118 HR 6121 IH: Filipino Veterans Fairness Act of 2023 U.S. House of Representatives 2023-10-30 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

I118th CONGRESS1st SessionH. R. 6121IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVESOctober 30, 2023Mr. Mullin (for himself, Mr. Case, Mr. Moylan, Mr. Carter of Louisiana, Ms. Barragán, Mr. Bera, Mr. Carson, Ms. Chu, Mr. Cleaver, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Connolly, Mr. Costa, Mr. Davis of Illinois, Mr. Davis of North Carolina, Ms. Eshoo, Mr. Garamendi, Mr. García of Illinois, Mr. Gomez, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, Ms. Jacobs, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Mr. Khanna, Ms. Lee of California, Mr. Lieu, Ms. Lofgren, Ms. Matsui, Ms. Meng, Ms. Norton, Mr. Pascrell, Mr. Ruppersberger, Mr. Sablan, Ms. Sánchez, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Schiff, Mr. Sherman, Mr. Swalwell, Ms. Titus, Ms. Tokuda, Mr. Vargas, and Ms. Waters) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' AffairsA BILLTo amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the benefits furnished by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to certain individuals who served in the forces of the Philippines and the Philippine Scouts.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Filipino Veterans Fairness Act of 2023.

2.

Improvement of veterans benefits furnished to certain individuals who served in the forces of the Philippines and the Philippine Scouts

(a)

Expansion of benefits

Section 107 of title 38, United States Code, is amended— (1)in subsection (a)— (A)in paragraph (2), by striking ; and and inserting a semicolon; (B)in paragraph (3), by striking the period at the end and inserting ; and; and (C)by inserting after paragraph (3) the following new paragraph: (4)sections 1541 and 1542 of this title.; and (2)in subsection (b)— (A)in paragraph (1), by striking ; and and inserting a semicolon; (B)in paragraph (2), by striking the period at the end and inserting ; and; and (C)by inserting after paragraph (2) the following new paragraph: (3)sections 1541 and 1542 of this title.; and (b)

Eligibility

Such section is further amended by adding at the end the following new subsections: (e)

Determination of eligibility

(1)In determining the eligibility of the service of an individual under this section, the Secretary shall take into account any alternative documentation regarding such service, including documentation other than the recognized guerrilla rosters stored at the National Personnel Records Center, that the Secretary determines relevant. (2)Not later than March 1 of each year, the Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and House of Representatives a report that includes— (A)the number of individuals applying for benefits pursuant to this section during the previous year; and (B)the number of such individuals that the Secretary approved for benefits. (f)

Relation to Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation Fund

Section 1002(h) of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (title X of division A of Public Law 111–5; 123 Stat. 200; 38 U.S.C. 107 note) shall not apply to an individual described in subsection (a) or (b) of this section.. (c)

Effective date

(1)

In general

The amendments made by this section shall take effect on the date that is 270 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. (2)

Applicability

No benefits shall accrue to any person for any period before the effective date of this Act by reason of the amendments made by this section.