[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6645 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6645

  To authorize assistance to the Republic of the Philippines for the 
    purpose of providing benefits to certain Filipino World War II 
                   veterans, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 29, 2008

 Mr. Rohrabacher introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
                    the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To authorize assistance to the Republic of the Philippines for the 
    purpose of providing benefits to certain Filipino World War II 
                   veterans, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Filipino Veterans Assistance Act of 
2008''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Philippine Islands were acquired by the United 
        States in 1898 and remained a possession of the United States 
        until 1946.
            (2) On July 26, 1941, the President of the United States 
        issued an Executive order inducting all military forces of the 
        Commonwealth of the Philippines under the command of a newly 
        created command structure called the United States Armed Forces 
        of the Far East (USAFFE).
            (3) The Rescission Acts of 1946 stripped the military 
        forces of the Commonwealth of the Philippines that were under 
        the command of USAFFE from receiving certain benefits under 
        programs administered by the Veterans' Administration.
            (4) The Organized Military Forces of the Commonwealth of 
        the Philippines and the Philippine Scouts, having served a 
        significant role in combat alongside United States Armed Forces 
        during World War II, should be granted benefits similar to 
        those given to United States veterans.

SEC. 3. ASSISTANCE TO THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES FOR THE PURPOSE 
              OF PROVIDING BENEFITS TO CERTAIN FILIPINO WORLD WAR II 
              VETERANS.

    (a) Authorization of Assistance.--The President is authorized to 
provide assistance to the Republic of the Philippines for the purpose 
of providing benefits, including the benefits described in subsection 
(b), to individuals who engaged in the service described in subsection 
(c) and to certain dependents of such individuals.
    (b) Benefits Described.--Benefits described in this subsection are 
the following:
            (1) Compensation for service-connected disabilities.
            (2) In the case of an individual who engaged in the service 
        described in subsection (c) and died as a result of such 
        service, dependency and indemnity compensation for the 
        individual's surviving spouse, children, and parents.
            (3) Medical care.
            (4) Education benefits.
            (5) Education benefits for children of an individual who 
        engaged in the service described in subsection (c).
            (6) Death pensions.
    (c) Service Described.--Service described in this subsection is 
service--
            (1) before July 1, 1946, in the organized military forces 
        of the Government of the Commonwealth of the Philippines, while 
        such forces were in the service of the Armed Forces of the 
        United States pursuant to the military order of the President 
        dated July 26, 1941, including among such military forces 
        organized guerrilla forces under commanders appointed, 
        designated, or subsequently recognized by the Commander in 
        Chief, Southwest Pacific Area, or other competent authority in 
        the Army of the United States; or
            (2) in the Philippine Scouts under section 14 of the Armed 
        Forces Voluntary Recruitment Act of 1945 (59 Stat. 538).

SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) In General.--To carry out this Act, there is authorized to be 
appropriated to the President $200,000,000 for fiscal year 2009.
    (b) Additional Authorities.--Amounts appropriated pursuant to the 
authorization of appropriations under subsection (a)--
            (1) are authorized to remain available until expended; and
            (2) are in addition to amounts otherwise available for such 
        purposes.
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