[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 5 (Tuesday, January 25, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E56]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               FILIPINO VETERANS' EQUITY ACT INTRODUCTION

                                 ______
                                 

                     HON. RANDY ``DUKE'' CUNNINGHAM

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 25, 2005

  Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise to introduce the Filipino 
Veterans Equity Act, bipartisan legislation which would grant full 
recognition of the service and sacrifices of a key group of veterans 
and return to them the benefits promised to them by the U.S. 
government.
  On July 26, 1941, President Roosevelt issued a military order, 
calling members of the Philippine Commonwealth Army into the service of 
the United States Forces of the Far East, under the command of then 
Lieutenant General Douglas MacArthur.
  From 1941 to 1945, over 100,000 Filipinos of the Philippine 
Commonwealth Army fought alongside the allies to reclaim the Philippine 
Islands from Japan. A second group of Filipino veterans, the New 
Philippine Scouts (or ``Special Philippine Scouts'') enlisted under 
U.S. Armed Forces command after October 6, 1945. Regrettably, instead 
of fulfilling promises made and providing equal benefits in return for 
their service, Congress enacted the Rescission Act of 1946. The 
Rescission Act limited Filipino veterans' eligibility for service-
connected disability pensions, death benefits, and other benefits 
provided to U.S. Armed Forces veterans.
  Correcting this inequity is long overdue. There are less than 50,000 
survivors of the total estimated 300,000 Filipino veterans who served 
during World War II. Approximately 20,000 of these survivors are not 
receiving the full benefits they earned. By 2010, the VA estimates 
there will only be a total of 20,000 World War II Filipino veterans in 
all categories. I urge my colleagues to join me in moving this 
legislation forward in the 109th Congress, and working with me to 
provide these deserving veterans the benefits they deserve.

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