Former Sen. Elizabeth Dole praised the Fisher House Foundation on Wednesday for volunteering to pay the death benefits denied to families of slain soldiers because of the government shutdown.
"Please join me in thanking Sen. Joe Manchin and Ken Fisher of the Fisher House Foundation for stepping up on behalf of America’s military families in their greatest hour of need," Dole, a North Carolina Republican, said in a statement.
Manchin is a GOP senator from West Virginia, and Fisher is the chairman and CEO of the private foundation, which aids families of military service members and veterans.
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Fisher House Foundation, based in Rockville, Md., said on Wednesday that it would pay $100,000 death benefit until the shutdown ends or legislation has been enacted to restore the benefits.
The Republican-controlled House passed such legislation earlier Wednesday. It is not clear when the Senate might act on it.
The government shutdown entered its ninth day on Wednesday.
Dole served in the administrations of Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, and briefly ran for president in 2000. Her husband is former Kansas Sen. Bob Dole.
She urged President Barack Obama and Congress to "work together to find a solution to this appalling situation for military families, and to bring to an end the current government shutdown. You can always find common ground when you’re working for the common good.
"Too many American families are hurting as a result of bitter partisan politics," Dole added. "Our military families deserve better, and Americans deserve better from their elected representatives in Washington."
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