Rep. Calvert Statement on Veteran Bonuses

Today, Congressman Ken Calvert (CA-42) issued following statement in response to National Guardsmen being forced to repay bonuses offered for service as reported by the Los Angeles Times:

"It is deeply concerning that the leadership of the National Guard is causing tremendous financial hardship on our National Guardsmen due to its own mismanagement. The National Guardsmen affected proudly served our country and sacrificed tremendously to help protect our nation. When our country asked them to continue to put their lives on the line, they stepped up. Now it is our responsibility to protect and care for them and honor the promises made – including financial promises. I am incredibly frustrated that the National Guard did not come to Congress to seek a better solution when it first became aware of this problem and instead went after Guardsmen to collect, in some instances, decade-old bonuses.

Earlier this year, the House took steps to limit the military's ability to collect monies that may be owed through absolutely no fault of the service member. I am certainly supportive of expanding that provision to cover these affected veterans. Rest assured, I will be working with my colleagues to further investigate what occurred and to find answers that protect the welfare of our veterans."

In May of this year, the House passed the National Defense Authorization Act which contained a provision (Sec. 642) establishing a statute of limitations on the military recovering future overpayments. The bill also scrutinizes the Defense Finance and Accounting Service's management of existing cases of service member debt. The bill is still pending action in the Senate.

UPDATE: Rep. Calvert joined a number of his House colleagues in sending a letter to the Secretary of Defense requesting that the Dept. of Defense stop all collection efforts on the bonuses in question.

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