Dems cut DAV benefits to give benefits to Filipino Vets ?

[Catchawave]

I received this from a freeper friend in email, obviously to blame the Dems? Google has just taken me to conservative websites and, of course, the link below to a news article was written by a republican. I would like to respond to this, any help would be very much appreciated !

From email:

House Veterans' Affairs (VA) Democrat Committee Members Voted To Cut American Disabled Veterans' Benefits in order to give Benefits To Filipino Veterans.


Democrats give away veterans' benefits

http://www.timesgazette.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=147067&TM=54783.2

[TechBear_Seattle]

1. Filipino veterans?

I wasn't aware we had any veterans in the Philippines, not since the Philippine-American War which ended (officially) in 1902 (and unofficially in 1913.)

[Wickerman]

2. nonsense

This is only the Rethugs wanting to continue not funding bennies for the Merchant Marines and Filipino's who fought and/or were in harms way in WWII. Drum up fear and divide and conquer. Rinse, Repeat.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – There is money to fund the Filipino World War II veterans’ equity bill, which has been separately approved in both the Senate and House veterans’ affairs committees.

“Oh yes, the money is there,” Rep. Bob Filner, chair of the House committee and primary author of H.R. 760, the House version of the “Filipino Veterans’ Equity Act of 2007,” told Philippine News when asked if funding for the proposed law is available, and where would it come from.

“It will come from the fact that the veterans’ budget is $13 billion more this year than last year’s. So, now is the time to do this. They always said we did not have enough money. Now we do,” Filner explained when interviewed at the Philippine-U.S. Friendship Caucus hosted July 26, 2007 at the Rayburn House Office Building by Ambassador Willy C. Gaa.

--snip--


http://www.vawatchdog.org/07/nf07/nfAUG07/nf080207-10.htm

[Catchawave]

3. Thanks for the link !

Yes, that will certainly help :hi:

[Captain Hilts]

4. But the Merchant Marine had much higher salaries.

They deserve recognition for what they did, especially on the Murmansk runs, but economically they were far better compensated than USN or Coasties.

[ohio_88]

5. Higher salaries.

The Merchant Marines may have been better compensated than their enlisted counterparts, I have no reason to doubt that. I worked with a Merchant Marine veteran from WWII for several years and had many conversations with him about what he experienced while on convoy duty in the Atlantic. IMHO he and others who served with him deserve the same recognition and benefits that enlisted veterans got.

Ohio_88