Amata Applauds Passage of Filipino WWII Veterans Congressional Gold Medal Act

Washington, DC –Friday, Congresswoman Aumua Amata, took to the House Floor on Friday afternoon to express her support and pleasure of the passage of S. 1555, the Filipino Veterans of World War II Congressional Gold Medal Act.

Congresswoman Amata speaking on the House Floor Friday
in Support of the Filipino Veterans of WWII Congressional Gold Medal Act

We have a Filipino community in American Samoa and I am certain many of them were related to these Filipino veterans of World War II. Two of my brothers, Barrett and Alan, are married to my sisters-in-law Mercy Coleman and Josie Coleman. And one of our military veteran congressional candidates this year is the son of a Filipino father.

“I want to take this minute to applaud the passage by unanimous consent of the Filipino Veterans of World War II Congressional Gold Medal Act, which I was proud to cosponsor. I want to thank both Senator Hirono and Representative Gabbard for their efforts in seeing this measure get sent to the President’s desk. They did a fantastic job, and I could not be more proud to work alongside other women in Congress who work so hard for those they serve.

This has been a long time coming and I am happy to see that we are finally recognizing these heroes who helped the United States win the war in the Pacific. The countless sacrifices and efforts by those men and women of the Philippines who answered the call to arms in defense of the ideals and values we hold so dear can never be forgotten. With the passage of this important legislation, the people of the United States can finally say thank you to those brave men and women.

I look forward to seeing the President sign this legislation into law, and want to once again thank those men and women of the Philippines who fought alongside the United States in defense of freedom.”

The bill is now awaiting President Obama’s signature.

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