Washington, D.C. -- Rep. Neil Abercrombie issued the following statement on today's passage of a bill to restore promised benefits to World War II Philippine veterans:

"Today, the House passed The Filipino Veterans Equity Act of 2008, HR 6897.  It is only through the hard work and commitment of the Filipino Community that prospects for a full restoration of the original Filipino Veterans benefits package are still alive.

"Rep. Bob Filner introduced HR 6897 as a stopgap measure because the expansion of benefits included in Senator Akaka’s SB 1315 was removed in the House. I supported the Filner measure to make sure that the 20,000 surviving Filipino veterans are assured of at least some of the benefits they were promised 67 years ago.

"I intend to work closely with Sen. Akaka to try to restore the full benefits package for Filipino Vets in his bill when it goes back to the Senate for a final vote.  And, I’ll continue doing everything I can to see that the United States Government lives up to its obligations to a gallant group of soldiers who answered the call."

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