Filipino Veterans Fairness Act

[2] This arrangement is unique, under normal circumstances foreign nationals are not allowed to enlist in U.S. armed forces unless they are resident aliens of the United States.

However, since Filipino enlistees are neither U.S. nationals nor resident aliens, they are not granted citizenship upon completion of their first enlistment, and are entitled to fewer benefits.

The bill is widely supported by the Filipino-American community, as well as a US Conference of Mayors unanimous vote of passage for a resolution authored by Filipino-American Mayor Christopher Cabaldon that called for the full support of the Filipino Veterans Fairness Act.

On January 17, 2008, Senators Daniel Inouye and Theodore Stevens made a courtesy call on President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo at Malacañang and assured her of the early passage of the Filipino Veterans Equity Bill to benefit 18,000 surviving World War II veterans.

Arroyo conferred the Order of the Golden Heart with the Rank of Grand Cross on Stevens contributing to "the amelioration and improvement of the moral, social, and economic conditions of the Filipino people.