WASHINGTON, D.C. -Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI), chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, vowed to renew his advocacy of the legislation to provide recognition to Filipino World War II veterans in the new Congress next year after efforts to bring the legislation to final passage last week was obstructed in the Senate.
He said: "As this Congress ends, I pledge my commitment to continue to work with and for the World War II Filipino veterans in the next Congress. I will continue to fight for final enactment of legislation which not only compensates them, but also recognizes their true status as U.S. veterans.
The Senate-passed version of S. 1315 would have done this. I believe that any legislation which does not address the 1946 Rescission Act so as to recognize them for their service is unacceptable. As long as they fight for their recognition, I will fight for it as well."
Akaka is the sponsor of S. 1315, the Veterans' Benefits Enhancement Act of 2007, an omnibus veterans' benefits bill which contained provisions to provide Filipino World War II veterans who served under U.S. military command with recognition as veterans, a limited pension, and increased compensation for their twilight years.
These provisions were adapted from S. 57, the Filipino Veterans Equity Act, introduced by U.S. Senator Daniel K. Inouye (D-HI), Hawaii's senior senator.
Akaka led a successful floor fight for S. 1315 in the Senate, defeating an amendment to remove the Filipino veterans language and securing Senate passage by a vote of 96 to 1.
However, the Filipino veterans' provisions were stripped in the House of Representatives, and Akaka's efforts to negotiate a final version of the bill were blocked when the bill was returned to the Senate.
"The record is clear on the Filipino veterans of World War II. They are not foreigners who fought for a foreign government," he said in a statement.
Through legislation, he said Congress "sought to right" what an earlier Congress has done wrong by offering three separate bills that would move toward equity for Filipino veterans.
The first was S. 1315, the Veterans' Benefits Enhancement Act of 2007, which would have recognized Filipino World War II veterans and provided a limited pension, and increased compensation, for their twilight years.
This bill, which was adapted from S. 57, the Filipino Veterans Equity Act, introduced by Senator Daniel K. Inouye, was approved by the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs and passed the Senate, despite obstruction by a small group of Senators.
Unfortunately, when S. 1315 returned to the Senate with congressional adjournment approaching, the provisions for Filipino veterans had been removed.
In an effort to pass something during this Congress, Akaka's counterpart on the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, Chairman Bob Filner, pushed a second option: H.R. 6897, a bill to provide a one-time payment to Filipino veterans - less than what S. 1315 would have provided, "but more than nothing."
At the same time, a third bill moved forward, to provide money for Filipino veterans through the Continuing Resolution to fund the federal government - providing $198 million for a Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation Fund, which would be established by Filner's legislation.
Filner's lump-sum payment bill was also blocked. "For the opponents of these bills, the response seems to be to continue to ignore the veterans who have been denied benefits and recognition for over 60 years. That is not a responsible or appropriate response," he said in apparent frustration over the lukewarm congressional reception given his proposal. "In the long march toward equity, we have come closer than ever," said Akaka.
"Now, all of the remaining Filipino veterans are in their twilight years. Too many of them are spending their golden years in pain and in poverty, in Hawaii, the mainland, and the Philippines. We will not leave behind the Filipino veterans of World War II, who fought side-by-side with troops from across the U.S. We will continue our fight into the next Congress. This march toward equity is not over," he said. - Philippine News
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/126355/Filvets-bill-mourned-in-final-rites---report
