About Freakin' Time

[rpm]

linkaroo

Bush seeks increase for battlefield death payments
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Bush is proposing that families of U.S. troops killed in Iraq, Afghanistan and war zones of the future receive an extra $250,000 in government payments.
The plan, which includes retroactive payments to the spouses or surviving relatives of the more than 1,500 who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan since October 2001, will be part of the 2006 budget proposal submitted to Congress next week, the Pentagon's personnel chief said.

A tax-free "death gratuity," now $12,420, would grow to $100,000. The government would also pay for $150,000 in life insurance for troops. Veterans groups and many in Congress have been pushing for such increases.

"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 an 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 was unveiling the administration's full proposal in congressional testimony Tuesday.

Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., who is sponsoring a bill with the same provisions, said in an interview Monday that the first-year cost of the increased benefits would be $459 million, including more than $280 million in retroactive payments of the higher gratuity and the extra life insurance payouts.

"The American people want to be generous to the families of service people who give their lives for their country. It's not a nickel-and-dime issue," he said.

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.

Chu said the extra $150,000 in life insurance and 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.

Some bills in Congress would make the higher gratuity retroactive but not the extra life insurance.

Under the administration's proposal, the 53 military members who were killed in the Sept. 11 attack on the Pentagon would not get the higher gratuity, a spokeswoman said.

As of Monday, 1,415 Americans had died in the Iraq war, according to the Pentagon's count, and 156 had died in Afghanistan and other locations deemed part of the war on terrorism.

The death gratuity is a one-time payment intended to be given to the family immediately after a service member's death; it is in addition to an array of other survivor benefits such as housing aid.

The $100,000 would apply only in cases where the service member died in a war zone as designated by the secretary of defense. Thus, a soldier killed in a training accident in the United States would get the current $12,420, Chu said. Some in Congress have proposed paying an increased gratuity for all deaths.

In 2003 the military gratuity was doubled, from $6,000, where it had stood since 1991, to $12,000, with subsequent increases to account for inflation, bringing it to $12,420 on Jan. 1, 2005. The 2003 legislation also made the payment fully tax-free. Before that, half was taxable.

Finally! Some legislation I can wholeheartedly agree with from this administration. This was long overdue.

[Masherbrum]

Originally posted by rpm
Finally! Some legislation I can wholeheartedly agree with from this administration. This was long overdue.

Wtg Bush.   I hope this passes.   Good post rpm

Karaya

[slimm50]

Best news I've read in a long time. I wish it well.

[Sandman]

IIRC, the gratuity was increased in 2003 because of the payment to 911 survivors.

I'm torn about increasing the payout. Military service is a risky business to get into. We all knew it when we signed on. My cynical side wonders if increasing the payout is simply a way to quiet the uproar against bad decisions.

On the other hand, I believe the average settlement paid to someone that lost a family member during the 911 attacks was  approximately $1.2 million. Seems horribly disproportionate, even with the increased payout to the military.

[Nash]

Originally posted by Sandman
My cynical side wonders if increasing the payout is simply a way to quiet the uproar against bad decisions.

My cynical side is worse than your cynical side. I was thinking enlistment numbers. Sick? Maybe....

[Sandman]

I read something the other day... evidently, the Navy and Air Force are turning recruits away while the Army is scraping to meet quota.

[rpm]

In WW2 the death benefit was $10,000 thru GI insurance. Adjusted for inflation, this seems appropriate for someone who lost their life in a war zone.

[Sandman]

Originally posted by rpm
In WW2 the death benefit was $10,000 thru GI insurance. Adjusted for inflation, this seems appropriate for someone who lost their life in a war zone.

Good point... my cynicism is fading.

[JB73]

typical liberal press, and democrats trying to take credit for someone else's work:

dem's take credit?? LMAO

Dems Propose Extending Military Death Pay

2 hours, 56 minutes ago   White House - AP Cabinet & State
 

By ROBERT BURNS, AP Military Writer

WASHINGTON - Democrats argued Tuesday that President Bush (news - web sites)'s proposal to boost government payments to families of U.S. troops killed in Iraq (news - web sites), Afghanistan (news - web sites) and future war zones should extend to all military personnel who die on active duty.

Sen. Carl Levin (news, bio, voting record) of Michigan, ranking Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, said that while he agreed with Bush's plan to give those families an extra $250,000, the money should also "apply to all service members on active duty" who die and not just those who die in Pentagon (news - web sites)-designated combat zones.....

read the rest yourself

[Sandman]

Originally posted by JB73

Sen. Carl Levin (news, bio, voting record) of Michigan, ranking Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, said that while he agreed with Bush's plan to give those families an extra $250,000, the money should also "apply to all service members on active duty" who die and not just those who die in Pentagon (news - web sites)-designated combat zones.....

read the rest yourself

He's right.