Finally, the debate over paying a debt lingering for 63 years has reached the floor of the U.S. Senate.

Filipino World War II veterans were enlisted to fight alongside U.S. soldiers, and were promised veterans' benefits equivalent to those of their American counterparts.

Shamefully, the government reneged on that pledge. It's only been in recent decades that some in Congress realize the importance of delivering on that promise.

An estimated 18,000 of the 200,000 Filipino men drafted in 1941 to fight under Gen. Douglas MacArthur are still living; every year that the promise is left unfulfilled, thousands die without the acknowledgment they are due.

The current push through Congress remains stalled in the House, but earlier this week was revived in a Senate floor debate. This proposal would allot about $300 a month to the vets.

It's opposed by President Bush and Senate Republicans, who say it's too generous. Because the cost of living in the Philippines is much lower, the pension amounts to a greater benefit than U.S. vets get. That's rubbish. The bill doesn't pay the vets retroactively, so they've already lost more during six decades of a broken promise than they'll ever get.

A GOP compromise would give the benefit only to Filipino vets living in the U.S., which seems another injustice. The saved money could go to supplement benefits for our current war heroes, they say.

As much as this country should support benefits for Iraq and Afghanistan vets, it shouldn't happen on the backs of our old allies. And let's not punish those living in the Philippines for wanting to die in their homeland.

There may be room for compromise, but the basic commitment to soldiers who served our country must be maintained. The measure should be passed.