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 US counterpart made the promise in a recent telephone conversation.
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 Philippines this year to mark the 100th year of the first Philippine Assembly, the US-sponsored legislature elected in 1907 that became the forerunner of the Philippine House of Representatives.
He asked his American counterpart to address his chamber if she accepts his invitation.
The Office of Veterans Affairs at the Philippine Embassy in Washington, DC estimated that as of 2007, there were 18,155 surviving Filipino veterans who were not receiving any kind of assistance from the US government.
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.