Via Fox News:
The Pentagon announced Wednesday that a charity will step in to pay death benefits to the families of fallen soldiers, in response to widespread outrage over the payments being cut off amid the partial government shutdown.
Earlier in the day, the head of the Veterans of Foreign Wars slammed the cut-off as “absolutely appalling.”
The House voted Wednesday afternoon to restore the $100,000 payments. But in a rapid turn of events, the Pentagon announced minutes later that it had entered into an agreement with the non-profit Fisher House Foundation to keep the payments flowing to families — without the need for congressional action. (Though the House approved its bill unanimously, senior Senate sources told Fox News that the Senate did not plan to take it up.)
“In consultation with the Office of Management and Budget, DoD has determined that we can enter into a contract with the Fisher House Foundation to provide these benefits,” Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said in a statement, while saying he was “offended” and “outraged” that the partial shutdown prevented the Pentagon from making the payments.