SerpApi.Org
A Republican funding patch would give the relatives of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Rep. David Scott (D-GA) payments equal to their congressional salaries.
The “death gratuity” payments of $174,000 would be given to the “heirs at law” of the late senator and congressman. The payments are included in the text of a continuing resolution that would extend funding for the federal government until December.
The funding patch is set to be voted on the House floor on Tuesday evening, as House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) tries to avoid a government shutdown ahead of the November elections.
The gratuity payments are not abnormal, and according to the National Taxpayers Union Foundation, Congress has doled out $7 million to the families of late lawmakers since 2000.
In the 119th Congress, the families of late Reps. Doug LaMalfa (R-CA), Sylvester Turner (D-TX), Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), and Gerald Connolly (D-VA) received death gratuities. The payments for the four late lawmakers' families totaled $696,000.
Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) told reporters the payments for the families of members who have died are “perfectly appropriate.”
“I don't have any problem being supportive of that on either side of the aisle,” Cole said. “These are people that gave up a lot to serve the country. I think both of them did it with great distinction, and I would hope that we could help their families in what I'm sure is a difficult time.”
Graham, 71, died on July 11 after a tear in his aorta, according to a preliminary medical examination. Scott, who struggled with poor health in recent years, died at 80 years old on April 22.
Graham's sister, Darline Graham Nordone, was sworn in to fill out the remainder of his term last week and announced she would run in the upcoming special primary in South Carolina for a full term on Monday.
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Payments for the families of late lawmakers have sparked some controversy in the past. The National Taxpayers Union Foundation has described the payments as “outdated” and a tradition that is “in no way required by law.”
On Capitol Hill, House lawmakers introduced legislation in 2016 and 2021 to end the gratuity payments as well, though neither effort made it onto the floor for a vote.
