Florida GOP rep demands info on National Guard bonus clawbacks

Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.) said Wednesday he is concerned about National Guard soldiers in Florida facing reenlistment bonus clawbacks.  

A recent report revealed that the Pentagon was seeking to recoup bonuses from about 9,600 members of the California National Guard that were erroneously paid a decade ago. 

{mosads}Pentagon officials last week said the extra payments were found in every state but have not clarified how many. Peter Levin, under secretary of Defense for personnel and readiness, has said there were “dozens” of cases. 

“The Florida National Guard is one of the largest state Guard organizations in the country with more than 11,600 soldiers and airmen and I am closely monitoring the possibility that some Florida vets were affected by this outrageous policy,” Buchanan said in a letter to the leaders of the House and Senate Armed Services committees. 

Buchanan last week requested that Defense Secretary Ash Carter provide specific information on whether any Florida service members have received similar orders and what steps the department is taking to rectify the situation.

“We need accurate information to ensure that service members from other states — including Florida — have not been affected,” he said in the letter to Carter. 

Buchanan’s office said it was told by Florida National Guard officials that an internal audit failed to find any Florida veterans affected. 

In the letter to the leaders of the Armed Services committees, Buchanan said Congress should “step in” to repay soldiers who accepted the bonuses in good faith and lift the “financial burden from the shoulders of these veterans.” 

Carter announced last week that the Pentagon would stop seeking recoupment of the bonuses and set up a process to help soldiers seeking debt waivers and repay those who accepted the bonuses at no fault of their own and later repaid them. 

“If the Pentagon isn’t going to treat our veterans fairly then Congress needs to step in and do what’s right,” Buchanan said. “These soldiers put their lives on the line and now they’re being told to return enlistment bonuses from 10 years ago even though they did nothing wrong. That is wrong, unfair and shameful.”

The Pentagon said so far, $22 million has been recouped. 

“Forcing innocent soldiers and veterans to repay these funds 10 years after they went to war on the nation’s behalf is obscene and unjustified. They did their part and answered our nation’s call to serve at a time when we needed them most,” Buchanan said. 

“This policy inflicts financial stress on our nation’s heroes, erodes trust in the military and sets a dangerous precedent. These soldiers left their families, fought overseas for months on end and some returned home with physical and invisible injuries. They should not be punished for a mistake they did not make,” he said. 

“Lifting the financial burden from the shoulders of these veterans is the right thing to do,” he added.