Benefits proposed for attack victims
WASHINGTON— With the conviction and death penalty sentencing completed for Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan, Texas lawmakers on Capitol Hill are pushing for better benefits for families of the fallen and wounded.
U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, backed by Sen. Ted Cruz and fellow Republican senators from Kansas and Maine, proposed legislation Thursday to provide Purple Hearts and federal benefits to the families of the 12 GIs killed in the mass shooting on Nov. 5, 2009, as well as to the wounded survivors.
“The wheels of justice have turned too slowly for the victims of the terrorist attack at Fort Hood four years ago,” Cornyn said. “Wemust direct our attention to the people who deserve it, and that is the victims and their families. As a nation, we have a
sacred obligation to take care of them.”
Michele Vannote, sister of Army Capt. John Gaffaney, who died trying to stop Hasan’s attack, called renewed legislative efforts an “additional piece of the actual justice due beyond the conviction and sentencing.”
Vannote added: “All those victims still having the possibility of ‘life after Hasan’ do greatly deserve this final act of justice.”
Hasan, an Army major and psychiatrist who proclaimed loyalty to radical Islamic terrorists, killed 13 people, including 12 GIs, and wounded 32 others, including 31 soldiers. Not labeled terrorism
Military prosecutors pursued murder charges against Hasan under the Uniform Code of Military Justice rather than seeking an indictment for federal terrorism-related offenses. By not designating the attack as an act of terrorism, the families and survivors were technically barred from qualifying for combatrelated benefits.
The designation of the attack as “workplace violence” rather than a terrorist attack quickly became a political lightning rod.
As recently as Wednesday, Cruz pointedly criticized President Barack Obama for failing to designate Hasan’s crimes as terrorism.
In remarks to the Heritage Foundation about the threat of radical Islamic terrorism, the senator said: “We saw in my home state of Texas in Fort Hood that same evil raise its head.
“And yet this administration characterizes that not as terrorism, but as ‘workplace violence,’ ” Cruz continued. “That wasn’t workplace violence — that was radical Islamic terrorism. And we’re not going to stand up and defeat terrorists who would kill us so long as the president remains unwilling even to utter the words ‘radical Islamic terrorism.’ ” End of trial raises hope
Hasan’s conviction followed by his death sentence on Aug. 28 lifted the legal impediment and buoyed prospects for legislation to provide wider benefits.
“Now that the trial is over and Hasan has been convicted on all counts, prospects have improved for getting bipartisan support for this effort in Congress,” said Cornyn spokeswoman Jessica Sandlin. “There should be no reason for this bill to be held up any longer.”
The legislation designates Hasan’s actions an act of terrorism, thereby qualifying victims and their families for combatrelated benefits. It would require Army Secretary John McHugh to award Purple Hearts to soldiers killed or wounded in the attack and require Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel to award the civilian equivalent, the Defense of Freedom medal, to two civilians killed or injured in the attack. Proposed benefits
Long-term benefits would include combat pay, additional pay for exposure to hostile fire or imminent danger, $400,000 in life insurance coverage, tax breaks for families and survivors, pay during combatrelated injury rehabilitation and meals at military treatment facilities.
Costs for the benefits were not immediately available. The Congressional Budget Office has not completed an analysis of a variety of proposals designed to benefit Fort Hood families or survivors.