Originally posted by Pokulski-Blatz
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DoD "No death benefits during shut down."
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Originally posted by racrguy View PostDon't get it twisted, both sides are out to fuck you.I don't like Republicans, but I really FUCKING hate Democrats.
Sex with an Asian woman is great, but 30 minutes later you're horny again.
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Originally posted by racrguy View PostNaah, you're getting fucked just as much from both sides, but one side actively wants to take money out of your wallet, while the other wants to covertly do it.
StevoOriginally posted by SSMAN...Welcome to the land of "Fuck it". No body cares, and if they do, no body cares.
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Originally posted by stevo View PostI rather the money I'm getting fucked out of to go to excessive military budgets/weapons manufacturers and rich businessmen than to ghetto-queen broodsows spitting out one illegitimate kid after the next.
Stevo
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Fischer House has said they'll cover the soldier's death benefits until things are sorted out. They are funded with donations.
The latest news and headlines from Yahoo News. Get breaking news stories and in-depth coverage with videos and photos.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration, scrambling to tamp down a controversy over suspended death benefits for the families of fallen troops, announced Wednesday that a charity would pick up the costs of the payments during the government shutdown.
"The Fisher House Foundation will provide the families of the fallen with the benefits they so richly deserve," Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said in a statement, adding that the Pentagon would reimburse the foundation after the shutdown ended.
Hagel said Fisher House, which works with veterans and their families, had approached the Pentagon about making the payments. The Defense Department typically pays families about $100,000 within three days of a service member's death, but officials say the shutdown was preventing those benefits from being paid.
A senior defense official said the government could not actively solicit funds from private organizations but could accept an offer. The official was not authorized to publicly discuss the offer by name and insisted on anonymity.
The failure to make the payments has stirred outrage on Capitol Hill and at the White House. Obama spokesman Jay Carney said Wednesday that the president was "disturbed" when he found out the death benefits had been suspended and demanded an immediate solution.
"The commander in chief, when he found out that this was not addressed, he directed that a solution be found, and we expect one today," Carney said before the Pentagon announced the agreement with Fisher House.
The Republican-led House unanimously passed legislation on Wednesday to restore the death benefits. But it's unclear whether the Democratic-led Senate will take up the measure or whether Obama would sign it. Obama has threatened to veto other legislation passed by the House in recent days that would reopen individual funding streams, arguing that a piecemeal approach to ending the shutdown was unacceptable and that the entire government must be reopened.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the Obama administration had yet to issue a formal veto threat for the death benefit bill.
View gallery."An Army carry team moves a transfer case containing …
An Army carry team moves a transfer case containing the remains of Pfc. Cody J. Patterson Wednesday, …
Before the government shutdown last week, Congress passed and Obama signed a bill allowing the military to be paid during the federal closure. However, the death benefit payments were not covered by that legislation.
Carney said the Pentagon told lawmakers before the shutdown that the death benefit payments were not covered by the bill and would be cut off during a shutdown. However, he repeatedly refused to say when the president was first told that death benefits would not be paid.
Amid the controversy, Hagel made a rare trip Wednesday to Dover Air Force Base for the arrival of remains of four soldiers killed in Afghanistan. The remains of every U.S. military member killed overseas are flown to Dover for processing. Family members attend the arrival, but the secretary of defense usually does not.
Among the soldiers whose remains were brought to Dover on Wednesday was Pfc. Cody J. Patterson, 24, of Philomath, Ore. Patterson's family allowed members of the media to witness the return of his remains, but an Army liaison officer who works with mortuary officials at Dover said the family did not want to talk to reporters.
The other soldiers whose remains were returned were 1st Lt. Jennifer M. Moreno, 25, of San Diego, Calif.; Sgt. Patrick C. Hawkins, 25, of Carlisle, Pa.; and Sgt. Joseph M. Peters, 24, of Springfield, Mo. In a statement Tuesday, U.S. Army Special Operations Command said Hawkins and Patterson were members of the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, and Peters was a special agent assigned to the 286th Military Police Detachment.
Hagel put his hand over his heart as white-gloved soldiers carried the flag-draped case carrying Patterson's remains from a C-17 cargo plane to a white panel truck for transfer to the Dover mortuary.
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Associated Press writers Bradley Klapper in Washington and Randall Chase in Dover, Del., contributed to this report.I wear a Fez. Fez-es are cool
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President Obama opposes passage of funding for veterans' death benefits because the Fisher House Foundation has agreed to cover the costs, according to his spokesman.
"The legislation is not necessary," White House press secretary Jay Carney told reporters Thursday when asked about legislation approved by the House and Senate that would pay for those benefits. "Our view has been, this piecemeal funding is, again, a gimmick."
Carney faulted Congress on Wednesday for not covering the death benefits in the Pay Our Military Act, though the Congressional Research Service rendered a legal opinion that the legislation did fund the program.
"[Obama] was not pleased to learn of this problem," Carney said during the Wednesday briefing. "And he has directed the OMB and his lawyers to find a solution. And he expects to have one today."
But the president opposes the legislative fix. "We don't need legislation," Carney said Thursday. "The president directed that this be resolved and it has been. What is preposterous is this notion that we should, piecemeal, fix all the consequences caused by shutdown."
The Defense Department, under the current agreement, will reimburse the Fisher House after the government shutdown ends.
I wear a Fez. Fez-es are cool
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