[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 12285]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   FILIPINO VETERANS DAY ANNIVERSARY

  (Mr. HECK asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. HECK. Mr. Speaker, 71 years ago today, President Roosevelt 
inducted over 40,000 Filipino troops into the United States Army to 
counter the Japanese threat. Following the occupation of the 
Philippines, thousands more Filipinos would join the resistance as 
recognized guerrilla forces working in cooperation with the U.S. Army. 
However, due to the Rescissions Act of 1946, the service and sacrifice 
of these brave Filipino veterans would go unrecognized by the U.S. 
Government for the next 63 years.
  Congress finally acknowledged the dedicated service of these veterans 
when it established the Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation Fund in 
2009. Although meager in comparison to the benefits these veterans 
earned, this compensation fund provided the recognition they deserved. 
Yet today, bureaucratic roadblocks continue to prevent nearly 4,000 of 
these aging World War II veterans from collecting the benefits they are 
due.
  Five of these gentlemen pictured here reside in my district. They 
range in age from 83 to 100 years old. Regrettably, two others recently 
passed away. Many more will pass without ever obtaining the recognition 
they deserve if this body does not act to remove the barriers 
preventing these veterans from receiving the benefits they have earned.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in fighting to ensure 
these honorable World War II veterans are appropriately recognized.

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