The Rescission Act and the G.I. Bill

At the heart of the Filipino veterans story is the Rescission Act, a 1946 law that stripped Filipino veterans of all benefits earned by their service in the U.S. military during World War II. The Rescission Act exemplifies the Duty to Country theme of “promises made, promises broken.”

If you do nothing else to teach this history, introduce the Rescission Act to your students. Most U.S. history survey courses include a lesson or two about demilitarization at the end of World War II and the transition from the sacrifices of wartime to the post-war economic boom. Students learn about the G.I. Bill, typically considering its purpose, the benefits it conferred, the social and economic effects it caused, and the degree to which non-white veterans were able to take advantage of it. This is a natural point to introduce the Rescission Act, comparing and contrasting these two major laws concerning World War II veterans.

This explainer introduces both laws and suggests different ways to lead students through a comparison and analysis of the laws, depending on the time you have available. While the larger story of U.S. imperialism in the Philippines, the war, Filipino immigration to the U.S., and the veterans’ social justice movement for recognition and benefits is complex, it takes only 10-15 minutes to add the Rescission Act and introduce students to the important but forgotten story of Filipino veterans.

Throughout American history, the idea that the government has a special responsibility to care for its veterans has been a powerful ideal and rallying cry. Concerns about the Continental Congress’s ability to deliver its promised pensions roiled Revolutionary War armies. Over the course of the 19th century, the federal government and states evolved a system of pensions, hospitals and homes for elderly poor and disabled veterans. After World War I, in the midst of the Great Depression, Great War veterans staged the first march on Washington to demand their promised bonuses; the Veterans Administration was finally established in 1930.

Passed unanimously in Congress and signed by FDR in 1944, the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act, better known as the GI Bill, provided tuition, cost-of-living, books and supplies, equipment and counseling services for veterans to continue their education. It provided government-backed loans so returning veterans could purchase homes. The bill also ensured that veterans’ hospitalization needs would be taken care of. Approximately 8 million veterans received educational benefits over the next seven years, costing about $14.5 billion. By 1955, 4.3 million home loans had been granted, with a face value of $33 billion. The bill also appropriated half a billion dollars for the construction of new veteran hospitals. The long-term economic impact of this bill is in the trillions of dollars, as home values increased over time and became a source of generational wealth to pass onto children and grandchildren, veterans used their college degrees to move up the economic ladder into the middle class, and other ripple effects.

Compare that to the Filipino veterans’ situation. At the end of World War II, after years of high government spending to support the war effort, Congress was looking for ways to trim the U.S. budget. In 1946, a “rescission” bill, to rescind or cut funds that had previously been appropriated, was introduced; if passed, it would cut or save the U.S. about $52 billion. Among the costs that budget-conscious Congressmen identified were veterans benefits for Filipinos who had served in the U.S. armed forces during the war. An October 1945 report from the Veterans Administration estimated that the lifetime cost of benefits for Filipinos would be about $3.2 billion.

At the same time, the U.S. was set to fulfill the promise of the Tydings-McDuffie Act and finally grant independence to the Philippines. In a solemn ceremony on July 4, 1946, the U.S. flag was lowered and the Philippine Republic’s flag was raised in Manila’s main square. Despite wartime orders from President Roosevelt and General MacArthur making clear that Filipinos who fought for the U.S. were full members of the U.S. armed forces, members of Congress argued that the Philippines now had responsibility for caring for Filipino veterans. To help them do so, Congress added a rider to the rescission bill. It provided a one-time $200 million-dollar payment to the Philippines government to help them provide veterans care. It also stated that Filipinos who served in the U.S. military during the war would henceforth not be considered veterans, and therefore not entitled to any veterans benefits from the United States government.

The confluence of these two events, post-war cost-cutting measures and the declaration of an independent Philippines, was disastrous for Filipino veterans. The 1946 Rescission Act declared that they alone, of all people who had served in the U.S. military during World War II, would be denied veterans benefits.