Opinions: Veterans Rights
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THE ROAD AHEAD |
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18 May 2007 updated |
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Nicholson Must
Go!
By Rodel E. Rodis
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Chanting “Nicholson must go!” dozens of Filipino WW II
veterans and supporters marched in front of the US
Veterans Administration office at Fort Miley in this
city on May 7 demanding that US Secretary of Veterans
Affairs Jim Nicholson resign from his post immediately.
“Nicholson is now the biggest obstacle to passage of the
Filipino Veterans Equity Bill,” said Eric Lachica,
Executive Director of the American Coalition for
Filipino Veterans (ACFV).
In a nationwide teleconference held on May 6, members of
the ACFV, representing 4,000 Filipino veterans and
supporters throughout the US, voted unanimously to call
for Nicholson’s resignation.
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“Enough is enough, Nicholson has to go,” said Amador
Montero, 88, commander of the U.S. Filipino War
Veterans based in Seattle, Washington.
Montero’s views were echoed by Jose Nuega, 81,
president of the Association of Filipino American
Veterans and Families, Inc. of Sacramento,
California.
“Nicholson does not deserve to be VA secretary for
what he has done,” said Artemio Caleda, 83,
president of the Hawaii U.S. Filipino War Veterans
Association. “We will convey our position to Senator
Daniel Akaka.” Caleda said that his group met with
Senator Akaka’s district director in Honolulu to
discuss their call for Nicholson’s resignation.
Akaka is the current chairman of the Senate Veterans
Affairs Committee.
The Filipino veterans’ denunciation of Secretary
Nicholson was caused by his opposition to the Filipino
Veterans Equity Bill. At the April 11 Senate Veterans
Affairs Committee hearing on the Senate Filipino
Veterans Equity Bill (S. 57) sponsored by Sen. Daniel
Inouye (D-Hawaii), Nicholson directed his Deputy
Undersecretary
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Despite Nicholson’s staunch opposition, the
Filipino veterans are still hopeful that they
can pass the Filipino Veterans Equity Bill in
the US Congress this year.
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for Benefits Ronald R. Aument to testify
that the VA was opposed to the bill because the benefit
costs would be about "$510 million in the first year and
more than $4 billion over ten years."
The Filipino veterans’ denunciation of Secretary
Nicholson was caused by his opposition to the Filipino
Veterans Equity Bill. At the April 11 Senate Veterans
Affairs Committee hearing on the Senate Filipino
Veterans Equity Bill (S. 57) sponsored by Sen. Daniel
Inouye (D-Hawaii), Nicholson directed his Deputy
Undersecretary for Benefits Ronald R. Aument to testify
that the VA was opposed to the bill because the benefit
costs would be about "$510 million in the first year and
more than $4 billion over ten years."
At that Senate hearing, Sen. Larry Craig (R-Wyoming)
acknowledged the significant contributions of Filipino
veterans by stating that “victory in the Pacific would
not have been assured without their help.” But he said
the question is: “62 years after World War II, has the
United States government met its obligation to Filipino
veterans who fought under U.S. command during the war?”
”When distinguished veterans of this Senate and of that
war -- such as Senators Inouye and Akaka -- put their
name to legislation which suggests we have not met our
obligation,” Craig said, “that is an alert to all of us
here that something is amiss. That, in fact, we can and
should do better for Filipino veterans.”
But, Craig said, “the price tag of S. 57 is extremely
large, almost $1 billion over ten years by some
estimates,” he said. “The Congress's budget rules
require us to find offsets for any new spending. During
a time of war and fiscal restraint, how will the costs
of S. 57 be met?”
Craig referred to the estimate provided by Rep. Bob
Filner (D-CA), the chair of the House Veterans Affairs
Committee, who has asked for an appropriation of $900-M
over ten (10) years or $90-M a year to finance the
Filipino Veterans Equity Bill (HR 760).
But the FilVets bill can be funded at an even lower
amount. Currently, American veterans receive $911 a
month from the US Veterans Administration (VA) for their
non-service connected disability pension. Those American
veterans receiving this full pension would not otherwise
be entitled to receive $623 a month in federal
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and $200 a month in
veterans subsidy from the state California.
Most Filipino WW II vets in California do not receive
the full $623 a month in SSI because the federal
government deducts $100 (5,000 pesos) which Filipino
veterans receive from the Philippine Veterans
Administration Office (PVAO). The $523 a month they
receive from SSI, together with the California state
supplemental income of $200 a month, provide Filipino
veterans in California with $723 a month.
To equal the $911 a month that they would have otherwise
received as American veterans but for the Rescission Act
of 1946 (which rescinded US military benefits promised
to Filipino soldiers under US command), all they would
need from the Filipino Veterans Equity Bill would be an
average of $200 more a month.
As approximately 4,000 of the 5,000 surviving Filipino
WW II veterans live in California, this would amount to
$9.6-M a year for them. The 1,000 veterans living
outside California would be entitled to $400 a month
equal their American veteran counterparts. Their total
would be $4.8-M.
If the bill were to pass this year, it would go into
effect next year. By then, there may only about 10,000
Filipino veterans in the Philippines who would be
eligible to receive this monthly benefit as many of the
“recognized” veterans in the Philippines do not have
their names officially listed at the US Army office in
St. Louis, Missouri. At $200-M a month for the estimated
10,000 vets in the Philippines, their total would be
$24-M
Adding the 4,000 vets in California ($9.6-M), the 1,000
outside California ($4.8-M) and the 10,000 in the
Philippines ($24-M), the total package would be $38.4
million a year.
The difference in the estimates of Nicholson’s DVA and
the ACFV is critical in light of the concurrent
resolution on the budget for fiscal years 2008 which the
US House passed on March 29, 2007. Under Section 209
(“Reserve Fund for Equitable Benefits for Filipino
Veterans of World War II”), the House decreed that any
increase in benefits for Filipino veterans would only be
appropriated if it does not “increase the deficit”.
This means that congressional supporters of the Filipino
Veterans Equity Bill will have to find a source for the
funds to be allocated for the Filipino veterans that
would not “increase the deficit”, a formidable task
considering that veterans groups from other eras are
also heavily competing for funds from the same VA
budget.
The task is even more formidable in light of recent
disclosures that the Department of Veterans Affairs
suffered a $1 billion shortfall because it
“miscalculated” the health care costs of veterans
returning from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is a
shortfall that has exacerbated the health care problems
of American veterans highlighted by the Walter Reed Army
Medical Center neglect scandal.
Secretary Nicholson’s response to the embarrassing
disclosures of scandals in his watch was to reward the
VA senior officials responsible for the scandals with
“hefty bonuses ranging up to $33.000”.
According to a report by the Associated Press (AP),
Nicholson authorized the payment of $3.8 M in bonuses at
the end of 2006, which AP learned was “the most
lucrative in the federal government”.
“Among those receiving payments were a deputy assistant
secretary and several regional directors who crafted the
VA's flawed budget for 2005 based on misleading
accounting. They received performance payments up to
$33,000 each, a figure equal to about 20 percent of
their annual salaries,” the AP report stated.
"Awards should be determined according to performance,"
said Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, "I am concerned by
this generous pat on the back for those who failed to
ensure that their budget requests accurately reflected
VA's needs."
Nicholson was appointed by US President George W. Bush
in January of 2005 to replace VA Secretary Anthony J.
Principi who had been an ardent supporter of the
Filipino WW II veterans and who was the keynote speaker
at the First Global Filipino Networking Convention in
San Francisco in August of 2002.
Before his appointment, Nicholson served as national
chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC). Before
that, Nicholson was a real estate attorney and developer
in Denver, Colorado, who was active in the Republican
Party politics. His cabinet appointment was widely
viewed as his reward for being a “loyal Bushie”.
Filipino WW II veterans are urging their supporters
throughout the US to write or email VA Secretary Jim
Nicholson to urge him to resign. Inquiries or letters
urging Nicholson’s resignation can be sent to
us.filvets@verizon.net. Perhaps President Bush can
reappoint Principi to his old post.
Despite Nicholson’s staunch opposition, the Filipino
veterans are still hopeful that they can pass the
Filipino Veterans Equity Bill in the US Congress this
year. “With the support of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
and House Veterans Affairs Committee Chair Bob Filner,
together with their Senate counterparts, Majority Leader
Harry Reid and Senator Daniel Akaka and the emerging
consensus of a majority of Democrats and Republicans in
the US Congress, we will get it passed this year,” said
ACFV Director Lachica.
Most of the surviving veterans are already in their 80s,
dying at an exponential rate. Any further delay will
make passage a sham.
Send comments to Rodel50@aol.com.
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RODEL E. RODIS
Rodel Rodis is a California attorney with a special emphasis on immigration law. He can be reached at 2429 Ocean Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94127 or by calling (415) 334-7800. Send comments to Rodel50 @ aol.com |
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