[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 35 (Thursday, March 1, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E449]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  THE REINTRODUCTION OF THE FILIPINO VETERANS FAMILY REUNIFICATION ACT

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                          HON. MAZIE K. HIRONO

                               of hawaii

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 1, 2007

  Ms. HIRONO. Madam Speaker, I rise today to reintroduce the Filipino 
Veterans Family Reunification Act, a companion to Senator Akaka's bill 
of the same name, which will provide for the expedited reunification of 
the families of our Filipino World War II veterans. I am pleased to be 
joined in this legislation by Representatives Neil Abercrombie, Bob 
Filner, Michael Honda, Madeleine Bordallo, Robert ``Bobby'' Scott, Jim 
McDermott, Darrell Issa, Sam Farr, Al Green, Raul Grijalva, and Phil 
Hare.
  As you know, Filipino veterans are those that honorably answered the 
call of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and served alongside our armed 
forces during World War II. They fought shoulder to shoulder with 
American servicemen; they sacrificed for the same just cause. We made a 
promise to provide full veterans' benefits to those who served with our 
troops. And while we have recently made appreciable progress toward 
fulfilling that long-ignored promise, we have not yet achieved the full 
equity that the Filipino veterans deserve.
  In 1990, the Congress recognized the courage and commitment of the 
Filipino World War II veterans by providing them with a waiver from 
certain naturalization requirements. Many veterans thereafter became 
proud United States citizens and residents of our country. However, 
allowances were not made for their children and many have been waiting 
decades for petition approval.
  The Filipino Veterans Family Reunification Act would allow for the 
further recognition of the service of the veterans by granting their 
children a special immigration status that would allow them to 
immigrate to the United States and be reunified with their aging 
parents. It is important to note that the Filipino soldiers who fought 
under the command of General Douglas MacArthur at this critical time in 
our Nation's history represent a unique category. These soldiers were 
members of the United States Armed Forces of the Far East. They were 
led to believe that at the end of the conflict they would be treated 
the same as American soldiers. It took more than 60 years to begin to 
make good on our commitment. The Filipino Veterans Family Reunification 
Act recognizes the special circumstances of this group of soldiers.
  I would like to submit into the record an editorial from the Honolulu 
Advertiser that supports the expedited reunification of these families 
as a meaningful way to make amends for the injustice experienced by 
these brave soldiers. As the editorial frankly states, ``Reuniting 
these men with their children is not only the fair thing for the U.S. 
government to do, it's the least it could do.''
  Last year, my home State of Hawaii celebrated the 100th anniversary 
of the first Filipino immigrants to arrive on U.S. soil. We are 
exceptionally proud of the accomplishments of our Filipino community 
and confident that the next 100 years will be as successful. It is 
unfortunate that prospective family-based immigration applicants from 
the Philippines face substantial, often decades-long, waits for visas.
  In Honolulu, I recently had a meeting with a group of Filipino 
veterans from my district. I listened to many heartbreaking stories of 
sons and daughters waiting patiently in the Philippines with the hope 
that one day they will be able to come to the United States to care for 
their aging parents. The need to complete these families of our 
veterans is great.
  As our Filipino veterans are entering the sunset years of their 
lives, Congress is running out of time to fulfill our obligations to 
them. I look forward to working with my colleagues by providing for the 
reunification of our Filipino World War II veterans with their 
families.

             [From the Honolulu Advertiser, Feb. 25, 2007]

             Filipino Vets' Families Deserve Special Status

       Filipino veterans, who fought alongside U.S. troops during 
     World War II, have waited far too long--more than 60 years--
     to get what's due them.
       While they still seek full pension benefits from Congress, 
     another key measure would give them something that could be 
     more important in their senior years: family reunification.
       Senate Bill 671, recently introduced by U.S. Sens. Dan 
     Akaka and Daniel Inouye, grants special immigrant status to 
     the children of naturalized Filipino veterans, enabling them 
     to move up in the visa backlog that has had some family 
     members waiting for entry to the U.S. for nearly 20 years.
       Indeed, this solution is not a simple one. In the aftermath 
     of Sept. 11, visa policies were rightly revamped and strictly 
     enforced. To expedite the process for these family members 
     and not others merits concern.
       But let's look at the bigger picture: An estimated 200,000 
     Filipinos were drafted in 1941 to fight under Gen. Douglas 
     MacArthur when war broke out. The men were promised 
     citizenship and benefits by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. 
     But Congress reneged on the promise with the Rescission Act 
     of 1946.
       Not until 1990 did the Immigration Act allow these men 
     citizenship. But they have yet to receive the same benefits 
     as their GI counterparts, and the change in immigration law 
     did not extend the same rights to the veterans' sons and 
     daughters.
       Today, there are an estimated 5,000 Filipino veterans in 
     Hawai'i and the Mainland, according to the American Coalition 
     for Filipino Veterans, but most are well into their 80s and 
     90s--and their number is quickly dwindling.
       Reuniting these men with their children is not only the 
     fair thing for the U.S. government to do, it's the least it 
     could do.
       And Congress shouldn't stop there. The aging veterans 
     deserve to see the final piece in their struggle for equity: 
     the granting of full pension benefits that could mean $200 a 
     month per veteran.
       For these men, it's more than just a paycheck--it's a 
     promise.

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