U.S. Sens. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) and Mark Kirk (R-IL) sought answers following reports that enlistment bonuses would be clawed back from some California National Guard soldiers.
In a letter to Defense Secretary Ash Carter, Ayotte voiced strong concerns about a Los Angeles Times report that said thousands of California National Guard soldiers could be forced to repay bonuses of $15,000 or more for enlisting at the height of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“I believe it is unacceptable to penalize soldiers who have sacrificed so much for our freedom and security for a mistake that is not their fault,” Ayotte wrote. “I ask (Carter) to personally intervene and to eliminate any expectation of payment from individuals and to reimburse any who have already made payments.”
Ayotte called on Carter to reverse the decision to claw back bonuses if he has the authority to do so.
“If you believe you lack the statutory authority to reverse this decision, I welcome the opportunity as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee to work with you to provide the necessary statutory authority to do the right thing for our service members who have done so much for us,” Ayotte wrote.
Ayotte also requested information on how many veterans would be impacted, what portion of those service members deployed to warzones, the total amount of inappropriate payments and how inappropriate payments occurred.
Kirk said that service members and their families make sacrifices in answering the call to serve and fight on behalf of the United States.
“It is a disgrace that now, a decade later, some are forced to repay bonuses paid and promised,” Kirk said. “These families have sacrificed enough and should not have to pay for mistakes of government bureaucrats. The administration should immediately intervene in the current collections and Congress should legislate a fix to prevent this mistake from growing larger.”