WASHINGTON — The situation in Washington is so bad, the Pentagon is taking a handout.
The world’s mightiest military, with a budget of $700 billion, will accept money from a private charity to temporarily cover fallen troops’ death benefits until the government shutdown ends, officials said Wednesday.
The government’s inability to pay the death benefits had triggered anger across Washington.
“I am offended, outraged and embarrassed that the government shutdown had prevented the Department of Defense from fulfilling this most sacred responsibility in a timely manner,” said Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, a Vietnam vet.
President Obama “was very disturbed to learn of this problem,” and he demanded a resolution, said White House spokesman Jay Carney.
[h=4]The Fisher House Foundation will temporarily cover fallen troops' death benefits until the government shutdown is over.[/h]
The Pentagon and the Office of Management and Budget then devised a solution — allowing the Fisher House Foundation to enter into a rush agreement to provide the money up front until the shutdown ends.
The Band-Aid solution came as the shutdown dragged on for a ninth day, the government edged closer to an unprecedented default — and House Republicans signaled that they might be ready to make a short-term deal.
Obama scheduled White House meetings with congressional leaders to explore ways out of the gridlock, while business groups pressed their Republican allies on Capitol Hill to end the shutdown and lift the threat of default.
RELATED: MERCHANT MARINE ACADEMY LEFT ADRIFT IN SHUTDOWN
That default could occur next Thursday if Congress and the President do not raise the government’s borrowing limit.
[h=4]Mark Wilson/Getty Images[/h] [h=4]President Obama (pictured) was 'very disturbed to learn of this problem' and demanded a resolution, White House spokesman Jay Carney said.[/h]
The giant National Retail Federation weighed in Wednesday on the standoff.
“We strongly support passage of both a continuing resolution to provide for funding of the federal government into the next fiscal year and a measure to raise the nation’s debt ceiling,” Matthew Shay, the federation’s president, wrote, adding that consumer spending and confidence are already down.
Perhaps in response to such pressure, House Republican leaders said they are considering a short-term increase in the debt limit as a possible way to break the deadlock.
GOP officials declined to say what conditions, if any, might be attached to legislation raising the debt limit for a limited period of perhaps a few weeks or months.
House Republicans were expected to discuss the issue on Thursday, before a delegation led by Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) heads to the White House.
[h=4]Evan Vucci/AP[/h] [h=4]Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) stands on the Senate steps on Capitol Hill on Wednesday. Reid is one of the key figures in the Washington, D.C., standoff.[/h]
Obama has demanded that legislation to permit the resumption of government spending and to raise the borrowing limit have no strings attached. Republicans have insisted on concessions to reduce deficits, or delay or defund Obamacare.
Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), Mitt Romney’s running mate in the 2012 presidential race, laid out the framework for a potential short-term compromise in The Wall Street Journal.
RELATED: DEMOCRATS DEMAND HOUSE GYM CLOSE DURING SHUTDOWN
He suggested reopening the government and raising the debt ceiling combined with an agreement for real negotiations on entitlement programs and taxes.
Ryan’s op-ed, as one prominent Republican put it to the Daily News, “lays out the basis for discussions going forward.”
[h=4]Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images[/h] [h=4]GOP officials declined to say if any conditions would be attached to legislation raising the debt limit for a limited period, but House Republicans were expected to discuss the issue before a delegation led by Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) heads to the White House.[/h]
The proposal “tells Republicans how they can claim they ultimately got something by saying Obama gave up his no-negotiations stance,” the source said. At the same time, the White House could say that it stood its ground, because negotiations would be technically be separate from passage of government funding and debt ceiling bills.
House aides said Boehner was eying a six-week extension of the debt limit to buy time for talks on entitlement cuts and other measures tied to a longer extension.
House members were notified to hang around for a Saturday vote on “critical funding of government operations.”
But the glimmers of hope mixed with exasperation.
Senate Chaplain Barry Black opened the day with a pointed prayer.
[h=4]New York Daily News[/h] [h=4]The Daily News cover on Wednesday: 'They died for our country — now pols block benefit checks to bury them.'[/h]
“Lord, when the federal shutdown delays payments of death benefits to the families of children dying on faraway battlefields, it’s time for our lawmakers to say enough is enough,” he said.
RELATED: FROM FOODBORNE ILLNESS TO FLU, GOV'T SHUTDOWN AFFECTS SAFETY
Amid the controversy over death benefits for the families of fallen troops, Hagel made a rare trip Wednesday to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware for the arrival of the remains of four soldiers killed in Afghanistan.
The four were among seven service members who have died since the government shutdown began.
The families of fallen troops qualify for reimbursement of funeral expenses and free travel to attend their loved ones’ return home.
[h=4]Readers responding to The News cover on Twitter made their feelings clear.[/h]
Late last month, Congress passed and Obama signed legislation allowing the military to be paid during any government shutdown. But the bill does not cover the payment of death benefits.
Republicans were outraged Tuesday when news reports revealed that the death benefits were a casualty of the shutdown. Some Republicans alleged that the administration deliberately obstructed the payments.
Carney, the White House spokesman, said the Pentagon told lawmakers that the legislation to pay the troops during the shutdown did not allow for the payment of death benefits.
However, Carney repeatedly refused to say when the President was first told that death benefits would not be paid.
In Albany, Gov. Cuomo on Wednesday warned the state could lose as much as $2 billion in revenue, a loss of key services, and face another recession if the federal government defaults on its debt obligations.
The world’s mightiest military, with a budget of $700 billion, will accept money from a private charity to temporarily cover fallen troops’ death benefits until the government shutdown ends, officials said Wednesday.
The government’s inability to pay the death benefits had triggered anger across Washington.
“I am offended, outraged and embarrassed that the government shutdown had prevented the Department of Defense from fulfilling this most sacred responsibility in a timely manner,” said Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, a Vietnam vet.
President Obama “was very disturbed to learn of this problem,” and he demanded a resolution, said White House spokesman Jay Carney.
The Pentagon and the Office of Management and Budget then devised a solution — allowing the Fisher House Foundation to enter into a rush agreement to provide the money up front until the shutdown ends.
The Band-Aid solution came as the shutdown dragged on for a ninth day, the government edged closer to an unprecedented default — and House Republicans signaled that they might be ready to make a short-term deal.
Obama scheduled White House meetings with congressional leaders to explore ways out of the gridlock, while business groups pressed their Republican allies on Capitol Hill to end the shutdown and lift the threat of default.
RELATED: MERCHANT MARINE ACADEMY LEFT ADRIFT IN SHUTDOWN
That default could occur next Thursday if Congress and the President do not raise the government’s borrowing limit.
The giant National Retail Federation weighed in Wednesday on the standoff.
“We strongly support passage of both a continuing resolution to provide for funding of the federal government into the next fiscal year and a measure to raise the nation’s debt ceiling,” Matthew Shay, the federation’s president, wrote, adding that consumer spending and confidence are already down.
Perhaps in response to such pressure, House Republican leaders said they are considering a short-term increase in the debt limit as a possible way to break the deadlock.
GOP officials declined to say what conditions, if any, might be attached to legislation raising the debt limit for a limited period of perhaps a few weeks or months.
House Republicans were expected to discuss the issue on Thursday, before a delegation led by Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) heads to the White House.
Obama has demanded that legislation to permit the resumption of government spending and to raise the borrowing limit have no strings attached. Republicans have insisted on concessions to reduce deficits, or delay or defund Obamacare.
Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), Mitt Romney’s running mate in the 2012 presidential race, laid out the framework for a potential short-term compromise in The Wall Street Journal.
RELATED: DEMOCRATS DEMAND HOUSE GYM CLOSE DURING SHUTDOWN
He suggested reopening the government and raising the debt ceiling combined with an agreement for real negotiations on entitlement programs and taxes.
Ryan’s op-ed, as one prominent Republican put it to the Daily News, “lays out the basis for discussions going forward.”
The proposal “tells Republicans how they can claim they ultimately got something by saying Obama gave up his no-negotiations stance,” the source said. At the same time, the White House could say that it stood its ground, because negotiations would be technically be separate from passage of government funding and debt ceiling bills.
House aides said Boehner was eying a six-week extension of the debt limit to buy time for talks on entitlement cuts and other measures tied to a longer extension.
House members were notified to hang around for a Saturday vote on “critical funding of government operations.”
But the glimmers of hope mixed with exasperation.
Senate Chaplain Barry Black opened the day with a pointed prayer.
“Lord, when the federal shutdown delays payments of death benefits to the families of children dying on faraway battlefields, it’s time for our lawmakers to say enough is enough,” he said.
RELATED: FROM FOODBORNE ILLNESS TO FLU, GOV'T SHUTDOWN AFFECTS SAFETY
Amid the controversy over death benefits for the families of fallen troops, Hagel made a rare trip Wednesday to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware for the arrival of the remains of four soldiers killed in Afghanistan.
The four were among seven service members who have died since the government shutdown began.
The families of fallen troops qualify for reimbursement of funeral expenses and free travel to attend their loved ones’ return home.
Late last month, Congress passed and Obama signed legislation allowing the military to be paid during any government shutdown. But the bill does not cover the payment of death benefits.
Republicans were outraged Tuesday when news reports revealed that the death benefits were a casualty of the shutdown. Some Republicans alleged that the administration deliberately obstructed the payments.
Carney, the White House spokesman, said the Pentagon told lawmakers that the legislation to pay the troops during the shutdown did not allow for the payment of death benefits.
However, Carney repeatedly refused to say when the President was first told that death benefits would not be paid.
In Albany, Gov. Cuomo on Wednesday warned the state could lose as much as $2 billion in revenue, a loss of key services, and face another recession if the federal government defaults on its debt obligations.