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The long wait for veterans benefits and equity still goes on as Thanksgiving Day sets in without the much awaited results from the US Congress lame duck session. According to JFAV representative and World War II Veteran from San Francisco, Mr. Reggie Nacua who went to lobby with the ACFV in Washington DC reported that the Senate instead passed in its hearings -the S. 3869 also known as the Filipino Veterans Support Bill.
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Media Advisory
Justice for Filipino American Veterans (JFAV)
Nov. 25, 2008
Contact: Arturo P. Garcia
(213)241-0995
email: jfav_causa@yahoo.com
NO THANKSGIVING GIFT FOR FILIPINO VETERANS, STILL FIGHTS AND WAITS FOR BENEFITS AND EQUITY
Los Angeles-- The long wait for veterans benefits and equity still goes on as Thanksgiving Day sets in without the much awaited results from the US Congress lame duck session.
According to JFAV representative and World War II Veteran from San Francisco, Mr. Reggie Nacua who went to lobby with the ACFV in Washington DC reported that the Senate instead passed in its hearings -the S. 3869 also known as the Filipino Veterans Support Bill.
The S. 3869 tacitly recognized the military service of the Filipino World War II veterans. The bill enshrined that the military service of the Filipinos as active military service and finally recognized them as American veterans after more than 63 years of exclusion.
LUMP SUM AS ADDITIONAL BENEFITS
And then, finally the bill also awarded them the lump sums without any deductions and effect in all benefits they are already receiving from the government. Under the bill, the 6,000 Filipino veterans in the United States will receive the $ 15,000 lump-sum.
Meanwhile, the more than 12,000 Filipino veterans in the Philippines will get $ 9,000 payment. The money appropriated by the Chat Edwards bill in the amount of $ 1987 million dollars will be used as payments. This is the good news.
The bad news: the bill still has to be passed by the lame-duck session and signed into law before January 20, 2009 by the outgoing President George Bush or by the incoming President-elect Barack Obama early next year.
NEXT TARGET; LIFETIME PENSIONS
The JFAV takes the promise of Senator Akaka and Inouye to file another bill next US Congress in 2009 to include the Filipinos in the SB 1315 that excluded the Filipino veterans from benefits like life-time pensions to living veterans and their widows.
The US Congress prioritized the $ 700 B bail-out for the capitalist and remove the Filipino World War II veterans benefits in what the JFAV called the second recession act of 2008. The first Recission Act of Feb 18, 1946 deemed the military service of the 250,000 Filipino World War II veterans as inactive and refused to recognize them as American veterans.
JFAV promised to escalate their actions nationwide and achieve benefits and equity for Filipino veterans as they entered the 63 years of discrimination for the Filipino World War II with the Recession Act of 1946 in effect.
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