WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Susan Collins today issued this statement following House passage of a bill appropriating funding for military death benefits:
“The House of Representatives has passed a bill ensuring that survivors of fallen service members receive the benefits that they are owed and rightfully deserve, and I call on the Senate to immediately consider and pass this measure. The families of our fallen heroes should not be made to bear the burden of the dysfunction in Washington,” said Senator Collins. “It is past time for us to reopen government, and I will continue to urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to start legislating in good faith so that we can bring an end to this unnecessary and damaging shutdown.”
Senator Collins, along with Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), has proposed a three-point, compromise plan to bring the shutdown to an end and has called on her colleagues to support it. The plan, first proposed by Senator Collins last weekend, would (1) fund government; (2) repeal the medical device tax imposed by the new health care law but fully offset lost revenue; and (3) give federal agencies the flexibility to manage the across-the-board cuts in their budgets caused by sequestration, subject to congressional oversight.