[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 71 (Thursday, May 1, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E807]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       HONORING OUR COMMITMENT TO FILIPINO WORLD WAR II VETERANS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JACKIE SPEIER-

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 1, 2008

  Ms. SPEIER. Madam Speaker, I stand before you this evening to discuss 
the plight of some 20,000 brave men who defended our country during 
World War II but have been neglected in their old age. I refer to the 
Filipino nationals who fought with American soldiers as part of the 
Recognized Guerilla Forces.
  Madam Speaker, the sacrifice and suffering of these brave warriors 
has been well-documented. Without their support, some say, American 
forces likely would have been outmanned and outgunned at many of the 
decisive battles in the Pacific Theater during World War II. But 
because of an unfair designation set into law, our government treats 
one class of Filipino veteran differently than another.
  In the days and months following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, 
more than 250,000 Filipino nationals swore allegiance to the United 
States of America with the same oath each of us took when we became 
Members of this body. They fought side-by-side with our fathers and 
grandfathers and suffered casualties at a far higher rate than native-
born American forces. In return, the Filipino soldiers were promised 
the same benefits and support as their American counterparts. In fact, 
in October of 1945, Gen. Omar Bradley, then Administrator of the 
Veterans Administration, reaffirmed that they would be treated like any 
other veterans.
  But The Rescission Acts of 1946 changed that. As happens all too 
often in the halls of power, short-sighted political expediency won out 
over fairness and common decency. Faced with massive war debts, 
Congress excluded a class of veteran that had no voice and no vote. 
Since then, piecemeal attempts have been made to rectify the inequities 
of The Rescission Acts, but time is clearly working against us.
  Today, the few Filipino veterans who are still living are in their 
eighties. Their number is estimated to be at or around 20,000, with 
7,000 living in the United States. Many of those veterans reside in my 
district, which boasts the largest number of Filipino Americans in the 
nation.
  Madam Speaker, I am not asking for special consideration. I am not 
seeking an earmark or a windfall or a handout. I am simply asking that 
we, as a nation, honor the promise we made to the brave souls who put 
their very lives on the line for the sake of America and all it stands 
for. Let us show our gratitude to the few remaining Filipino World War 
II veterans and restore the benefits due them and promised to them when 
they, like all of us here, raised their right hands and swore: I do 
solemnly swear that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the United 
States of America.

                          ____________________