HR270 HD1.DOC

WHEREAS, on December 8, 1941, thousands of Filipino men and women responded to President Roosevelt's call for help to preserve peace, democracy, and freedom for America and the World; and

WHEREAS, at that time, the Philippines were part of the Commonwealth of the United States of America and its citizens were nationals of the United States of America just like Hawaii was and American Samoa is today; and

WHEREAS, during the dark days of World War II (WWII), nearly 100,000 soldiers of the Philippine Commonwealth Army provided a ray of hope in the Pacific as they fought alongside United States and Allied forces for four long years to defend and reclaim the Philippine Islands from Japanese aggression; and

WHEREAS, thousands more Filipinos joined U.S. Armed Forces immediately after the war and served in occupational duty throughout the Pacific Theater; and

WHEREAS, valiant Filipino soldiers fought, died, and suffered in some of the bloodiest battles of WWII, defending beleaguered Bataan and Corregidor, and thousands of Filipino prisoners of war endured the infamous Bataan Death March and years of captivity; and

WHEREAS, their many guerrilla actions slowed the Japanese takeover of the Western Pacific region and allowed U.S. forces the time to build and prepare for the allied counterattack on Japan; and

WHEREAS, Filipino troops fought side-by-side with U.S. forces to secure their islands as the strategic base from which the final effort to defeat Japan was launched; and

WHEREAS, President William J. Clinton proclaimed

October 20, 1996, as a day honoring the Filipino Veterans of WWII, recalling the courage, sacrifice, and loyalty of Filipino veterans of WWII in defense of democracy and liberty; and

WHEREAS, for decades after their heroic service under the command of their leaders and General Douglas MacArthur, these men and women of Filipino-American national heritage were denied the benefits and privileges provided to their American compatriots who fought side-by-side with them; and

WHEREAS, the Rescission Act of 1946 withdrew the U.S. veteran's status of Filipino WWII soldiers, thereby denying them the benefits and compensation received by their American counterparts and soldiers of more than 66 other U.S. allied countries, who were similarly inducted into the U.S. military; and

WHEREAS, the Rescission Act discriminated against Filipinos, making them the only national group singled out for denial of full U.S. veterans status and benefits, including rights of immigration and naturalization; and

WHEREAS, in recognition of the courage and loyalty of the Filipino troops who fought alongside our armed forces in the Philippines during WWII, the United States Congress enacted legislation in 1990 that provided a waiver from certain immigration and naturalization requirements for those Filipino veterans; and

WHEREAS, as a result of that legislation, many of those Filipino veterans have become proud citizens and residents of this country; and

WHEREAS, because the 1990 legislation did not go far enough in extending those immigration and naturalization benefits to the children of those veterans, the result has been years long separations between the veterans and their children remaining in the Philippines awaiting the issuance of immigrant visas; and

WHEREAS, on February 16, 2007, Senator Daniel Akaka, along with Senator Daniel Inouye and other members, introduced S. 671, the Filipino Veterans Family Reunification Act, in the United States Senate, to amend the Immigration and Naturalization Act to exempt children of certain Filipino WWII veterans from the numerical limitation on immigrant visas; and

WHEREAS, Representative Mazie Hirono, Representative Neil Abercrombie, and other Representatives have expressed an interest or intent to introduce or co-sponsor a House companion bill to S. 671 to facilitate family reunification of certain Filipino Veterans of WWII; and

WHEREAS, H.R. 1, the stimulus bill, set the historical record straight by declaring that the Filipino Veterans' service during WWII is hereby recognized as active U.S. military service; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fifth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2009, that the United States President, the United States Senate, the United States House of Representatives, and the United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs are respectfully urged to support the passage of federal law 1287 to expedite family reunification for certain Filipino veterans of WWII; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, President of the Republic of the Philippines, President of the United States Senate, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Chair of the House Judiciary Committee, Director of the Bureau of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs, American Coalition for Filipino Veterans, and Hawaii's congressional delegation.

Report Title:

Filipino Veterans, Family reunification

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R.NO.	270
TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2009		H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII