The House of Representatives voted to restore death benefits distributed to families of U.S. service members on Wednesday, just one day after the families of five fallen soldiers who were killed in Afghanistan this past weekend spoke out.
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney made the announcement that the shutdown-induced cuts of death gratuities would be reversed, as Congress rushed to pay back benefits.
"The veterans have done their job for the country," Carney told USA Today. "It's time for Congress to do their job."
The House voted 425-0 to bring back the $100,000 usually given to families of fallen soldiers.
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel traveled to the Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to view the bodies of five soldiers who were killed during an improvised explosive device attack in Afghanistan.
"I am offended, outraged and embarrassed that the government shutdown has prevented the Department of Defense from fulfilling this sacred responsibility in a timely manner," Hagel stated on Wednesday.
Hagel also told USA Today that he'd struck up a contract with Fisher House, a foundation known for constructing family residences at military medical facilities. The organization will help pay back the families of U.S. service members, and will be reimbursed by the Pentagon once the shutdown is over.
But meanwhile, Congress is struggling to figure out how to pay back families like the five who lost their children this past weekend in Afghanistan.
"What's happening now is the House of Representatives - which refuses to reopen the government - is scurrying to pass a little bill to take care of these families," Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois, told USA Today. "It isn't nearly enough, because the embarrassment of this government shutdown goes beyond this grievous situation with these bereaving families."
One such family, the Collins, lost their 19-year-old son Marine Lance Corporal Jeremiah M. Collins, Jr. on Saturday. The fallen soldier's mother, Shannon, remarked on Tuesday concerning the urgency of restoring benefits for military families that need help covering funeral expenses and travel fare for retrieving remains.
"There's somebody who needs to fly their family home," Collins told NBC. "There's somebody who needs to have expenses covered, or be able to take off work to handle the affairs of their loved one. And to know that the government shutting down will delay their ability to handle their business, some people just won't be able to do it."
