Fate of RP vets bill hangs; groups oppose compromise

WASHINGTON D.C. = With less than two weeks to go before Congress adjourns, the fate of the Filipino Veterans Equity Bill hangs in the balance.
Some have already declared it dead but Filipino American veterans’ groups and the Philippine embassy still hope the House will approve the Senate version (S 1315) of the bill which was overwhelmingly approved several months ago.
While Rep. Bob Filner (R-CA), House veterans affairs chair, is planning to introduce an amendment to make the bill more acceptable to Republicans and some Democratic members, Sen. Daniel Akaka, Senate veterans affairs committee chair, and the Filipino American community are still pushing for the approval of S 1315.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi is reluctant to bring the bill to a vote on the House floor because she thinks there’s not enough votes to pass it. Because of this, Filner is said to be working on a compromise that would provide lump sum payments to Filipino veterans instead of the monthly pension.
Filipino veterans’ groups, the Filipino American community and the Philippine embassy are opposed to any watered-down version and are still pushing for approval of S 1315.
Reports of the compromise proposal were made by a delegation of the FAVE (Filipino American Veterans for Equity) who met with Filner earlier. FAVE said Rep. Filner has confirmed that S. 1315 (the Senate version of the bill) is dead because it does not have the majority votes needed to pass it. The bill is opposed by the Republicans and about 40 Democrats because American veterans groups are against it and the fear this would affect their reelection bids.
Filner said Speaker Pelosi is against cracking the whip on the reluctant Democrats because it might affect their reelection.
The main stumbling block is the funding for the proposed pension which would come from the Veterans Administration’s offsets. S. 1315 requires mandatory funding because of the language of the bill (full equity- i.e full
recognition as US Veterans) and current funding for it.
“Republican congressmen and major veteran organizations are opposed because it would take money away from US veterans.”
Filner said he will be proposing a supplementary bill similar to S. 1315 excet for the pension part. Instead of the monthly pensions ($1,000 for Filipino veterans in the US and $300 for those in the Philippines, he will propose an amendment to provide a lump sum payment of $15,000 to US-based vets and $9000 to those in the Philippines. This mean it will no longer be referred to as full equity.
Filner made the same proposal last month but subsequently withdrew it.
Rep. Chet Edwards (D-Texas) of the appropriations committee agreed to this proposed amendment provided it will not be over $200 million and that the money will come from discretionary funds which do not require close scrutiny.
The vote on this amendment will determine whether or not the revised version of S 1315 will pass in the House. The difference between the House and Senate versions could be ironed out during the bicameral conference.
Filner said he wants to know if the Filipino American community and veterans are in favor of this compromise measure. He also urge them to lobby with Pelosi to put the revised version to a vote in the House.
A press release of the American Coalition of Filipino Veterans (ACFV) has denied reports that the bill is dead. It said that allied leaders in NaFFAA, NaFVE as well as the Philippine embassy are all for getting S.1315 approved.
They all opposed the proposed lump sum payment compromise of Filner. They said the lump sum plan would result in a higher allocation and would be opposed by the Senate. It will also not restore official recognition of Filipino veterans because it will not repeal the “1946 Rescission Act.”
ACFV said they will press Pelosi to put the bill to a vote. It pointed out that the Democratic Party platform passed during the convention in Denver said: “We will continue to honor our promises to all veterans including Filipino veterans, especially with regards to citizenship and family reunification.”

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