The government doesn’t have life insurance?
Of course they do; Congress-critters are eligible for Federal Employee Group Life Insurance (FEGLI). If Cummings selected Option B, he was covered for an amount equal to his annual Congressional salary, with the option to buy additional coverage, up to five times the base amount. So, the “death gratuity” is just gravy on the steak.
And don’t forget: Cummings and his wife were accused of potential wrong-doing for the various non-profits they were involved with. No telling how much of that money had its way into their pockets.
Would also be interesting to check out Cummings’ various investment accounts. Remember: Congress is not subject to the various insider trading laws that govern other federal employees. So, if they know a certain firm is about to get a big contract, they can buy the stock before the deal is announced, and turn a nice profit when it goes up in value. Congress passed a bill in 2012 that was supposed to halt insider trading, then quietly gutted its provisions the following year.
I remember looking at one of the last financial disclosure forms issued by the late Senator Thad Cochran (R-MS). He accumulated an $11 million fortune on the public payroll (meager by Pelosi and Feinstein standards but enough to live very comfortably). According to the statement, Cochran or his advisers were very active stock traders, and knew how to play the market well. And when his health began to fail and he was forced to retire from the Senate, Cochran moved to the head of the line and was placed in the state veterans home in Oxford, where he lived out his days.