After news broke that the federal shutdown halted the issuance of military death benefits to the families of fallen soldiers, outrage spread throughout the nation and all the way to the U.S. House of Representatives.
According to USA Today, the House drafted a bill earlier this week to restore the death benefits despite the ongoing shutdown. The measure passed unanimously Oct. 9 and is currently awaiting a vote in the Senate. However, the future of the death benefits still remains in the balance.
At Dover Air Force Base Tuesday, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel delivered a speech that expressed his disappointment in the federal government, the news source reported.
"I am offended, outraged and embarrassed that the government shutdown had prevented the Department of Defense from fulfilling this sacred responsibility in a timely manner," Hagel told the gathered crowd.
The Pentagon announced in a release last week that the death benefits, along with numerous other military programs and benefits, would be frozen until the government shutdown is resolved. Although the death benefits have yet to be restored, military families might be able to receive the $100,000 payments thanks to the nonprofit Fisher House Foundation, which donated funds to help cover the remittance, according to the news outlet.