[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 6 (Tuesday, January 27, 2004)]
[House]
[Page H115]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  JUSTICE AND EQUITY FOR MEMBERS OF THE UNITED STATES MERCHANT MARINE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Filner) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask the Congress to correct 
an injustice that has been inflicted upon a group of World War II 
veterans, the World War II United States Merchant Mariners.
  World War II Merchant Mariners suffered the highest casualty rate of 
any of the branches of services while they delivered troops, tanks, 
food, airplanes, fuel and other needed supplies to every theater of the 
war. Compared to the large number of men and women serving in World War 
II, the numbers of Merchant Mariners were small, but their chance of 
dying during service was extremely high. Enemy forces sank over 800 
ships between 1941 and 1944 alone.
  Unfortunately, this group of brave men were denied their rights under 
the GI Bill of Rights which Congress enacted in 1945. All those who 
served in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force or Coast Guard were 
recipients of benefits under the GI Bill. The United States Merchant 
Marine was not included.
  Mr. Speaker, the Merchant Marine became the forgotten service. For 
four decades, no effort was made to recognize the contribution made by 
this branch of the Armed Forces. The fact that merchant seamen had 
borne arms during wartime in the defense of their country did not seem 
to matter.
  No legislation to benefit merchant seamen was passed by Congress 
until 1988 when the Seaman Acts of 1988 finally granted them the status 
of veteran and a ``watered down'' GI Bill of Rights. Some portions of 
the GI Bill have never been made available to veterans of the Merchant 
Marine.
  While it is impossible to make up for over 40 years of unpaid 
benefits, I propose a bill that will acknowledge the service of the 
veterans of the Merchant Marine and offer compensation for years and 
years of lost benefits. My bill, H.R. 3729, the Belated Thank You to 
the Merchant Mariners of World War II Act of 2004, would pay each 
eligible veteran a monthly benefit of $1,000. That payment would also 
go to their surviving spouse.
  The average age of Merchant Marine veterans is now 81. Many have 
outlived their savings. A monthly benefit to compensate for the loss of 
nearly a lifetime of ineligibility for the GI Bill would be of comfort 
and would provide some measure of security for veterans of the Merchant 
Marine.
  I owe a debt of gratitude to Ian Allison, Merchant Marine combat 
veteran, Co-Chairman of the Just Compensation Committee, for bringing 
to me the plight of the Merchant Mariners. To recognize Mr. Allison, 
his Co-Chairman, Henry Van Gemert, and the thousands of veterans of the 
United States Merchant Marine, I today introduce the Belated Thank You 
to the Merchant Mariners of World War II Act of 2004, today, January 
27, 2004, the date of Mr. Allison's 84th birthday.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in cosponsoring this legislation. We 
can never make up for the years lost, but we can fix the injustice by 
passing H.R. 3729 as quickly as possible.

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