A significant vote by the Senate. Now the House of Representatives have to say Yea or Nay.



The U.S. Senate today approved a proposal to provide special pensions and other benefits to thousands of Filipinos who fought alongside U.S. forces during World War II.

The Veterans Benefits Enhancement Act, S. 1315, was passed by a vote of 96-1, after Senate Republicans unsuccessfully tried to strip the bill of the provisions for the Filipino veterans.

Senators voted 56-41, with at least seven Republicans voting with Democrats to keep the benefits for Filipinos, most of whom are in their 80s.

Republican opponents had rejected the provisions, saying they would be too costly and come at the expense of U.S. veterans who should be placed first.

Supporters called it the moral obligation of Congress to support the veterans who were ordered to duty by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1941 to defend U.S. interests in the Philippines (a U.S. commonwealth at the time) against the Japanese.

Sen. Dan Akaka, the chairman of the Veterans Affairs Committee, had fought to keep the provisions in the bill.

"The soldier's creed is to leave no fellow warrior behind," Akaka said on the Senate floor. "I believe in that and I believe that it is important to acknowledge the valiant service of those Filipino veterans of World War II that served under U.S. command."

The Philippine government says there are about 18,000 veterans living in that country who would benefit from the bill. The measure now goes to the House for consideration.