the time such payments are made bears to the aggregate unpaid balances of all such awards. No payment made pursuant to this paragraph on account of any award shall exceed the unpaid balance of such award. Payments heretofore made under section 1641i of title 22, on awards made against the Government of Hungary under section 1641b(1) of title 22, and recertified under subsection (b) of section 4139 of this title, shall be considered as payments under this paragraph and no payment shall be made on any recertified award until the percentage of distribution on awards made under section 4132 of this title exceeds the corresponding percentage of distribution on such recertified award: Provided, That no payment made on awards recertified under subsection (b) of section 4139 of this title shall exceed 40 per centum of the amount of the award recertified.
(b)Regulations
Such payments, and applications for such payments, shall be made in accordance with such regulations as the Secretary of the Treasury shall prescribe.
(c)Aggregation of awards
For the purpose of making any such payments, other than under subsection (a)(1), an “award” shall be deemed to mean the aggregate of all awards certified for payment in favor of the same claimant.
(d)Death or disability of claimant
If any person to whom any payment is to be made pursuant to this subchapter is deceased or is under a legal disability, payment shall be made to his legal representative, except that if any payment to be made is not over $1,000 and there is no qualified executor or administrator, payment may be made to the person or persons found by the Secretary of the Treasury to be entitled thereto, without the necessity of compliance with the requirements of law with respect to the administration of estates.
(e)Partial payment; extinguishment of rights
Payment on account of any award pursuant to this subchapter shall not, unless such payment is for the full amount of the award, extinguish any rights against any foreign government for the unpaid balance of the award.
(f)Losses occurring in Commonwealth of the Philippines
Payments made under this section on account of any award for loss, damage, or destruction occurring in the Commonwealth of the Philippines shall not exceed the amount paid on account of awards in the same amount under the Philippine Rehabilitation Act of 1946.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The Small Business Act, as amended, referred to in subsec. (a)(1), is Pub. L. 85–536, § 2(1 et seq.), July 18, 1958, 72 Stat. 384, which is classified generally to chapter 14A (§ 631 et seq.) of Title 15, Commerce and Trade. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see

Short Title

note set out under section 631 of Title 15 and Tables. The Philippine Rehabilitation Act of 1946, referred to in subsec. (f), is act Apr. 30, 1946, ch. 243, 60 Stat. 128, which was classified to sections 1751 to 1806 of the former Appendix to this title, prior to omission from the Code as terminated. Codification Section was formerly classified to section 2017l of the former Appendix to this title prior to editorial reclassification and renumbering as this section.

Amendments

1996—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 104–316 substituted “Secretary of the Treasury” for “Comptroller General”. 1970—Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 91–571, § 1(a)(1), included payment to any claimant determined by Commission to have been, on date of loss, damage, or destruction, a nonprofit organization operated exclusively for promotion of social welfare, religious, charitable, or educational purposes. Subsec. (a)(3), (4). Pub. L. 91–571, § 1(a)(2), added par. (3) and redesignated former par. (3) as (4).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Protest Relating to Awards by Commission; Notice by Publication in Federal RegisterNotwithstanding the provisions of section 4140 and 4141 of this title receipt and consideration of filed and published protests relating to awards made by the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission which result in modification of such awards shall be certified and paid by the Secretary of the Treasury out of the War Claims Fund in accordance with this section. See section 615 of Act Mar. 10, 1950, ch. 54, as added by Pub. L. 94–542, Oct. 18, 1976, 90 Stat. 2512, set out as a note under section 1623 of Title 22, Foreign Relations and Intercourse. Recertification of Certain Awards Pub. L. 91–571, § 1(b), Dec. 24, 1970, 84 Stat. 1503, provided that: “The Foreign Claims Settlement Commission is authorized to recertify to the Secretary of the Treasury each award which has been certified before the date of enactment of this Act [Dec. 24, 1970] pursuant to title II of the War Claims Act of 1948, as added by the Act of October 22, 1962 (76 Stat. 1107) [50 U.S.C. 4131 et seq.], but which as of the date of enactment of this Act has not been paid in full, in such manner as it may determine to be required to give effect to the

Amendments

made by this Act [amending this section] to the same extent and with the same effect as if such

Amendments

had taken effect on October 22, 1962.”

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

50 U.S.C. § 4143

Title 50, War and National Defense

Last Updated

Sep 23, 2026

Release point: 119-110