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COUNTY OF SAN MATEO
Inter-Departmental Correspondence
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County Manager’s Office
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DATE:
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May 28, 2008
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BOARD MEETING DATE:
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June 3, 2008
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SPECIAL NOTICE/HEARING:
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None
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VOTE REQUIRED:
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Majority
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TO:
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Honorable Board of Supervisors
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FROM:
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John L. Maltbie
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SUBJECT:
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County Manager’s Report #6—Title IV: Filipino World War II Veterans Matters in S. 1315 (Akaka), Veterans' Benefits Enhancement Act
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RECOMMENDATION:
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Adopt a resolution in support of Title IV: Filipino World War II Veterans Matters in S. 1315 (Akaka), Veterans' Benefits Enhancement Act.
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VISION ALIGNMENT:
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Commitment: Realize the potential of our diverse population
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Goal(s): 1—Our diverse population works well together to build strong communities, effective government and a prosperous economy.
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BACKGROUND:
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Under President Roosevelt, the Commonwealth Army of the Philippines was, in 1941, called into service for the United States. Many Filipinos who served were killed or wounded in combat. Those who did serve were supposed to receive full veterans’ benefits by reason of their active service with the U.S. armed forces. Then in 1946, Congress enacted the Rescission Act of 1946, which deemed that the service performed by these Filipino veterans would not be recognized as “active service” for the purpose of any U.S. law conferring “rights, privileges, or benefits.” This included the denial of veterans’ access to health care and pension benefits and limited their death compensation to half of their American counterparts.
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The Title IV section of S. 1315 would deem military service performed before July 1, 1946 in the military forces of the Philippines and Philippine Scouts as active military service for (U.S.) veterans’ benefit eligibility purposes.
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This bill is similar to H.R. 4574 (Issa,) and S. 146 (Inouye) from 2006. The Board supported these bills. The Board of Supervisors also supported S. 2630 (Inouye, D-HI) and H.R. 4904 (Filner, D-CA) Health Care for Filipino World War II Veterans Act; H.R. 491 (Gilman, R-NY) Filipino Veterans Equity Act of 2001; and S. 1042 (Inouye, D-HI) Filipino Veterans' Benefits Improvement Act of 2001.
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DISCUSSION:
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The Filipino Veterans Equity effort has been a multi-year effort to provide veterans’ benefits to estimated 18,000 survivors (6,000 in the U.S. and 12,000 in the Philippines). Opponents, including Senator Larry Craig (R-Idaho) and Richard Burr (R-North Carolina), have expressed concerns about expending funds on those who are not U.S. citizens and do not live in the U.S. They fear that providing benefits to Filipino and Filipino American veterans would come at the expense of other veterans, especially those returning from Iraq. In late April, an amendment to strip the Filipino Veterans Equity provisions from S. 1315 was defeated on the Senate Floor. The bill was approved by the Senate (96:1) and received by the House.
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The Legislative Committee has reviewed Title IV: Filipino World War II Veterans Matters in S. 1315 (Akaka), Veterans' Benefits Enhancement Act and recommends support.
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FISCAL IMPACT:
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None.
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