The Republican-led House has unanimously passed legislation to restore death benefits to the families of fallen U.S. soldiers halted by the government shutdown.

It's unclear whether the Democratic-led Senate will take up the bill, which the House passed by a 425-0 vote. The Pentagon typically pays out $100,000 within three days of a soldier's death. But it says the shutdown means there is no authority now to pay the money.

[np_storybar title="Kelly McParland: Shutdown gives Republicans a real reason for tears

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When John Boehner won the job of Speaker of the House of Representatives, much was made of the fact that he cries easily. There are YouTube videos of Boehner crying; Politico.com has a gallery of photos of Boehner welling up; even while being interviewed about his crying, he could break into tears.

He must be going through hankies at a record clip these days.

Read more…


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House Speaker John Boehner has blamed the Obama administration for withholding the payments. But White House spokesman Jay Carney said Republicans were at fault for shutting down the government.

He said President Barack Obama was "disturbed" to learn of the problem and that the administration hoped to find a solution Wednesday.

The vote came after a particularly forceful benediction Wednesday morning from Senate's chaplain, Barry Black. A former Navy chaplain, Black had stern words for Congress after the shutdown caused denial of the death benefits.

"Lord, when our federal shutdown delays payments of death benefits to the families of children dying in far-away battlefields, it's time for our lawmakers to say enough is enough," Black said. "Cover our shame with the robe of your righteousness. Forgive us, reform us, and make us whole."

On Tuesday, Republican Senator John McCain said members of Congress should be "ashamed" of themselves after it was learned the U.S. military suspended death benefits during the government shutdown.

"I'm ashamed. I'm embarrassed," McCain said, a five-term senator and prisoner of war in Vietnam. "All of us should be."

"Sooner or later the government will resume its functions. Sooner or later we will raise the debt limit," McCain added.

"So why don't we do this sooner rather than later."

The Pentagon said that because of the partial shutdown it was unable to pay the customary death benefits of a $100,000 tax-free payment to the family of the slain soldier. The payment usually comes within days of a soldiers' death, helping their family pay for expenses such as funeral costs.

Four U.S. soldiers were killed in a bomb attack in Afghanistan over the weekend: Special Agent Joseph M. Peters, 24, 1st Lt. Jennifer M. Moreno, 25, Pfc. Cody J. Patterson, 24, and Sgt. Patrick C. Hawkins, 25. A Marine, Lance Corporal Jeremiah Collins, 19, died in Helmand province but his cause of death was not released by the military.

"There's a number of issues that we could sit down and negotiate within an hour if we will stop attacking each other and impugning each other's integrity and honour," McCain said.

Obama and Boehner offered hints of possible compromise but also traded heated rhetoric Tuesday, a frustratingly inconclusive combination that left the eight-day partial government shutdown firmly in place and the threat of an unprecedented national default drawing closer.

"There's a crack there," Boehner said of the impasse in a brief interview near the end of a day of manoeuvring at the White House and the Capitol. But he added that it was not enough to warrant optimism.

Stocks fell significantly — the Dow Jones average by 159 points — as political gridlock endured. And, in the latest in a string of dire warnings, the International Monetary Fund said failure to raise America's debt limit could lead to default and disrupt worldwide financial markets, raise interest rates and push the U.S economy back into recession.

Republicans "don't get to demand ransom in exchange for doing their jobs," Obama said at the White House. "They don't also get to say, you know, unless you give me what the voters rejected in the last election, I'm going to cause a recession."

Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew has said the deadline for Congress to act is Oct., 17, setting that as the day the government will exhaust its ability to borrow funds and will have to rely day-to-day on tax and other receipts to pay its bills.

With files from The Associated Press