Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Transportation, Military Affairs and Government Operations, to which was referred S.B. No. 1050 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to require the State of Hawaii to pay, in advance, the costs of funeral and burial services and repatriation of the remains of a Filipino American World War II veteran.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Defense, the Office of Veterans' Services, the Oahu Filipino Community Council, the Hawaii Chapter of WWII Fil-Am Veterans, and four proud Filipino American veterans. The Department of Accounting and General Services provided comments on this measure.

Your Committee finds that military veterans who risked their lives to preserve freedom and democracy deserve our utmost honor and respect, and Filipino American veterans who served our country during World War II are no exception.

Your Committee further finds that most American military veterans are offered burial in a state or national veterans cemetery when they pass away, or at the very least the state or nation offers to pay the expenses of burial and funeral.

Sadly, this is not the case for many Filipino American veterans of World War II, and your Committee believes this injustice must be corrected immediately. Therefore, your Committee fully supports this measure, as it has during the past two legislative sessions.

Your Committee amended this measure to place a cap of $2,500 on the amount that the State must pay for each veteran receiving funds under this measure. Your Committee finds that this cap will strike an appropriate balance between our ethical obligation to support veterans, and the State's dire financial situation.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Transportation, Military Affairs and Government Operations that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1050, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1050, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.