Rescission Act of 1946

The Rescission Act of 1946 (38 U.S.C. § 107) is a law of the United States that retroactively annulled benefits that would have been payable to Filipino troops on account of their military service under the auspices of the United States during the time that the Philippines was a U.S. territory and Filipinos were U.S. nationals.

Rescission Act of 1946
Long titleAn Act reducing or further reducing certain appropriations and contractual authorizations available for the fiscal year 1946, and for other purposes.
NicknamesSecond Supplemental Surplus Appropriation Rescission Act, 1946
Enacted bythe 79th United States Congress
EffectiveFebruary 18, 1946[1]
Citations
Public lawPub.L. 79–391
Statutes at Large60 Stat. 221
Legislative history
Major amendments
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

Opening text of the act

Service before July 1, 1946, in the organized military forces of the Government of the Commonwealth of the Philippines, while such forces were in the service of the Armed Forces of the United States pursuant to the military order of the President dated July 26, 1941, including among such military forces organized guerrilla forces under commanders appointed, designated, or subsequently recognized by the Commander in Chief, Southwest Pacific Area, or other competent authority in the Army of the United States, shall not be deemed to have been active military, naval, or air service for the purposes of any law of the United States conferring rights, privileges, or benefits upon any person by reason of the service of such person or the service of any other person in the Armed Forces

Background
See also: Military history of the Philippines during World War II

In July 1941, Franklin D. Roosevelt federalized forces in the Philippines into service.[2] During World War II, over 200,000 Filipinos fought in defense of the United States against the Japanese in the Pacific theater of military operations.[3] As a commonwealth of the United States before and during the war, Filipinos were legally American nationals. With American nationality, Filipinos were promised all the benefits afforded to those serving in the armed forces of the United States.[4]

History

Efforts to end spending on Filipino veterans who served the Commonwealth of the Philippines, an American sub-national government, were pushed forward by Senators Carl Hayden and Richard Russell Jr. after being informed that the veteran benefit costs were projected to be $3 billion ($43 billion, adjusted for inflation); Resident Commissioner Carlos P. Romulo spoke out against the legislation.[5] In 1946, Congress passed the Rescission Act, stripping Filipinos of the benefits they were promised,[6] giving the reason that the United States gave the Philippines $200 million after the war;[7] the allocated $200 million was never received.[5] Of the 66 countries allied with the United States during the war, only Filipinos were denied military benefits.[8]

Between 1946 and 2009, other benefits for Filipino veterans of World War II were enacted. These include the construction of Veterans Memorial Medical Center, and some funds for its operation and equipping. Other benefits include educational benefit extended to spouse and children, funding of assisted living care, as well as death benefits.[9] In 1990, Filipino veterans gained the right to naturalize due to their military service, resulting in the naturalization of over 20,000 Filipino veterans.[10] In 2003, Veteran Affairs health benefits were extended to Filipino American World War II veterans.[11]

In 2009, Section 1002 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provided for a one-time $15,000 lump sum for the surviving veterans who are US Citizens,[12] and a $9,000 lump sum settlement for non-citizens.[13] Acceptance of the payment would deny the payer any future benefits.[14] By February 2016, more than $225 million had been paid out through 18,960 individual claims that had been granted, which make up a minority of 42,755 total claims made for the one-time payment.[1] By August 2018, the number of claims granted increased to over 22,000.[15]

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See also

References
  1. Guillermo, Emil (18 February 2016). "Forgotten: The Battle Thousands of WWII Veterans Are Still Fighting". NBC News. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
  2. "Philippine Army and Guerrilla Records". National Personnel Records Center. National Archives. 13 July 2018. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
    "World War II Facts". FDR Library & Museum. 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
  3. Richard T. Schaefer (20 March 2008). Encyclopedia of Race, Ethnicity, and Society. SAGE. p. 547. ISBN 978-1-4129-2694-2.
  4. Josh Levs (February 23, 2009), U.S. to pay 'forgotten' Filipino World War II veterans, CNN, retrieved 2009-04-09
  5. Rodis, Rodel (19 February 2016). "70th anniversary of the infamous Rescission Act of 1946". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
  6. The Filipino Veterans Movement, PBS, retrieved 2009-04-09
  7. "Filipino-American WWII vets seek equal benefits". Air Force Times. 21 February 2011. Retrieved 10 March 2011.
    Franklin Odo; Franklin pilk (2002). The Columbia Documentary History of the Asian American Experience. Columbia University Press. p. 320. ISBN 978-0-231-11030-3.
  8. Nakano, Satoshi (2004). "The Filipino World War II veterans equity movement and the Filipino American community" (PDF). Seventh Annual International Philippine Studies. Center for Pacific And American Studies. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
  9. Scott, Christine; Viranga Panangala, Sidath; Davis, Carol D. (20 February 2009). Overview of Filipino Veterans' Benefits (PDF) (Report). Congressional Research Service. Retrieved 1 December 2018 – via everycrsreport.com.
  10. Vo, Linda Trinh. Odo, Franklin (ed.). Asian American Pacific Islander National Historic Landmarks Theme Study (PDF) (Report). National Park Service. ISBN 978-0-692-92584-3. Retrieved 1 December 2018. It was not until the 1990s that a mere 26,000 surviving veterans were granted citizenship rights
    Nakano, Satoshi (December 2000). "Nation, Nationalism and Citizenship in the Filipino World War II Veterans Equity Movement, 1945-1999". Hitotsubashi Journal of Social Studies. 32 (2): 33–53. JSTOR 43294595.
    Berestein, Leslie (28 May 1995). "A Debt Unpaid : In 1946, the U.S. Reneged on a Wartime Promise of Citizenship and Full Veterans' Benefits to Filipino Soldiers Who Played a Crucial Role Fighting With American Troops in the Pacific. When Congress Did Finally Grant Citizenship in 1990, More Than 20,000 Men Left the Philippines and Came to This Country--Many Settling In L.A. Here, They Continue to Wait for What Is Due Them. Poor and Too Old to Find Work, They Live Together in Cramped Apartments, Surviving on Meager Social Security Checks. Their Hope Is That One Day They Will Be Reunited With Their Loved Ones From Their Homeland". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
  11. Simon, Richard (17 December 2003). "Filipino Veterans of WWII Win a Battle in Struggle for Benefits". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
    Donato, Decerry (2 December 2018). "'Not forgotten': Filipino second world war veterans fight for US recognition". The Guardian. United Kingdom. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  12. War veterans, supporters eye next moves, ABS-CBN News Channel, February 16, 2009, archived from the original on February 21, 2009, retrieved 2009-04-09
  13. Guillermo, Emil (11 November 2015). "Thousands of Filipino-American WWII Vets Make Appeals Over Equity Pay Denial". NBC News.
  14. Heck, Joseph J. (24 June 2014). "Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation Fund: Examining the Department of Defense and Inter-agency process for verifying eligibility" (PDF). Government Publishing Office. Retrieved 8 May 2018. The Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation Fund was established to provide a one-time payment to Filipino veterans as settlement for all future benefits claims based on service.
  15. Merina, Dorian (9 August 2018). "Their Last Fight: Filipino Veterans Make A Final Push For Recognition". KPBS. San Diego. Retrieved 11 May 2019.

Further reading
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