FilAm Vets Lobby Congress on July 26

for Family Reunification

WASHINGTON DC - Filipino American World War II veterans will march again on Wednesday, July 26, 2006 on Capitol Hill to conduct face-to-face

lobbying with members of congress, according to the American Coalition for Filipino Veterans, a Washington-based advocacy group.

The veterans from California, Texas, New York, New Jersey and other cities will mark the 65th anniversary of the 1941 Military Order of President Franklin D. Roosevelt that drafted morethan 140,000 Filipino soldiers into the U.S. Army by appealing to key House members and White House officials to pass the Filipino Veterans Family Reunification immigration amendment.

In May, the U.S. Senate passed the amendment that was introduced by Hawaii Senators Daniel Akaka and Daniel Inouye as part the Comprehensive

Immigration Reform Act, S. 2611.

The veterans will show photos of their children who have been patiently waiting for more than dozen years to immigrate to the U.S. to congress

members. They will dramatize their urgent need for companionship and care from their children in their twilight years. Most of Filipino American veterans and their spouses are low-income and receive SSI and Medicaid benefits.

Their champions for their immigration amendment in the House are Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista CA) and Rep. Ed Case (D-Hawaii). The leaders of the

veterans' coalition recently met with and appealed to Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle and to California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to support their

legislation.

Their supporters are lobbying the House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Batavia IL) and House Judiciary Committee Chair James Sensenbrenner (R-Brookfield, WI) through key Republican congress members like: Duncan Hunter, Brian Bilbray, Ed Royce, and Richard Pombo in California, Henry Hyde (WWII veteran) in Illinois, and Thelma Drake, Randy Forbes, Virgil Goode and Tom Davis of Virginia.

They are also holding community action forums and scheduling visits to the local district offices of their congress members during the August month-long recess.