Obama wants military benefits issue fixed 'today'

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama has ordered administration officials to move quickly to find a way to resume paying survivor benefits to the families of slain troops, his spokesman said Wednesday.

"The president was very disturbed to learn of this problem, and he directed the Department of Defense to work with the Office of Management and Budget and his lawyers to develop a possible solution, and he expects this to be fixed today," White House spokesman Jay Carney said.

Due to the partial federal government shutdown, those benefits, which include a $100,000 payment, are being withheld.

Funeral and burial reimbursements are also included. So is a gratuity for travel to funeral or memorial services -- or to be at Dover Air Force Base, where remains of the fallen typically go.

Carney said the payments were not specifically addressed in legislation to ensure military personnel would be paid during any shutdown. He did not elaborate on what the solution might be.

It's unclear exactly when Obama learned of the situation, which reporters were briefed about four days before the shutdown began.

On September 27, Pentagon comptroller Bob Hale told reporters at a Pentagon briefing that death gratuities would be one of the things held up by a shutdown.

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