I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 6121 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the benefits furnished 
by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to certain individuals who served 
in the forces of the Philippines and the Philippine Scouts. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 30, 2023 
Mr. MULLIN (for himself, Mr. CASE, Mr. MOYLAN, Mr. CARTER of Louisiana, 
Ms. BARRAGA´N, Mr. BERA, Mr. CARSON, Ms. CHU, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. 
COHEN, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. COSTA, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. DAVIS 
of North Carolina, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. GARAMENDI, Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, 
Mr. GOMEZ, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Ms. JACOBS, Mr. 
JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. KHANNA, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. LIEU, 
Ms. LOFGREN, Ms. MATSUI, Ms. MENG, Ms. NORTON, Mr. PASCRELL, 
Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Mr. SABLAN, Ms. SA´NCHEZ, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, 
Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. SWALWELL, Ms. TITUS, Ms. TOKUDA, 
Mr. VARGAS, and Ms. WATERS) introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 
A BILL 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the 
benefits furnished by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
to certain individuals who served in the forces of the 
Philippines and the Philippine Scouts. 
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 2023’’. 
SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENT OF VETERANS BENEFITS FUR-
NISHED 
TO 
CERTAIN 
INDIVIDUALS 
WHO 
SERVED IN THE FORCES OF THE PHIL-
IPPINES AND THE PHILIPPINE SCOUTS. 
(a) EXPANSION OF BENEFITS.—Section 107 of title 
38, United States Code, is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)— 
(A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘; and’’ 
and inserting a semicolon; 
(B) in paragraph (3), by striking the pe-
riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(C) by inserting after paragraph (3) the 
following new paragraph: 
‘‘(4) sections 1541 and 1542 of this title.’’; and 
(2) in subsection (b)— 
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘; and’’ 
and inserting a semicolon; 
(B) in paragraph (2), by striking the pe-
riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(C) by inserting after paragraph (2) the 
following new paragraph: 
‘‘(3) sections 1541 and 1542 of this title.’’; and 
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(b) ELIGIBILITY.—Such section is further amended 
by adding at the end the following new subsections: 
‘‘(e) 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-
cluding documentation other than the recognized guerrilla 
rosters stored at the National Personnel Records Center, 
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. 
‘‘(f) 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.’’. 
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—The amendments made by 
this section shall take effect on the date that is 270 
days after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
(2) 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 section. 
Æ 
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