Finally, soldiers off the hook for those bonuses
In an all-too-rare case of quick, bipartisan action, Congress is about to protect California National Guard soldiers from having to give back enlistment bonuses.
Good. This was a slow-moving crisis that lawmakers should have resolved long ago, but better late than never.
House and Senate negotiators reached a deal on a provision in a defense policy bill filed Wednesday that stops the Pentagon from demanding repayments unless it can prove that soldiers knew or should have known they weren’t eligible for the money.
The House passed the bill Friday and the Senate is expected to follow suit next week. There will also be another hearing at a later date, during which legislators expect to hear their instructions are being followed. If not, there have been promises to yet again address this issue.
As much as many legislators want to treat this issue like a complete surprise that was resolved with stunningly quick reaction, it wasn’t.
The bonus scandal was first reported by our sister newspaper, The Sacramento Bee, in 2010. The all-volunteer military needed Guard members to re-enlist to fight the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, so starting in 2001 it offered bonuses and student loan aid of $15,000 to $20,000. On top of that, some top officers committed fraud to get bonuses. Eventually, the Pentagon concluded that about $100 million had been fraudulently or mistakenly paid out.
According tot he Los Angeles Times, the bonuses were supposed to go only to soldiers serving in high-demand specialities. Instead, all who signed up for a return trip to the Middle East were given the bonuses.
Apparently, those doing some of the hardest fighting were not in highest demand. One of the 9,700 California soldiers told the Times that he led numerous missions, was fired on repeatedly and was knocked unconscious when his vehicle was hit with an explosive device. After all that, the Pentagon demanded he return his bonus.
Another, former Capt. Christopher Van Meter of Manteca, was thrown from an armored vehicle in Iraq and won the Purple Heart. When the Pentagon demanded repayment of his re-enlistment bonus, he refinanced his home to make the payment. “People like me just got screwed,” he told the Times.
The Bee reported in 2013 that about 17,000 Guard members were being audited and the repayment issue would only grow as more inquiries were finished. But it wasn’t until late October – the stretch drive of the election campaign and after national headlines about soldiers and veterans being forced to give back the money – that lawmakers finally jumped on the issue.
Elections tend to focus politicians’ minds, apparently. After veterans groups also raised a ruckus, Defense Secretary Ash Carter suspended collections of bonuses.
The provision makes that permanent and covers not only current and former California Guard members but the entire U.S. military. Importantly, it shifts the burden of proof to the Pentagon to prove to a review board that the bonus shouldn’t have been paid in the first place.
The provision mirrors a bill introduced by Sens. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein and Rep. Adam Schiff of California, who issued a joint statement Wednesday. The bill’s passage will ensure the Pentagon’s commitment “will be honored by the next administration.” It also means that any money already repaid by the Guard members will be sent back to them, so that people like Capt. Van Meter will be made whole. Finally, said Feinstein, those who faced financial hardship due to “this ordeal” will be compensated.
It’s overdue, but it’s good news.
This story was originally published December 2, 2016 at 5:09 PM with the headline "Finally, soldiers off the hook for those bonuses."