Stalled Equity

November 15, 2007  --  Got something to say?
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Filipino American veterans of World War II
WASHINGTON D.C. Unless an agreement is reached between the Democrats and Republicans in the Senate to bring the Filipino veterans equity bill to the floor for debate and vote, its passage in the current session is doubtful.

Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-HI), chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, said he has been meeting with the ranking Republican member, Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) to agree on a schedule for debate of the bill. But so far, no agreement has been reached.

On the other hand, Rep. Bob Filner (D-CA, chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, said he is waiting for the Senate to debate and vote on the bill first before he introduces his committee-approved version to the House.
As the bill remains stalled in the Senate, the lobbying by the Philippine embassy and national Filipino American organizations for Congress to speed up passage of the bill appeared to have also slowed down.

With only a few weeks left on the congressional calendar, Filipino American WWII veteran leaders led by the American Coalition of Filipino Veterans (ACFV) recently appealed to Sens. Akaka and Burr to agree to schedule a vote on the equity pension bill (S. 1315).

This bill is important to me and to you. It does provide Filipino veterans status that they dont have now. Thats what I trying to do is to talk to the other side to come to an agreement… on this Omnibus bill to bring it to the floor,” Akaka told the Filipino veterans in the lobby of the Hart Senate office building October 24.

I want to get this [bill] done this year. We are in session until November 16. We may be coming back on December 10, said Akaka, 83, a WWII veteran who has served in Senate for more than two decades.

An ACFV delegation headed by Celestino Almeda, 90, of Alexandria VA; Guillermo Rumingan, 81; and Joaquin Tejada, 84, of Washington, ACFV executive director Eric Lachica, and Philippine Embassy Veterans Affairs chief ret. Gen. Delfin Lorenzana met with Akaka to discuss the stalled bill.

We are running out of time. Many of our comrades have fallen. Our Equity pension bill is stalled, Almeda said. He travels on the bus and subway to attend hearings on Capitol Hill despite his painful walking with a cane. If we win, I will glad I will not be treated as a second rate U.S. citizen, he added.

On October 31, a dozen elderly veterans leaders and widows from various cities wearing faded uniforms with American flag will held silent vigil during the Senate VA Committee hearing.

To mark All Souls Day in the Philippines, they honored the million Filipino casualties during World War II and their American comrades with a wreath-laying ceremony at the National WWII Memorial at the Bataan-Corregidor-Leyte-Manila fountain After that, the visiting leaders from Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, New Jersey and other cities went door-to-door to get commitments from senators for an early floor vote. President Bush recently announced he wanted VA budget bills passed by Veterans Day.

The Senate bill S. 1315 and the counterpart House version, H.R. 760 have been approved by the respective VA committees in the Senate and House last June and July, respectively.
Meanwhile, Rep. Mike Honda (R-CA) said in a veterans day statement that as the American people take this weekend to honor our veterans of past and present wars, a dying number of World War IIs bravest remain stripped of U.S. veteran status.
Honda went on to recall how Congress reneged on President Franklin D. Roosevelts pledge to make them US veterans with full benefits and passed the Rescission Act of 1946 to deprive the Filipino soldiers of this privilege.

While some Filipino veterans have recovered their full benefits, there are thousands of others who are still waiting for Congress to do the right thing: restore the benefits that were promised to them more than half a century ago.

In order to right this terrible injustice and support our veterans, I am fully committed to getting, the Filipino Veterans Equity Act (H.R. 760), passed in Congress. The bill, introduced by my friend and colleague Rep. Bob Filner, D-Chula Vista, would provide crucial benefits to all Filipino veterans who fought in World War II under the American flag. Furthermore, this legislation would eliminate the disparities in benefits between some Filipino veterans and restore the honor and dignity they deserve.
He continued:
Earlier this year I testified before the full Committee on Veterans Affairs in the U.S. House of Representatives. At this important hearing, members of Congress heard moving testimony from many Filipino veterans, former military officers, and community members, all supporting the long overdue reinstatement of benefits to Filipino veterans of World War II.
Additionally, I have been meeting with Filipino-American community organizations to maintain the momentum to get H.R. 760 passed.

Only 22,000 of a quarter million of these brave warriors remain with us today. Now in the twilight of their lives, time and dignity is running out for Congress to fully recognize their service. We should not be just promise makers, but also promise keepers.

As you spend this weekend honoring the sacrifice of our brave veterans, I urge you to remember the blood spilled by these aging heroes and to keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

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