No Death Benefits for Military During Shutdown

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon says a government shutdown would delay the $100,000 death benefit paid to families if a military service member dies in the line of duty during the shutdown.

Families would get the money eventually, after the government re-opens.

A Pentagon official says if a shutdown ends by next Tuesday the military may get full paychecks on April 15th. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss personnel details.

If the shutdown goes longer, military personnel would get only partial pay.

The official says about 400,000 of the Defense Department's 800,000 civilian employees will be furloughed, while all military members will report to work. In the Pentagon, the roughly 16,000 military members will work, as will about half of the 7,000 civilians.