RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, approximately 142,000 Philippine nationals were inducted into the United States armed forces in 1941, when their country was under American control; and

WHEREAS, Filipino soldiers fought bravely beside American troops to restore liberty and democracy to their homeland by volunteering as spies, serving as guerrillas in the jungles, and fighting in American units in the war against Japan; and

WHEREAS, these soldiers exhibited great courage at the battles of Corregidor and Bataan, and their bravery and self-sacrifice contributed to the Allied victory in World War II; and

WHEREAS, the United States promised Filipino solders the same benefits as American soldiers, then rescinded that promise five years later; and

WHEREAS, the Legislature finds that the United States should honor its promise to the Filipino veterans; and

WHEREAS, Filipino interest groups estimate that there are approximately 58,000 Filipino World War II veterans still alive, 12,000 of them living in the United States; and

WHEREAS, time is running out for the United States to correct the injustice committed against Filipino World War II veterans as most are now elderly and frail, and approximately eight die per day based on 2004 mortality statistics from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs; and

WHEREAS, there are several measures pending in Congress that propose to confer veterans' benefits on Filipino veterans of World War II; and

WHEREAS, these legislative measures include S. 146, H.R. 302, and H.R. 170; and

WHEREAS, S. 146 and H.R. 302, (Filipino Veterans Equity Act of 2005), amend Title 38 of the United States Code to deem certain service in the organized military forces of the Government of the Commonwealth of the Philippines and the Philippine Scouts to be active service for purposes of benefits under programs administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; and

WHEREAS, under H.R. 170, (Filipino Veterans Fairness Act) Filipino World War II veterans who became United States citizens or legal aliens are entitled to service-connected disability payments, vocational rehabilitation, and housing loans; Filipino World War II veterans residing in the Philippines are entitled to out-patient health care; and veterans' spouses and dependents are entitled to educational and vocational assistance; and

WHEREAS, passage of these measures will mean official recognition of Filipino veterans as American veterans, who will become eligible for veterans' benefits such as health care, disability compensation, pension, burial, housing loans, education, and vocational rehabilitation; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2005, the Senate concurring, that the United States Congress is urged to support and pass legislation conferring veterans' benefits on Filipino World War II veterans; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and the members of Hawaii's delegation to the Congress of the United States.

Report Title:

Filipino World War II Veterans; Veterans' Benefits