I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3865 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to deem certain service in the 
organized military forces of the Government of the Commonwealth of 
the Philippines and the Philippine Scouts to have been active service 
for purposes of benefits under programs administered by the Secretary 
of Veterans Affairs. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 28, 2017 
Ms. SPEIER (for herself, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Ms. BORDALLO, Mr. CASTRO of 
Texas, Mr. COHEN, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. CORREA, Mr. COSTA, Ms. 
ESHOO, Ms. GABBARD, Mr. AL GREEN of Texas, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. 
GUTIE´RREZ, Ms. HANABUSA, Mr. KHANNA, Ms. LEE, Mr. TED LIEU of 
California, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms. NORTON, Mr. PA-
NETTA, Ms. ROSEN, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. SHERMAN, Ms. TITUS, Mr. TONKO, 
Mr. VARGAS, Ms. JUDY CHU of California, Mr. GONZALEZ of Texas, Ms. 
CLARKE of New York, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, and Ms. SCHAKOWSKY) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
Veterans’ Affairs 
A BILL 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to deem certain 
service in the organized military forces of the Govern-
ment of the Commonwealth of the Philippines and the 
Philippine Scouts to have been active service for purposes 
of benefits under programs administered by the Sec-
retary of Veterans Affairs. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Filipino Veterans Fair-
ness Act of 2017’’. 
SEC. 2. CERTAIN SERVICE IN THE ORGANIZED MILITARY 
FORCES OF THE PHILIPPINES AND THE PHIL-
IPPINE SCOUTS DEEMED TO BE ACTIVE 
SERVICE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 107 of title 38, United 
States Code, is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘not’’ after ‘‘Army of the 
United States, shall’’; and 
(B) by striking ‘‘, except benefits under— 
’’ and all that follows in that subsection and in-
serting a period; 
(2) in subsection (b)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘not’’ after ‘‘Armed Forces 
Voluntary Recruitment Act of 1945 shall’’; and 
(B) by striking ‘‘except—’’ and all that fol-
lows in that subsection and inserting a period; 
(3) by amending subsection (c) to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(c) DETERMINATION OF ELIGIBILITY.—(1) In de-
termining the eligibility of the service of an individual 
under this section, the Secretary shall take into account 
any alternative documentation regarding such service, in-
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cluding documentation other than the Missouri List, that 
the Secretary determines relevant. 
‘‘(2) Not later than March 1 of each year, the Sec-
retary shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs 
of the Senate and House of Representatives a report that 
includes— 
‘‘(A) the number of individuals applying for 
benefits pursuant to this section during the previous 
year; and 
‘‘(B) the number of such individuals that the 
Secretary approved for benefits.’’; and 
(4) by amending subsection (d) to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(d) RELATION
TO FILIPINO VETERANS EQUITY 
COMPENSATION FUND.—Section 1002(h) of the American 
Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (title X of divi-
sion A of Public Law 111–5; 123 Stat. 200; 38 U.S.C. 
107 note) shall not apply to an individual described in sub-
section (a) or (b) of this section.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—(1) The heading 
of such section is amended to read as follows: 
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‘‘§ 107. Certain service deemed to be active service: 
service in organized military forces of the 
Philippines 
and 
in 
the 
Philippine 
Scouts’’. 
(2) The item relating to such section in the table of 
sections at the beginning of chapter 1 of such title is 
amended to read as follows: 
‘‘107. Certain service deemed to be active service: service in organized military 
forces of the Philippines and in the Philippine Scouts.’’. 
SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The amendments made by this 
Act shall take effect on the date that is 90 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act. 
(b) APPLICABILITY.—No benefits shall accrue to any 
person for any period before the effective date of this Act 
by reason of the amendments made by this Act. 
Æ 
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