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Me#1You#10
Site Admin
Joined: 06 May 2004
Posts: 6503
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 Posted: Tue Feb 01, 2005 1:58 am Post subject: YahooNews:"Pentagon Would Raise Military Death Pay" |
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I'd like to see a legislator who would dare to sit on his/her hands when the President calls for this...(emphasis mine)
| Quote: | Pentagon Would Raise Military Death Pay
Mon Jan 31, 3:42 PM ET
By ROBERT BURNS, AP Military Writer
WASHINGTON - President Bush (news - web sites) will propose a dramatic increase to $100,000 in government payments to families of U.S. troops killed in the Iraq (news - web sites) and Afghanistan (news - web sites) wars and in future combat zones.
The plan to increase the tax-free "death gratuity," now $12,420, will be part the 2006 budget proposal submitted to Congress next week, the Pentagon (news - web sites)'s personnel chief said in an Associated Press interview. Veterans groups and many in Congress have been pushing for such an increase.
"We think the nation ought to make a larger one-time payment, quite apart from insurance, should you be killed in a combat area of operations," David Chu, the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, said in the interview in his Pentagon office.
"We can never in any program give someone back their loved one," he added. "There is nothing we can do about the hurt, to make it go away. But we can make your circumstances reasonable, in terms of finances."
Chu is to unveil the administration's full proposal in congressional testimony Tuesday.
In addition to the higher gratuity, the Pentagon would substantially increase life insurance benefits, Chu said. The current $250,000 coverage offered to all service members at a subsidized rate under the Servicemen's Group Life Insurance program would be raised to $400,000, and for troops in a combat zone the government would pay the premiums on the extra $150,000 coverage.
Even in the case of a service member who did not participate in the basic life insurance program, the surviving spouse would receive a $150,000 settlement if the death happened in a designated combat zone, since the Pentagon is proposing to pay the premiums on that amount of coverage for everyone in a war zone. The spouse or other surviving family member also would get the $100,000 gratuity.
The higher death gratuity would be retroactive to Oct. 7, 2001, the date the United States launched its invasion of Afghanistan in response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Chu said the bill for that would exceed $200 million. The 53 military members who were killed in the Sept. 11 attack on the Pentagon would not get the higher gratuity, a spokeswoman said.
Yahoo News - cont'd |
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RogerRabbit
Master Chief Petty Officer
Joined: 05 Sep 2004
Posts: 748
Location: Oregon
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| Posted: Tue Feb 01, 2005 2:30 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
The higher death gratuity would be retroactive to Oct. 7, 2001, the date the United States launched its invasion of Afghanistan in response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Chu said the bill for that would exceed $200 million. |
The Congre$$ pi$$e$ thi$ much away on a daily ba$i$
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"Si vis pacem, para bellum" |
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LimaCharlie
PO2
Joined: 25 Aug 2004
Posts: 386
Location: Oregon
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| Posted: Tue Feb 01, 2005 2:35 am Post subject: |
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Any bets on how Kerry and Kennedy will vote?
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I was going to become an anarchist, but they had too many rules. |
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RogerRabbit
Master Chief Petty Officer
Joined: 05 Sep 2004
Posts: 748
Location: Oregon
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| Posted: Tue Feb 01, 2005 3:11 am Post subject: |
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| LimaCharlie wrote: | | Any bets on how Kerry and Kennedy will vote? |
He has to be there to vote - take bets on that
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"Si vis pacem, para bellum" |
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blue9t3
Admiral
Joined: 23 Aug 2004
Posts: 1246
Location: oregon
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| Posted: Tue Feb 01, 2005 3:30 am Post subject: |
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Hey #1, you stole my thoughts about who would dare! I'll get the rope! 
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DLI78
PO3
Joined: 10 Nov 2004
Posts: 273
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| Posted: Tue Feb 01, 2005 4:48 am Post subject: |
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Senator Lieberman has beaten him to it.
Lieberman Urges Passage of HEROES Act
Senator’s bill would increase military death benefit for soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan (01/26/05)
WASHINGTON - Senator Joe Lieberman (D-CT) spoke on the Senate floor today on the introduction of legislation increasing benefits to soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines killed in combat. The Honoring Every Requirement of Exemplary Service (HEROES) Act, which Lieberman introduced along with Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) on Monday, will increase the maximum life insurance coverage for servicemembers to $400,000 and increase the death gratuity paid to families of servicemembers killed in combat to $100,000. These benefit changes would cover all servicemembers regardless of rank, and would apply retroactively to cover those lost in Operations Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.
You can get the rest of the press release at Joe's web site:
http://lieberman.senate.gov/newsroom/release.cfm?id=230984
I'm from California. I really wish he was my senator rather than Barbara Moonbat.
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DLI 78
Army Linguist
1978-1986 |
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