Equity bill still hanging in balance in US Congress with one week left
By RODNEY J. JALECO, ABS-CBN North America News Bureau | 09/17/2008 12:01 PM
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WASHINGTON D.C. - It’s been 40 years running, but now the pursuit for justice for surviving Filipino World War II veterans has come down to a suspenseful sprint.
With just a little over a week left before the 110th Congress adjourns, Philippine Ambassador Willy Gaa has virtually camped out on Capitol Hill. He’s been meeting with key congressional leaders, mobilizing support for Senate 1315 – the omnibus veterans benefits bill that contain the Filipino veterans equity bill.
House veterans affairs committee chairman Bob Filner, running for re-election in California’s heavily ethnic southern San Diego district, has offered a compromise bill that would provide a one-time, lump-sum payment of $15,000 for US-based Filipino veterans and $9,000 for those in the Philippines.
Veterans advocates have rejected the Filner proposal, confident that S-1315 still has a chance. “Ang posisyon natin ipagpatuloy ang panukala sa Senate Bill 1315. Kung hindi makuha ‘yun at least yung substance ng senate bill na ito. Ito ang hangarin ng mga beterano natin sa Pilipinas,” Gaa tells ABS-CBN’s Balitang America.
“1315 is alive and well,” stressed Eric Lachica, executive director of the American Coalition of Filipino Veterans.
Lachica and other veterans lobbyists took part in Gaa’s meetings with Senator Daniel Akaka and Filner. “Ang sabi ni Senator Akaka, focus on S-1315. We have a very good chance of having it passed,” he said.
“We looked at the legislative procedures and the politics behind the scene to make it happen. Kung mapasa ng House in whatever form S-1315 is voted upon, it will be fixed in the conference committee,” Lachica explained.
The Senate voted 96-1 to approve S-1315 last April. It was the farthest the Filipino veterans equity bill has ever gone. The bill aims to reverse the 1946 Rescission Act that stripped Filipino soldiers who served under the US Armed Forces during World War II of their veteran status.
But the struggle to win equity only shifted to high gear when Democrats won control of Congress.
“Obviously there’s a lot of challenges with the bill that have been kind of percolating the past couple of months and we’re working with them (Akaka and Filner) to find the best strategy to move something forward,” said Ben de Guzman, executive director of the National Alliance for Filipino Veterans Equity.
Playing hard-ball for the Equity Bill
“We recognize all of the work that people throughout the community have put in the past two years. It’s kind of frustrating now because we haven’t seen anything public for a long time since the Senate bill passed but what we’re telling people – the veterans waited for 62 years, there’s still hope,” De Guzman tells Balitang America.
Lachica said they are focusing their efforts on three key people – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Filner and House appropriations committee chairman Rep. Chet Edwards.
“Nakataya na ngayon ang bill sa House. The Speaker will have to make a determination when to bring it up for a vote,” he explained. Sources say the process has been snagged by Pelosi’s alleged reluctance to gamble with the bill’s success on the floor and, more insidiously, they say, a rift between the Speaker and the equity bill’s chief proponent, Congressman Filner.
“We are urging all our San Francisco (Pelosi’s congressional district) area leaders to focus on Pelosi to get S-1315 scheduled for a vote,” Lachica said.
“We’ve also asked our southern California leaders to prevail on Chairman Filner to talk to the Speaker to have it scheduled,” he added.
The bill’s supporters have tapped friends like Rep. Mike Honda (15th district, California) and Pelosi’s assistant Rep. Xavier Becerra (31st district, California) to serve as go-betweens for the Speaker and Filner.
“The way we see it,” says Nevada-based Rozita Lee, vice chairperson of the umbrella National Alliance of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA), “if it is put on the floor, we have the votes.”
“There are so many variables and our job as Filipinos is to contact all our Representatives. While I’m here in Washington DC I went to see our representative, Rep. (Jon) Porter to ask him to talk with his colleagues. He is a Republican, and it would be nice if the Republicans jump aboard just like the Democrats have,” she said.
But Lachica labels the current impasse as a “Democratic leadership problem, it’s not a partisan problem”.
“Speaker Pelosi has to act, she has to show leadership,” he stressed, “Chairman Filner has to broker a deal with the Speaker and Chet Edwards. So ‘yon lang ang simple formula. We’re focused on those three people.”
“Unfortunately, the partisan does show up from time to time but if Speaker Pelosi brings it to the floor, I think it will be healthy to do so, so we can find out how each of the parties feel,” Lee averred.
“As time gets closer to election, I think they’re going to start realizing they need to support this bill for the Filipino veterans. There are 4.5 million Filipinos in America and that’s a large count for them to rely on to get voted into office,” Lee declared.
