U.S. Rep. Bob Filner (D-Calif.) on Jan. 4 introduced a bill (H.R. 23) before the House of Representatives in the 110th Congress to amend title 46, United States Code, and title II of the Social Security Act. A similar bill (S.961) was presented to the Senate on March 22 by Senators Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) and Sam Brownback (R-Kan.)H.R. 23 had been introduced in the 109th Congress as well, but no action was taken before adjourning for the year.
Titled the “Belated Thank You to the Merchant Mariners of World War II Act of 2007,” H.R. 23 directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to pay a monthly benefit of $1,000 to certain honorably-discharged veterans of the U.S. Merchant Marine who served between Dec. 7, 1941 and Dec. 31, 1946. This is the same period as all other veterans’ benefits, from which merchant mariners were excluded until 1988. The bill also stipulates that any surviving wife of a qualified veteran also shall be eligible to receive the same benefit as the veteran.
When he first brought the bill before the House of Representatives in 2004, Filner noted that World War II Merchant Mariners suffered the second-highest casualty rate of any of the branches of service while they delivered troops, tanks, amphibious craft, airplanes, jeeps, ammunition, PT boats, gasoline, aviation fuel, trucks, medicines and food rations to every theater of the war from Normandy to Okinawa. Compared to the large number of men and women serving in World War II, the numbers of merchant mariners were small, but their chance of dying during service was extremely high. Enemy forces sank more than 800 ships between 1941 and 1944 alone.
Merchant mariners remained in war zones long after the fighting troops came home to enjoy the benefits of the GI Bill, which was signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1944. At that time the president said, “I trust Congress will soon provide similar opportunities to members of the merchant marine who have risked their lives time and time again during the war for the welfare of their country.” But when he died, mariners were denied their benefits, including unemployment, education, home or small business loans, priority for postwar jobs and medicare care for disabilities. Perhaps the most valuable of the denied rights was the free college education, which the U.S. Department of Commerce has valued at $300,000 in increased lifetime earnings.
Filner pointed out that when merchant mariners were not included in the GI Bill of Rights, “The merchant marine became the forgotten service.” He said, “The fact that merchant seamen had borne arms during wartime in the defense of their country did not seem to matter.”
Many WWII mariners finally received veterans’ recognition in 1988, along with access to what Filner described as a “watered-down” GI Bill. It took another 10 years to extend the cutoff date for recognition of mariners as veterans so it matched the date utilized by the military.
The pending bill will try to rectify some of these shortcomings.
As a member of the U.S. House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, Filner observed back in 2004—and it still holds true today—“While it is impossible to make up for over 40 years of unpaid benefits, I propose a bill that will acknowledge the service of the veterans of the U.S. Merchant Marine and offer compensation for years and years of lost benefits. The average age of (World War II) merchant marine veterans is now 81. Many have outlived their savings. A monthly benefit to compensate for the loss of nearly a lifetime of ineligibility for the GI Bill would be of comfort and would provide some measure of security for veterans of the U.S. Merchant Marine.”
The list of supporters of H.R. 23 continues to grow at a rapid pace. There are now 84 cosponsors of the bill.
As chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, Filner held a hearing April 18 to receive additional testimony on this important and long-overdue legislation.
Seafarers are encouraged to write to their U.S. senators and representatives asking for their support of H.R. 23 and S.962.
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