Rescission Act of 1946
Also known as: Rescission Act of 1946 (Public Law 79-301) · Filipino Veterans Rescission Act
Definition
The Rescission Act of 1946 is a United States federal law that withdrew official recognition of the military service of Filipino soldiers who fought under the command of the United States Army during World War II, thereby stripping most of them of the veterans’ benefits they had been promised. Passed months before the recognition of Philippine independence, it affected more than 250,000 Filipino veterans and remains one of the most contested legacies of the Philippine-American wartime alliance.
Identities
| Database | Identifier |
|---|---|
| Wikipedia | Rescission Act |
| Wikidata | Q7314953 |
| DBpedia | N/A |
Also Known As
- Rescission Act of 1946 (Public Law 79-301)
- Filipino Veterans Rescission Act
Examples and Analogies
The law worked like a company dissolving itself the day pensions come due: the same soldiers who were inducted into the United States Armed Forces in the Far East (USAFFE) and who endured the Bataan Death March were reclassified as having served “in the service of” rather than “in” the US military, a wording change that erased eligibility for health care and disability compensation while leaving their American comrades fully covered.
Usage Scenarios
The law is cited in US congressional hearings on veterans’ equity, invoked by advocacy groups such as the Filipino Veterans Recognition and Education Project, used in law and history courses as a case study in statutory discrimination, and referenced in compensation claims filed under the 2009 Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation fund.
Strategies
Advocates pursued incremental legislative remedies rather than repeal: naturalization pathways for veteran immigrants in the 1990s, the 2009 lump-sum payments of 15,000 US dollars for veterans living in the United States and 9,000 dollars for those in the Philippines, and continuing bills seeking full pension parity and family survivor benefits.
Security and Safety Measures
Because many claimants were elderly and vulnerable to fraud, the 2009 compensation program required verification of service records against US and Philippine archives, and community organizations conduct information campaigns to protect veterans’ families from fixers and fake claims brokers.
Historical Context
The USAFFE was mobilized in July 1941 by President Franklin Roosevelt, placing Philippine forces under US command. After the war, Congress estimated that honoring Filipino veterans’ benefits would cost billions, and on February 18, 1946 President Harry Truman signed the Rescission Act, which excluded Filipino soldiers from most veterans’ benefits except disability or death directly resulting from service. Truman himself expressed regret over the inequity in his signing statement.
Challenges and Controversies
Critics call the law racial discrimination because it singled out soldiers of a single nationality despite identical service; the 2009 lump sum was criticized for being one-time, non-transferable to most survivors, and for requiring denial of future claims; thousands of applications were rejected over missing records, and full equity remains an unresolved campaign into the 21st century.
Related Topic
Bataan Death March