[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 11]
[House]
[Pages 15493-15494]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             DEATH BENEFITS

  (Mr. PITTS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1

[[Page 15494]]

minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, last week before the shutdown, this House 
overwhelmingly passed legislation to provide for our military in case 
of a government shutdown. We voted to provide them not only pay, but 
benefits for themselves and their families. Now the President's lawyers 
at the Department of Defense are blocking death gratuities to the 
families of those who've made the ultimate sacrifice.
  Families of soldiers killed in battle are being victimized by the 
Department of Defense. It's outrageous. Today, Congress will act again 
to make our wishes even more clear. The President is the Commander in 
Chief. He should not be using troops and their families as pawns in 
this political bickering. He should be doing everything he can to stand 
up for the men and women of our military. Instead, he is refusing to 
negotiate until he gets his way. He is violating the trust between 
himself as Commander in Chief and the troops and destroying their 
morale.
  Divided government is hard, but it's what the people have given us. 
It requires negotiation and compromise. Let's provide for our troops 
and their families. Let's sit down and talk, and let's get the whole 
government reopened.

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