Lawmakers praise defense bill’s National Guard bonus fix

California lawmakers are hailing language included in the final version of an annual defense policy bill that seeks to prevent the Pentagon from recouping bonuses from Army National Guard soldiers.

“The goal was to make it clear that California National Guard soldiers won’t be forced to unfairly repay bonuses promised for their service a decade ago and this bill accomplishes that,” Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D) said in a statement.

“The language in the [National Defense Authorization Act] will ensure that the commitments made by [Defense] Secretary [Ash] Carter will be honored by the next administration, any money already repaid will be given back and that the Pentagon will help soldiers who face financial hardship fully recover from this ordeal,” she said.

Feinstein joined California Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer and Rep. Adam Schiff earlier this month to introduce stand-alone legislation in both chambers to permanently ban the Pentagon from recouping bonuses paid to National Guard troops more than a decade ago.

Last month, the Los Angeles Times reported that the Pentagon was trying to recoup more than $20 million paid to thousands of National Guard service members who reenlisted at the height of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

The bonuses were meant to go to troops with in-demand skills, but were applied more liberally. While it happened in every state, California – one of the largest states by the total number of Guardsmen – was affected the most. Former California National Guard incentive manager Army Master Sgt. Toni L. Jaffe also pleaded guilty in 2011 to approving millions of dollars of fraudulent claims.

A flood of outrage followed from lawmakers from both parties. In response, Defense Secretary Ash Carter halted the collection efforts pending a review of the process where soldiers could seek relief from debt.

The final version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) unveiled Tuesday requires a review of all cases of recoupment between 2004 and 2015. It also shifts the burden of proof to the Pentagon to show soldiers “knew or reasonably should have known” they were ineligible for the benefit.

The House Armed Services Committee is also scheduled to hold a hearing on the issue next week.

In a statement, Boxer called the language in the final bill an “important step toward protecting service members and their families from being held responsible‎ for the mistakes and illegal actions of others.”

Schiff said the language will provide relief to soldiers who accepted bonuses in good faith.

“I hope that we can move quickly to provide this well-deserved relief so we can help provide peace of mind for our service members and their families during this holiday season,” he said in a statement.

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) likewise applauded the provision as an important fix.

“Soldiers will hopefully be able to breathe a sigh of relief and know that, unless there was some sort of intentional wrongdoing, Uncle Sam won’t be coming after them,” he said in a statement.

Issa also pledged that Congress would act again if the Pentagon does not return money to soldiers who already repaid their bonuses or if the reviews continue to collect from those who accepted bonuses in good faith.

“If soldiers who already repaid their bonuses do not have their money returned in an expeditious manner or if we later discover the Pentagon is still pursuing soldiers who accepted bonuses in good faith,” he said, “we will revisit this with new legislation on Day 1 of the new Congress.”