Pentagon warned of cuts to military death benefits days before shutdown

By Andrea Mitchell and Matthew DeLuca, NBC News

Lawmakers and the White House have voiced outrage over the shutdown fiasco that has deprived military families of death benefits, but the Pentagon warned of the situation days before the shutdown began.

Under Secretary of Defense Robert Hale advised of the effects a shutdown would have on military personnel and their families during a news conference on Sept. 27.

“We would also be required to do some other bad things to our people. Just some examples – we couldn’t immediately pay death gratuities to those who die on active duty during the lapse,” Hale said.

U.S. Army

Pfc. Cody J. Patterson, Sgt. Patrick C. Hawkins, 1st Lt. Jennifer M. Moreno and Special Agent Joseph M. Peters were killed by an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan on October 6, 2013.

The private foundation Fisher House has agreed to make the payments to the families of service members who have died during the shutdown for now and be reimbursed by the government once Congress gets its act together – a stopgap measure that will get President Barack Obama’s approval, a senior White House official said on Wednesday.

Fisher House stepped into the breach after NBC News’ Andrea Mitchell first reported that the families of five service members killed in combat since the shutdown began had not received the $100,000 “death gratuity” that covers funeral expenses and other costs before other survivors benefits kick in.

“They’re grieving. They’ve suffered enough. Why on Earth should they have to worry where their next dollar is coming from?” said Ken Fisher, the chairman of Fisher House.

At least 26 active service members have died, including the five killed in Afghanistan, since the government shut down on Oct. 1. None of their families has received the death gratuity.

Another charity, the Tampa-based Special Operations Warrior Foundation, said it will present an additional sum of $20,000 to the members of four Army soldiers killed by an improvised bomb Sunday in Afghanistan.

Jacquelyn Martin / AP, file

Defense Undersecretary Robert Hale gestures while speaking during a news conference at the Pentagon, Friday, Sept. 27, 2013, about preparations being made in the event of a government shutdown involving the Defense Department.

Lawmakers and the Obama administration were vociferous in their calls for the death benefit snafu to be resolved, as the effects on the families of the fallen soldiers were detailed in a series of NBC News stories.

“I am offended, outraged and embarrassed that the government shutdown had prevented the Department of Defense from fulfilling this most sacred responsibility in a timely manner,” Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said in a statement.

The bodies of the four troops killed in Afghanistan returned to Dover Air Force Base on Wednesday as the House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill that would have restored the emergency benefits for their families.

“How dare we not provide these grieving families with the necessary support in their time of need!” said Rep. Sanford Bishop, a Democrat from Georgia.

NBC News’ Tony Dokoupil, Tracy Connor and Erin McClam contributed to this story.