Posted on 01/18/2005 7:00:06 AM PST by davidosborne
CONGRATULATIONS ON A SWIFT AND STUNNING VICTORY!
Together we have changed the course of history - and in only five days.
This past Thursday, we contacted you about the shamefully low death benefit our government gives to the survivors of troops killed in action.
We asked you to send faxes to Congress demanding that the death benefit be raised from $12,000 and change to $100,000.
You responded in huge numbers. The result: Today - only five days later - the Washington Times is reporting that three senators - Sessions of Alabama, Lieberman of Connecticut, and Allen of Virginia - are proposing that the benefit be raised to $100,000 - precisely the amount you demanded!
That's how democracy works when private citizens pay attention to what's going on in their government. LaptopAmerica.net exists to help its members pay attention.
Now I would like to ask you to do one more thing: Thank these three fine senators for their responsiveness to grassroots America and to the desperate need of our military families.
Action to Take: Call Senators George Allen, Joe Lieberman, and Jeff Sessions and thank them for their responsiveness to grassroots America and to the desperate need of our military families.
Senator George Allen -- 202-224-4024
Senator Joe Lieberman -- 202-224-4041
Senator Jeff Sessions -- 202-224-4124
It should be a million dollars, but this is a start.
Thanks for posting it.
Pass it on..
Great news...and make sure the bass turds can't tax it as well.....state and federal
imo
$100,000 is a bare minimum, and I'm tickled the change was made quickly. God bless our troops and their families.
Good Point
Wasn't the benefit $10,000 during WWII, or shortly thereafter?
The death gratuity--what a silly name for it--is already tax free. They changed that last year when they increased it.
I hope Congress will make some cuts somewhere else to pay for this.
In short, our Military is already getting the amount that this man says he wants to see they get.
Go to the following website at military.com for a good run-down of this already existing program.
http://www.military.com/Resources/ResourcesContent/0,13964,30875,00.html
These are relevant exerpts:
Members on active duty, active duty for training or inactive duty for training and members of the Ready Reserve are automatically covered for $250,000, the maximum amount of coverage.Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance (SGLI) is the life insurance currently available to all members of the uniformed services. SGLI is a group life insurance policy purchased by VA from a commercial life insurance company. The Office of Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance (OSGLI)
Any talk about making it retroactive to the start of the Iraq campaign?
The is VERY inexpensive in the scheme of things...
It oughta be a million.
I believe that will come up in debate.. I am in favor of doing that...
This is tremendous news!
bump ... this is a good thing.
This is optional purchased life insurance they qualify for, but do not automatically receive.... it's purchased, at $20/month, according to the senator on Imus this morning.
SGLI is NOT Automatic, and takes time to process.., and is OPTIONAL (soldiers must PAY FOR IT)... OTOH, Death Gratuity is PAID IMMEDIATELY ON NOTIFICATION
12k doesn't even cover funeral expenses.
EXACTLY
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