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At least FOX noticed, Brianna.
(Please see my previous posts here, here, here and here for background)
It might have made more sense to post this before the two posts just below it, but since I didn't I'll put it here. First, the item I saw on FOX, without which I wouldn't have known anything was happening, since none of the other news networks seem to think it's worth mentioning: Pols Push to Boost Soldiers' Death Benefits
Thursday, January 13, 2005
FOX NEWS
WASHINGTON — So far, 1,511 members of the U.S. military have died in Iraq and Afghanistan. The government currently pays a death benefit of $12,000.
That's double what was paid a year ago, but a bipartisan push in Congress is seeking to increase death benefits to $100,000. Several states are also moving to increase death benefits for their National Guard and Reserve forces.
Lawmakers working on the increase say while they can't measure the cost of freedom, the payment for a battlefield death isn't nearly enough.
"You can't value a life. But we know that we can do a lot better than $12,000 for the families of those who have given their lives in our defense," said Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn.
Lieberman wants to boost the death benefit to $100,000 and make it retroactive to all U.S. personnel killed in Afghanistan and Iraq. He's joined by Alabama Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions.
"We need to have this kind of benefit. It goes to a family, regardless of rank. Anyone who gives their life for their country will receive this benefit," Sessions said.
Boosting military life-insurance policies is another priority for some lawmakers, who want to raise the payout from $250,000 to $400,000. Lawmakers want the United States to pay the premiums on nearly half the policy. Momentum is building in Congress.
"I'm very confident that we'll have strong support for it. I am particularly hopeful it will be in the Defense Department budget, and I think that will really help us move it forward," Sessions said.
Lieberman and Sessions said they hope President Bush endorses these ideas in his State of the Union address. Both predict near-unanimous support even if he doesn't
[Read the rest here.]
Since I assumed that surely (yeah, right) if FOX knew something was up all of the Old Media outlets would be all over it, I immediately went to Google to see what C-BS, The New York Times, et al, had to say about it, but the only other announcement I found other than on the www.senate.gov sites was this report out of Alabama: Sessions unveils measure to enhance military death benefits
HUNSTVILLE [sic], Ala. (AP) — Sen. Jeff Sessions said Tuesday he will introduce legislation to provide $100,000 to U.S. military personnel killed in combat in Afghanistan and Iraq and future conflicts, along with other expanded death benefits.
"We must be generous when a soldier gives his or her life in our nation's defense," said Sessions, a Republican member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. "We can and should do much more for these heroes."
Sessions, who spoke in Huntsville to business leaders, has worked with the Department of Defense to draft the Honoring Every Requirement of Exemplary Service (HEROES) Act. He and Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., are cosponsors.
Sessions said he will introduce the bill on Jan. 24, the day Congress reconvenes.
[Read the rest here.]
So, apparently the story's on the AP wire but it just isn't important enough for any of the big-city papers or mainstream networks to bother with. Next stop: blogosphere.
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