I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1984

To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve benefits for Filipino 

veterans of World War II, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 6, 2003

Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD introduced the following bill; which was referred 

to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL

To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve benefits 

for Filipino veterans of World War II, and for other 

purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Filipino Veterans Fair5 ness Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. RATE OF PAYMENT OF CERTAIN BENEFITS FOR 

7 NEW PHILIPPINE SCOUTS RESIDING IN THE 

8 UNITED STATES. 

9 (a) RATE OF PAYMENT.—Section 107 of title 38, 

10 United States Code, is amended—
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1 (1) in the second sentence of subsection (b), by 

2 striking ‘‘Payments’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as pro3 vided in subsection (c), payments’’; and 

4 (2) in subsection (c)—

5 (A) by inserting ‘‘or (b)’’ after ‘‘subsection 

6 (a)’’ the first place it appears; and 

7 (B) by striking ‘‘subsection (a)’’ the second 

8 place it appears and inserting ‘‘the applicable 

9 subsection’’. 

10 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

11 subsection (a) shall take effect on the date of the enact12 ment of this Act, and shall apply to benefits paid for 

13 months beginning on or after that date. 

14 SEC. 3. RATE OF PAYMENT OF DEPENDENCY AND INDEM15 NITY COMPENSATION FOR SURVIVING 

16 SPOUSES OF CERTAIN FILIPINO VETERANS. 

17 (a) RATE OF PAYMENT.—Subsection (c) of section 

18 107 of title 38, United States Code, as amended by section 

19 2 of this Act, is further amended by inserting ‘‘, and under 

20 chapter 13 of this title,’’ after ‘‘chapter 11 of this title’’. 

21 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

22 subsection (a) shall take effect on the date of the enact23 ment of this Act, and shall apply to benefits paid for 

24 months beginning on or after that date. 
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1 SEC. 4. ELIGIBILITY OF CERTAIN FILIPINO VETERANS FOR 

2 DISABILITY PENSION. 

3 (a) ELIGIBILITY.—Section 107 of title 38, United 

4 States Code, as amended by this Act, is further amend5 ed—

6 (1) in subsection (a)—

7 (A) in paragraph (3) of the first sentence, 

8 by inserting ‘‘15,’’ before ‘‘23,’’; and 

9 (B) in the second sentence, by striking 

10 ‘‘subsections (c) or (d)’’ and inserting ‘‘sub11 sections (c), (d), or (e)’’ ; and 

12 (2) in subsection (b)—

13 (A) by striking paragraph (2) of the first 

14 sentence and inserting the following new para15 graph (2): 

16 ‘‘(2) chapters 11, 13 (except section 1312(a)), 

17 and 15 of this title.’’; and 

18 (B) in the second sentence, by striking 

19 ‘‘subsection (c)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsections (c) 

20 and (e)’’. 

21 (b) RATE OF PAYMENT.—That section is further 

22 amended by adding at the end the following new sub23 section: 

24 ‘‘(e) In the case of benefits under chapter 15 of this 

25 title paid by reason of service described in subsection (a) 

26 or (b), if—
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1 ‘‘(1) the benefits are paid to an individual re2 siding in the United States who is a citizen of, or 

3 an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence 

4 in, the United States, the second sentence of the ap5 plicable subsection shall not apply; and 

6 ‘‘(2) the benefits are paid to an individual re7 siding in the Republic of the Philippines, the bene8 fits shall be paid (notwithstanding any other provi9 sion of law) at the rate of $100 per month.’’. 

10 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

11 this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment 

12 of this Act, and shall apply to benefits for months begin13 ning on or after that date. 

14 SEC. 5. ELIGIBILITY OF FILIPINO VETERANS FOR HEALTH 

15 CARE IN THE UNITED STATES. 

16 The text of section 1734 of title 38, United States 

17 Code, is amended to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘The Secretary, within the limits of Department fa19 cilities, shall furnish hospital and nursing home care and 

20 medical services (including the types of counseling services 

21 described in section 1712A of this title) to Commonwealth 

22 Army veterans and new Philippine Scouts in the same 

23 manner as provided for under section 1710 of this title.’’. 
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1 SEC. 6. OUTPATIENT HEALTH CARE FOR VETERANS RESID2 ING IN THE PHILIPPINES. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter IV of chapter 17 of 

4 title 38, United States Code, is amended—

5 (1) by redesignating section 1735 as section 

6 1736; and 

7 (2) by inserting after section 1734 the following 

8 new section 1735: 

9 ‘‘§ 1735. Outpatient care and services for World War 

10 II veterans residing in the Philippines 

11 ‘‘(a) OUTPATIENT HEALTH CARE.—The Secretary 

12 shall furnish care and services to veterans of World War 

13 II, Commonwealth Army veterans, and new Philippine 

14 Scouts for the treatment of the service-connected disabil15 ities and nonservice-connected disabilities of such veterans 

16 and scouts residing in the Republic of the Philippines on 

17 an outpatient basis at the Manila VA Outpatient Clinic. 

18 ‘‘(b) LIMITATIONS.—(1) The amount expended by 

19 the Secretary for the purpose of subsection (a) in any fis20 cal year may not exceed $500,000.

21 ‘‘(2) The authority of the Secretary to furnish care 

22 and services under subsection (a) is effective in any fiscal 

23 year only to the extent that appropriations are available 

24 for that purpose.’’. 

25 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

26 at the beginning of chapter 17 of such title is amended 
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1 by striking the item relating to section 1735 and inserting 

2 after the item relating to section 1734 the following new 

3 items:

‘‘1735. Outpatient care and services for World War II veterans residing in the 

Philippines. 

‘‘1736. Definitions.’’.

4 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

5 this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment 

6 of this Act. 

7 SEC. 7. ELIGIBILITY FOR HOUSING LOANS. 

8 Section 3701(b) of title 38, United States Code, is 

9 amended by adding at the end the following new para10 graph: 

11 ‘‘(5) The term ‘veteran’ also includes an indi12 vidual who is a Commonwealth Army veteran (as de13 fined in subsection (a) of section 3566 of this title), 

14 or a new Philippine Scout (as defined in subsection 

15 (b) of such section) who resides in the United 

16 States.’’. 

17 SEC. 8. EDUCATIONAL BENEFITS FOR SPOUSES AND DE18 PENDENTS. 

19 (a) INCLUSION OF SPOUSES.—Section 3565(a) of 

20 title 38, United States Code, is amended to read as fol21 lows: 

22 ‘‘(a) The term ‘eligible person’ as used in section 

23 3501(a)(1) of this title includes the spouse, surviving 

24 spouse, and child of a Commonwealth Army veteran or 
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1 a ‘New’ Philippine Scouts in the same manner as a spouse, 

2 surviving spouse, and child of a person who meets the re3 quirements of service-connected disability or death under 

4 such section, based on service as defined in section 3566 

5 of this title.’’. 

6 (b) INCREASE IN RATES PAYABLE FOR DEPENDENTS

7 RESIDING IN THE UNITED STATES.—Section 3565(b) of 

8 such title is amended—

9 (1) by striking ‘‘children’’ in the matter pre10 ceding paragraph (1) and inserting ‘‘a spouse, sur11 viving spouse, or child’’; 

12 (2) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para13 graph (3); 

14 (3) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘, and’’ and in15 serting ‘‘in the case of a spouse, surviving spouse, or 

16 child residing in the Philippines,’’; and 

17 (4) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol18 lowing new subparagraph: 

19 ‘‘(2) notwithstanding section 3532(d) of this 

20 title, educational assistance allowances authorized by 

21 section 3532 of this title and the special training al22 lowance authorized by section 3542 of this title shall 

23 be paid at the rate of $1.00 for each dollar in the 

24 case of a spouse, surviving spouse, or child residing 

25 in the United States, and’’. 
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1 SEC. 9. ELIGIBILITY FOR VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION. 

2 (a) ELIGIBILITY.—Section 107 of title 38, United 

3 States Code, as amended by this Act, is further amend4 ed—

5 (1) in subsection (a)—

6 (A) in paragraph (3) of the first sen7 tence—

8 (i) by striking ‘‘and 24’’ and inserting 

9 ‘‘24’’; and 

10 (ii) by inserting ‘‘, and chapter 31’’ 

11 before ‘‘of this title’’; 

12 (B) in the second sentence, by striking ‘‘or 

13 (e)’’ and inserting ‘‘(e), or (f)’’; and 

14 (2) in subsection (b)(2) of the first sentence by 

15 striking ‘‘and 15’’ and inserting ‘‘15, and 31’’; and 

16 (B) in the second sentence, by striking 

17 ‘‘and (e)’’ and inserting ‘‘, (e), and (f)’’. 

18 (b) RATE OF PAYMENT.—That section is further 

19 amended by adding at the end the following new sub20 section: 

21 ‘‘(f) In the case of benefits under chapter 31 of this 

22 title paid by reason of service described in subsection (a) 

23 or (b), if the benefits are paid to an individual residing 

24 in the United States who is a citizen of, or an alien law25 fully admitted for permanent residence in, the United 
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1 States, the second sentence of the applicable subsection 

2 shall not apply.’’. 

3 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

4 this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment 

5 of this Act, and shall apply to benefits for months begin6 ning on or after that date. 

7 SEC. 10. ELIGIBILITY FOR BENEFITS FOR JOB COUN8 SELING, TRAINING, AND PLACEMENT. 

9 (a) VETERANS.—Section 4101(4) of title 38, United 

10 States Code, is amended by inserting before the period the 

11 following: ‘‘, and includes a Commonwealth Army veteran 

12 (as defined in subsection (a) of section 3566 of this title), 

13 or a new Philippine Scout (as defined in subsection (b) 

14 of such section)’’. 

15 (b) DEPENDENTS.—Section 4104(5) of such title is 

16 amended—

17 (1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subparagraph 

18 (B); 

19 (2) by striking the period at the end of sub20 paragraph (C) and inserting ‘‘, or’’ and 

21 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub22 paragraph: 

23 ‘‘(D) the spouse or child of a Common24 wealth Army veteran (as defined in subsection 

25 (a) of section 3566 of this title), or a new Phil-
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1 ippine Scout (as defined in subsection (b) of 

2 such section).’’. 

3 SEC. 11. REPRESENTATION ON THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE 

4 ON MINORITY VETERANS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 544 (a)(2) of title 38, 

6 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 

7 following new subparagraph: 

8 ‘‘(D) The Secretary shall ensure that at least one 

9 member of the Committee each year is a Commonwealth 

10 Army veteran (as defined in subsection (a) of section 3566 

11 of this title), or a new Philippine Scout (as defined in sub12 section (b) of such section).’’.

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