Abercrombie calls for equal benefits for Filipino vets

Washington, DC -- Saying World War II Filipino veterans deserve equal treatment, Congressman Neil Abercrombie today urged passage of legislation to restore full VA benefits to this dwindling group of soldiers who served the Allied cause during the darkest days of the war.

Abercrombie made the remarks at a Forum on Filipino Veterans sponsored by the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, chaired by Representative Michael Honda (D-CA).

“Our goal of full is equity for Filipino veterans,” said Abercrombie.  “They fought shoulder to shoulder with their American comrades in arms, suffered the same hardships, and sacrificed in the same cause.  Simple justice demands that we recognize their equal contributions with equal veterans benefits.  We have made important gains in recent years, but we still have a long way to go before achieving full equity.”

Abercrombie is a long-time champion for Filipino veterans and has sponsored numerous bills to achieve that goal, including the bipartisan Filipino Veterans Equity Act of 2005.  The bill would accord Filipino veterans full equality with their U.S. counterparts in respect to the full range of VA benefits.

During World War II the United States acknowledged its responsibility for full benefits for Filipino veterans, but their equal status was rescinded by the Rescission Act of 1946.

A 2001 Department of Veterans Affairs Study estimated the total number of Filipino veterans at about 60,000, with approximately 14,000 living in the United States.  Most of the veterans are in their late seventies and eighties, and the study estimates that the total Filipino veteran population will number about 20,000 in 2010.

In 2003 Abercrombie and other advocates for Filipino veterans secured passage of two bills to broaden their eligibility for VA health care and higher benefit payments:

1) The Veterans Benefits Act of 2003 increased VA benefit payments to U.S.-resident Filipino World War II veterans and their survivors to the same levels as those paid to U.S. veterans and survivors. It also made New Philippine Scouts eligible for burial in U.S. national cemeteries.  Previously, benefit payments for Filipino veterans and their survivors were only half the amounts paid to U.S. veterans and survivors.

2) The Veterans Health Care Authorities Extension and Improvement Act of 2003 removed significant restrictions on VA health care eligibility by authorizing VA medical services for U.S.-resident World War II veterans of the Commonwealth Army of the Philippines and New Philippine Scouts on the same basis as veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces.  Under previous law, both groups of veterans were eligible for VA medical services only if they were disabled and received VA payments.  In addition, New Philippine Scouts could receive care only for service-connected disabilities.  Previous law did not place these same restrictions on U.S. Armed Forces veterans.

http://www.house.gov/abercrombie/photogallery/photogallery6.htm

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