SLAP IN OUR FACE!!!!! Shutdown denies death benefits to families of fallen soldiers

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http://www.today.com/news/shutdown-denies-death-benefits-families-fallen-soldiers-8C11355842

Shutdown denies death benefits to families of fallen soldiers
Eun Kyung Kim TODAY

Video: The families of five U.S. troops killed over the weekend in Afghanistan received calls saying the government wouldn’t be able to pay their death benefits to help with funerals and flights to meet their loved ones’ coffins because of the government shutdown. NBC’s Andrea Mitchell reports.

The shutdown of the federal government is now affecting some families when they are most vulnerable, denying them benefits to help with funeral expenses of loved ones killed while serving the country.

The families of five U.S. service members who were killed over the weekend in Afghanistan have been notified that they won't be receiving the $100,000 benefit normally wired to relatives within 36 hours of the death. The “death gratuity” is intended to help cover funeral costs and help with immediate living expenses until survivor benefits typically begin.

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That's OK Spring just read below........not everything is shut down....

Exclusive Gyms For Members Of Congress Deemed ‘Essential,’ Remain Open During Shutdown

BY JUDD LEGUM ON OCTOBER 8, 2013 AT 9:45 AM

SLAP IN OUR FACE!!!!! Shutdown denies death benefits to families of fallen soldiers Shutterstock_133837145-555x370

SLAP IN OUR FACE!!!!! Shutdown denies death benefits to families of fallen soldiers Shutterstock_133837145-555x370

Head Start programs have been shuttered, small businesses can’t get loans and hundreds of thousands of federal government employees are furloughed. But the exclusive gyms available only to members of Congress have remained open throughout the shutdown.

A House aide confirmed to ThinkProgress that the House member’s gym is open. The House gym features a swimming pool, basketball courts, paddleball courts, a sauna, a steam room and flat screen TVs. While towel service is unavailable, taxpayers remain on the hook for cleaning and maintenance, which has been performed daily throughout the shutdown. There are also costs associated with the power required to heat the pools and keep the lights on.

According to the aide, the decision to keep the gym open — even while other critical government services were shelved — came directly from Speaker Boehner’s office. Meanwhile, the staff gym available to Congressional staff [url=http://cha.house.gov/sites/republicans.cha.house.gov/files/documents/committee_docs/Expected Levels of Service During a Lapse in Appropriations_7.pdf]has been closed[/url].

It appears that the members gym in the Senate remains open on similar terms.

Yesterday, Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC) complained to a reporter from the Omaha World-Herald that the members gym was getting “rank.”

The daily operating cost of the House and Senate gyms remains shrouded in secrecy. The Architect of the Capitol, which oversees both gyms, has previously refused to provide information about the gyms for “security reasons.” A call to the Architect of the Captol for this story was not immediately returned.

Dozens of House members — including many members of the Tea Party who pushed the government into shutdown over demands to defund Obamacare — live in their offices to save money and use the House gym to shower.

Courtesy of the 'traitor':

SLAP IN OUR FACE!!!!! Shutdown denies death benefits to families of fallen soldiers 6d3cd09c1a435a0635d5eed315107f7e_normal

SLAP IN OUR FACE!!!!! Shutdown denies death benefits to families of fallen soldiers 6d3cd09c1a435a0635d5eed315107f7e_normal

Edward Snowden ‏@EJosephSnowden 4h
The inevitable Obama-FEMA veteran round-up continues apace -- now openly at war memorials. https://i.imgur.com/UcR6N2I.jpg #tcot #ThingsThatAnnoyMe

SLAP IN OUR FACE!!!!! Shutdown denies death benefits to families of fallen soldiers UcR6N2I

SLAP IN OUR FACE!!!!! Shutdown denies death benefits to families of fallen soldiers UcR6N2I