Pelosi vows to work for passage of Pinoy veterans equity bill
Speaker Nancy Pelosi of the United States House of Representatives has promised Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. that she would work on the passage of the Filipino Veterans Equity Bill.
The proposed law could provide up to $90 million a year to 18,000 surviving Filipino World War II veterans.
De Venecia said yesterday his
He said the same assurance was given to him by a group of American congressmen led by Rep. Ben Gilman, former chairman of the House veterans affairs committee.
He added that President Bush has already assured President Arroyo that he would sign the bill into law once the US Congress approves it.
De Venecia invited Pelosi to visit the
He asked his American counterpart to address his chamber if she accepts his invitation.
The Office of Veterans Affairs at the Philippine Embassy in
It said the veterans were in their mid-80s and had “very poor access to healthcare and were dying at the rate of 10 percent.”
“By 2015, all the veterans would have passed away,” it said in a report.
Under the Filipino Veterans Equity Bill, benefits include $700 a month for married veterans, $500 a month for single veterans, $300 a month for widows of veterans, and $142 a month in medical allowance for all veterans.
De Venecia thanked Speaker Pelosi, Rep. Gilman, Rep. Bob Filner and other sponsors of the measure for taking up the cudgels for Filipino war veterans.
“We attach a major importance to this bill,” he said.
He quoted the measure’s authors and sponsors as saying they believe they could win a floor vote since Speaker Pelosi supports the bill.
He said the US Senate is also expected to begin deliberations on the proposal this month.
The Senate version of the bill is sponsored by Sen. Daniel Akaka, who heads the veterans affairs committee.
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