Free Republic

At least five families of U.S. military members killed during in Afghanistan over the weekend were given a double-whammy by federal officials: Not only have your loved ones died, but due to the government shutdown, you won’t receive a death benefit. The benefit is $100,000 and is wired to family members of the killed military member within 36 hours of the death. The so-called “death gratuity” is aimed at paying for funeral costs and to help with those living expenses normally covered by the soldier’s paycheck. They serve as a transition pay benefit until the military’s survivor benefits begin. The...

Secret's out.For more than a decade, Prudential Financial Inc. has had a confidential arrangement with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to withhold lump-sum payments of life-insurance benefits to the family of dead soldiers, so that Prudential could invest that money and keep whatever cash it made it itself, Bloomberg News reported.The VA failed to inform soldiers and their families of the agreement. Prudential, the second-largest U.S. life insurer is the only provider of life insurance for 6 million U.S. military personnel. The arrangement began in 1999 and was kept confidential until it was put into writing in 2009."Every veteran...

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...