Letter to the Honorable Ashton B. Carter, Secretary of the Department of Defense and the Hon. Joseph Lengyel, Chief of the National Guard Bureau - End Bonus Recoupment for California Veterans

Letter

Dear Secretary Carter and General Lengyel,

As you are aware, recent reports have found thousands of California National Guard members are being ordered to repay enlistment benefits many years after receiving them. I write today to urge the Department of Defense to immediately suspend the repossession of these benefits.

Thousands of Californians enlisted or reenlisted to serve their country under an agreement that provided financial incentive payments. An investigation and subsequent audit found that many of these benefits were improperly awarded and those found responsible for awarding these bonuses were held accountable for their actions. There is no excuse for fraud within our government. However, soldiers who served our country should not be penalized for the mistakes of others.

These soldiers volunteered to fight for our country and were promised these benefits and students loan repayments for their service. Men and women who have bravely served our nation should be able to keep the benefits that were earned in good faith. Recouping these benefits, in some cases a decade after the bonuses were issued, places these service members in an unfair and difficult financial situation through no fault of their own.

Although Congress must take long-term action to investigate and solve this problem at a national level, I urge the Department to halt the collection of these bonuses at this time to prevent placing more service members in financial hardship.

I appreciate your attention to this issue and I ask that you take quick action to stop this unfair collection. I look forward to hearing from you about this important issue.

Sincerely,

Ami Bera, M.D.
Member of Congress

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