Congress may pardon troops asked to repay enlistment bonuses

As outrage grows, Congress vows to act.

Thousands of National Guard troops from California have been ordered to repay thousands in enlistment bonuses to the Pentagon. The Pentagon says the bonuses were awarded in error. However, troops say they did nothing wrong and the repayments are causing tremendous hardship on their families. Congress may intervene.

LOS ANGELES, CA (California Network) - The Pentagon is the most generously-funded single government entity on the planet. No other department for defense or government ministry around the world enjoys a budget as large as that awarded to the Pentagon.

At nearly $600 billion, the U.S. Department of Defense spends more than the next 14 nations combined. This includes Russia, China and more. In fact, without the U.S., the entire world spends about one trillion on defense annually. This is part of what makes it so shocking to see an agency that can oversee the acquisition of a $1.4 trillion fighter plane, or billion dollar bombers, needs to squeeze veterans for a few thousand dollars.

About 10,000 California National Guard troops who served in Afghanistan and Iraq following 9/11 have been ordered to pay the Pentagon thousands of dollars apiece. The reason is they were inappropriately paid reenlistment bonuses during their service.

As the American military strained under the pressures of a two-front conflict, the need to retain experienced troops became vital. To entice veterans to re-sign for additional tours, generous enlistment bonuses were offered. National Guardsmen in California recall being ordered to attend mandatory meetings where they were asked to reenlist and offered cash bonuses and student loan repayments.

However, an investigation from the Pentagon found that those bonuses were never intended for everyone, but just those with certain skills. Fraud and abuse led to those bonuses being handed out much more liberally then intended.

The problem for the soldiers is that they had no idea they were not entitled to the funds. And in many cases, they were paid over a decade ago. Nearly all have transitioned into civilian life and repaying the money is a substantial hardship. Veterans tell of second mortgages and tough choices as they send massive repayments back to Washington.

It is widely understood that the payments should never have been made in the first place. They were given out in error. Yet asking for a reenlistment bonus back after a person risked their life, and in some cases were subsequently injured, sounds unfair. It sounds cruel.
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The problem is not limited to California. Soldiers in other states are also affected, but the case in California is attracting more attention following coverage from the L.A. Times, which has gone viral.  California is the only state which has completed an audit into these payments. It is suspected that all other states may find similar overpayments if they investigate.

Maj. Gen. Matthew Beevers, who is the deputy commander of the California National Guard says "We'd be more than happy to absolve these people of their debts. We just can't do it. We'd be breaking the law."

The public outcry is growing however, and Congress has signaled it may act. With an average debt of $15,000 per person, and in some cases more than double that amount, the controversy has become national news. It is likely that every other state has some level of abuse and fraud which is resulting in overpayments.

To prevent exacerbating the problem, Congress may pass some kind of amnesty or law that makes it impossible for the Pentagon to recover the money. However, that will come as light relief for those who have already repaid their debts, or who were forced to mortgage their homes.

Representative Julia Brownley (D, CA) said she would introduce a bill to provide relief to veterans. Her office issued a statement which reads: "I am outraged that our servicemembers and veterans are being asked to repay bonuses and benefits promised to them when they answered the call to serve our nation. I intend to introduce legislation as soon as Congress returns to waive repayment, and will work with my colleagues to ensure a full accounting of how this mismanagement occurred."

Both Republicans and Democrats appear equally supportive of the veterans. California senators, Boxer and Feinstein who are legislative heavyweights have also spoke against these forced repayments. Hillary Clinton has also voiced support for the veterans.

One Republican representative from California, Duncan Hunter referred to the decision to ask for the money back as, "boneheaded."

Legislation will probably be introduced as soon as Congress returns to work in December.

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