II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 191

To require the Secretary of the Army to determine the validity of the claims

of certain Filipinos that they performed military service on behalf of

the United States during World War II.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JANUARY 19, 1999

Mr. INOUYE introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred

to the Committee on Armed Services

A BILL

To require the Secretary of the Army to determine the validity of the claims of certain Filipinos that they performed

military service on behalf of the United States during

World War II.

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

3 SECTION 1. DETERMINATIONS BY THE SECRETARY OF THE

4 ARMY.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Upon the written application of

6 any person who is a national of the Philippine Islands,

7 the Secretary of the Army shall determine whether such

8 person performed any military service in the Philippine Is-
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•S 191 IS

1 lands in aid of the Armed Forces of the United States

2 during World War II which qualifies such person to re3 ceive any military, veterans’, or other benefits under the

4 laws of the United States.

5 (b) INFORMATION TO BE CONSIDERED.—In making

6 a determination for the purpose of subsection (a), the Sec7 retary shall consider all information and evidence (relating

8 to service referred to in subsection (a)) available to the

9 Secretary, including information and evidence submitted

10 by the applicant, if any.

11 SEC. 2. CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE.

12 (A) ISSUANCE OF CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE.—The

13 Secretary shall issue a certificate of service to each person

14 determined by the Secretary to have performed military

15 service described in section 1(a).

16 (b) EFFECT OF CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE.—A cer17 tificate of service issued to any person under subsection

18 (a) shall, for the purpose of any law of the United States,

19 conclusively establish the period, nature, and character of

20 the military service described in the certificate.

21 SEC. 3. APPLICATIONS BY SURVIVORS.

22 An application submitted by a surviving spouse, child,

23 or parent of a deceased person described in section 1(a)

24 shall be treated as an application submitted by such per25 son.
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•S 191 IS

1 SEC. 4. LIMITATION PERIOD.

2 The Secretary may not consider for the purpose of

3 this Act any application received by the Secretary more

4 than two years after the date of enactment of this Act.

5 SEC. 5. PROSPECTIVE APPLICATION OF DETERMINATIONS

6 BY THE SECRETARY OF THE ARMY.

7 No benefits shall accrue to any person for any period

8 prior to the date of enactment of this Act as a result of

9 the enactment of this Act.

10 SEC. 6. REGULATIONS.

11 The Secretary shall issue regulations to carry out sec12 tions 1, 3, and 4.

13 SEC. 7. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE SECRETARY OF VETER14 ANS AFFAIRS.

15 Any entitlement of a person to receive veterans’ bene16 fits by reason of this Act shall be administered by the De17 partment of Veterans Affairs pursuant to regulations

18 issued by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

19 SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS.

20 In this Act:

21 (1) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary

22 of the Army.

23 (2) The term ‘‘World War II’’ means the period

24 beginning on December 7, 1941, and ending on De25 cember 31, 1946.

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