New York Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-Queens, the Bronx) reaffirmed his solid support to two major causes being pushed today by the Filipino-American communities across the United States — the passage of the SAVE Our Industries Act and the DREAM Act.
Crowley, a chief deputy whip in the Democratic leadership of the House of Representatives, is a co-sponsor of the SAVE Our Industries Act that would allow Philippine-made apparel using U.S. fabrics to enter the U.S. duty free and benefit both countries tremendously.
In a town hall meeting on June 25 at LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City, he met with Filipino diplomatic leaders headed by Philippine ambassador to the United States Jose L. Cuisia, Jr., as well as leaders of the Fil-Am community headed by lawyers J.T. Mallonga and Merit Salud, both representing the Filipino American Legal Defense and Education Fund (FALDEF) and the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA).
Also present were officials of the Philippine Consulate General in New York led by Consul General Mario de Leon Jr. and Deputy Consul General Theresa Dizon-de Vega.
The Foundation for Filipino Artists, Inc., headed by Aida Bartolome, coordinated the event.
During the meeting, Crowley informed the Filipino and Fil-Am leaders that the SAVE Act could be taken up as part of a trade package in the current 112th U.S. Congress, as soon as legislation is concluded on pending three U.S. free trade agreements (FTAs).
If approved, the SAVE Act would expand U.S. export of fabrics to the Philippines, from $11 million today to up to $500 million annually within the next three to five years of implementation, and save and/or create some 3,000 jobs in the U.S. textile industry.
For the Philippines, it would restore hundreds of thousands of apparel manufacturing jobs, and over $1 billion of Philippine apparel exports to the U.S. lost since the lifting of the U.S. apparel import quotas and the resulting dominance of China of the U.S. market.
Cuisia said the SAVE Act, if passed, would be the first bilateral trade arrangement between the Philippines and the U.S. in nearly four decades.
Both Crowley and Cuisia reiterated their joint efforts to ensure its successful passage in Congress.
On the immigration front, Mallonga noted that Crowley is among the congressional bigwigs who supported President Barack Obama’s new policy to end the deportation of undocumented young immigrants eligible for the DREAM Act.
He said Crowley, who serves in the Congressional Asian American Caucus, backs the immigration community’s initiatives to push for reforms and repair the broken immigration system in the country.
Crowley said he strongly favors the enactment of a comprehensive immigration reform program as soon as possible, as he expressed hope that his colleagues in both chambers of Congress see its urgency.
The congressman said the Philippines and the United States political and security ties must be strengthened, especially in light of the recent territorial concerns between the Philippines and China in the West Philippine Sea.
He also expressed elation about the growth of the Filipino population in New York, along with the establishment of many Filipino-owned business on the metropolitan area.
Cuisia, meanwhile, thanked Crowley for continuously supporting the causes of Filipino World War II veterans through his co-sponsorship of various versions of the Filipino Veterans Equity Bills, whose major provisions were finally incorporated in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) passed by the Obama Administration in February 2009.
The Filipino envoy pointed out that there are still over 3,000 veterans who have not yet received benefits.
Cuisia also thanked Crowley for promoting closer the Philippines-U.S. relations through his active membership in the PH-U.S. Friendship Caucus.
Meanwhile, Crowley and the audience were informed by Fil-Am leaders about FALDEF and NaFFAA’s FilVote initiative, which aims to muster the Filipino-American voting power across the country both for the U.S. election and the overseas absentee voting (OAV) process for Philippine elections.
“FilVote not only aims to register Filipinos who are American citizens but to make sure they go out and vote,” Mallonga said, noting that other Fil-Am and Asian-American political groups have similar campaigns toward political empowerment.
“It’s high time Filipinos who are U.S. citizens must register and vote and exercise their political privilege to help shape the course of this nation by making their voices heard,” he added.
The event also featured a Tinikling performance by the Foundation for Filipino Artists, Inc. Children’s Filipiniana Dance Troupe.
Crowley gamely joined the Tinikling dance at the end of the troupe’s performance.
(Article from Filipino Reporter)