U.S. lawmakers are pushing for a bill that expands health care to veterans living in freely associated states in Oceania’s western region.
Residents of U.S. territories like Guam receive full health benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs after serving the military.
But veterans in the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Republic of Palau do not get those benefits because they share a treaty with the U.S. called the Compact of Free Association.
The treaty allows Micronesians from these nations to migrate to the country visa-free for work, education and more.
U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz co-introduced the bill broadening access to health care.
“This is a matter of basic fairness," Schatz said in an interview. "Veterans who live in the free associated states in the Pacific, you know they served our country and they deserve VA care."
"Right now they are permitted to receive those services from the VA, and that’s something we want to fix because if you served the United States military, you deserve that kind of care," he continued.
"It’s also important to the freely associated states in our discussions regarding our relations between our countries and theirs. They have put this at the top of their priority list so that's another reason why I'm pushing for it.”
In previous years the bill has faced some opposition. Schatz said the bill might have a good chance of becoming law.
