Senate custom gives Inouye’s widow a year’s salary

A little-known custom of the Senate will provide the widow of the late Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) with a year’s worth of his salary.

The continuing resolution to fund the government contains a provision — labeled a “bereavement payment” — for Irene Hirano to receive $193,400.

The money is a standard death benefit for senators who die in office, a Senate Appropriations Committee staffer told The Hill. 

The Senate Handbook states that “in the next Appropriations Bill, an item will be inserted for a gratuity to be paid to the Widow(er) or other next-of-kin, in the amount of one year’s compensation.”

The children of the late Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) saw a similar provision made in 2010, when a budget line item provided a year’s worth of Byrd’s salary for them to share.