One group in suffering especially from the government
shutdown since September 30th is the United States military’s
current and former members.
Members of Congress voted to continue payment for the
troops, but that only covers part of the problem. There are still numerous
government-run veteran programs affected. Two of the programs are the education
of soldiers and death benefits for the families of fallen soldiers.
For a soldier killed in action, the family is granted $100,000
to cover things such as the funeral. However, during the shutdown these
benefits were delayed, with families forced to wait. Or, that was the case
until the non-profit Fisher House Foundation vowed to pay the families the
death benefits until the shutdown ended. The House of Representatives voted
unanimously, 425-0, to restore the death benefits, but the Senate did not vote
on the issue.
Tuition assistance for servicemen was delayed. According to
vfw.org, any information about the GI Bill was offline because of the shutdown,
but the organization, Student Veterans of America, has taken control of the
matter and is open for any questions regarding benefits for soldiers and the GI
Bill.
