The Clinton campaign has issued the following statement regarding the outrageous attempts by the National Guard and DoD to recoup bonuses from our veterans.
"I am appalled that National Guard officials are attempting to recoup money from soldiers who accepted bonuses a decade ago – with the active encouragement of government officials and through no fault of their own – for bravely enlisting to serve our country during a time of war. These troops deserve our support and our deepest gratitude; they served admirably and upheld their part of the bargain. It is unacceptable to now subject them and their families to undue financial burdens thanks to mismanagement from the California National Guard and rigid bureaucracy on the part of the Pentagon.
"I am calling on Congress to swiftly pass legislation to right this wrong. In the meantime, we should assist these families in identifying and applying for relief as well establishing an expedited review process. We simply cannot allow this type of mistreatment of veterans, for any reason."
Here’s the LA Times article that broke the story.
Politico has an article that details more action to come.
Top congressional leaders sharply rebuked the effort earlier Monday. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, called the initiative "disgraceful" and called on Department of Defense officials to waive repayments for soldiers.
“Our military heroes should not shoulder the burden of military recruiters' faults from over a decade ago,” McCarthy said in a statement. “They should not owe for what was promised during a difficult time in our country.”
House Minority leader Nancy Pelosi echoed the call for a speedy legislative response in a statement released Monday.
“The overpayment of enlistment signing bonuses by the Department of Defense should not be the responsibility of our servicemembers or veterans to pay back, years after the fact,” Pelosi said. “Speaker Ryan and Leader McConnell must join with Congressional Democrats and pass a legislative fix as soon as we gavel back into session.”
Hopefully Congress can actually come together to fix this travesty.