US SENATE REPLENISHES LUMP SUM FUNDS FOR FILVETS (tags)
The US Senate has voted to use part of the savings from federal construction projects to replenish the nearly-depleted Filipino Veterans Equity Fund. The Senate voted 60-35 to use $67 million out of an estimated $103 million in savings allocated to the Department of Veterans Affairs to help the aging Filipino veterans. President Obama signed last year a Congress bill that set aside $198 million from the economic stimulus fund for the Filipino veterans. That amount was computed on the assumption that only 18,000 Filipino World War II veterans were left in the US and the Philippines. The fund would pay $15,000 for Filipino veterans living in the US, and $9,000 for those living in the Philippines.