Senators say their goal is to stimulate the U.S. economy, but the Senate's economic recovery package spends up to $198 million in lump-sum payments to aging Filipino veterans of World War II -- two-thirds of whom don't live in the U.S. and are unlikely to be pumping much money into the economy. The money, long-sought by Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Daniel K. Inouye, Hawaii Democrat, would go to about 15,000 living veterans who served in World War II as a part of U.S.-led forces and who were promised postwar benefits, including U.S. citizenship.
Those promises were revoked by Congress soon after the war, and Filipino veterans have spent the years since pressing for compensation. Mr. Inouye said the payments are long overdue, and are urgent.
"This episode is a blight upon the character of the United States, and it must be cleansed," he said in a statement, calling the revoked promises "a dark chapter" in U.S. history." "It should be noted that as you read this, many of the Filipinos who would qualify are on their deathbeds. Today, the average age of these men is about 90."
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