Japanese American Confinement Education Act (HR 1931/S 988)
The Japanese American Confinement Education Act and JACS Program Appropriations are crucial to ensure Americans are educated on WWII incarceration
What is the Japanese American Confinement Education Act (JACE Act)?
The JACE Act (H.R. 1931) will provide competitive grants for the promotion of Japanese American confinement education. The Japanese American Confinement Education Act would permanently reauthorize the Japanese American Confinement Site (JACS) program within the National Park Service (NPS). It would also authorize $42 million in new funding since the current funding will be completely spent before the end of 2022. Additionally, the legislation establishes a separate, new $10 million program to establish and disseminate educational materials about Japanese American confinement. The JACE Act was first introduced by Representative Doris Matsui (D-CA)and Representative Rob Bishop (R-UT) in the 116th Congress. Reintroduced in the current congress, the H.R. 1931 passed unanimously without objection in the House in March 2022 and was sent to the Senate and referred to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and is awaiting markup.
What is the History of the JACS Program and What is the New JACE Act?
In 2006, Representatives Bill Thomas, Doris Matsui, and Mike Honda introduced the Preservation of Japanese American WWII Confinement Sites Act to make sure that U.S. confinement sites of Japanese Americans were preserved. Since the first year of funded projects in the Fiscal Year 2009, 268 projects have been funded in 24 states and the District of Columbia with over $35.9 million. Funding has ranged from as little as $5,000 to over $800 thousand for a single project. Originally authorized for $38 million, the initial authorization will soon be exhausted. The JACE Act will extend authorization for an additional total of $42 million for the 2006 Japanese American Confinement Site (JACS) program which includes funding for a new education program of up to $10 million.
What is the New Education Program?
This grant would enable recipient organizations to develop and nationally disseminate curriculum and other resources to improve awareness and understanding of Japanese American Confinement experience during WWII. This program is modeled after the Holocaust Education Act passed by Congress and signed into law in 2020 and would operate as a subset of the JACS program with up to $10 million in funding.
What is the Main Takeaway?
This bill extends funding for programs to understand the importance of democratic principles, use and abuse of power, and to raise awareness about the importance of cultural tolerance toward Japanese Americans. With the rise of Anti-Asian violence over the past year, education on historic examples of Anti-Asian racism is even more important in order to educate the public on how to combat modern examples of Anti-Asian discrimination.
REFERENCE MATERIALS FOR ADVOCACY
The JACE Act is supported by:
Amache Historical Society II
Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial Association
Densho
Friends of Minidoka
Empty Chair Project
Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation
Historical Museum at Fort Missoula
Japanese American Confinement Sites Consortium
Japanese American National Museum
KSPS Public Broadcasting Service
LA Conservation Corps
Minidoka Pilgrimage Planning Committee
National Japanese American Historical Society
National Japanese American Memorial Foundation
National Veterans Network
Poston Community Alliance
Shadows for Peace
The Nikkeijin Kai of Colorado
The University of California, Los Angeles
Visual Communications Media
Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience
Press Releases from 116th Congress (2020)
Press Release from Representative Doris Matsui upon introduction of the JACE Act
Press Release from Representative Don Young upon introduction of the JACE Act
LINKS TO OTHER SITES