{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://frelinghuysen.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=2&itemid=749", "House Approves Frelinghuysen Measure to Protect \"Families of the Fallen\"", "2013-10-09", "2013", "2013-10", "Republican", "House", "NJ", "Rodney Frelinghuysen", "F000372", "frelinghuysen.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "House Approves Frelinghuysen Measure to Protect \u201cFamilies of the Fallen\u201d\r\n\r\n\tWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 The U.S. House of Representatives has unanimously passed legislation, introduced by Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (NJ-11), designed to ensure that the families of military servicemembers who have died for the country receive government benefits they deserve.\r\n\r\n\t\u201cOur government has no greater responsibility than to take care of the families of our brave men and women who have fought and died for\u00a0our\u00a0country,\u201d said Frelinghuysen, the Vice-Chair of the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. \u201cThis bipartisan legislation provides continuing appropriations to ensure that if troops are killed serving our country, our government will honor its obligations to them and their families without delay.\u201d\r\n\r\n\tThe bipartisan bill was quickly developed after the Pentagon said it could no longer make \"death gratuity\" payments to families after the beginning of the new fiscal year on October 1 because of the government shutdown. The legislation approved by the House today:\r\n \r\n\t\r\n\t\tProvides for payment of death gratuities and other benefits, such as military housing allowance, to the families of fallen soldiers;\u00a0\r\n \r\n \r\n\t\r\n\t\tProvides for authorized funeral and burial services for servicemembers and their families;\r\n \r\n \r\n\t\r\n\t\tWould also pay for families to travel to meet the remains of their loved ones returning home from the battlefield;\r\n \r\n\r\n\tDuring debate on House Joint Resolution 91, Frelinghuysen declared, \u201cOur men and women serving in uniform serving in dangerous places all over the globe deserve the peace of mind of knowing that, during the worst of times, their families will receive the benefits they deserve immediately.\u00a0 This bill removes any ambiguity on this point.\u201d\r\n\r\n\tThis is the second time the House has voted to protect these benefits.\u00a0 House Armed Services Committee Chairman Buck McKeon (CA) stated yesterday that Congress passed the \"Pay Our Military Act\u201c with the express intent that all military pay and allowances would be dispersed during a government shutdown.\u201d Frelinghuysen\u2019s bill, passed by the House unanimously today, makes that authority explicit.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://frelinghuysen.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=2&itemid=749"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8504688739776611, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}