SACRAMENTO – The California State Senate today requests, in the strongest possible terms, for Congress to expedite all actions necessary to permanently waive the requirement that our state’s Army National Guard members repay federal financial incentives they received in exchange for wartime reenlistment.
“The burdens of war are heavy and often debilitating for the brave men and women who risk their lives for this country,” said Senate President pro Tempore Kevin de León. “Our government is adding to their hardship with a federal clawback of funds that has been financially devastating to current and former members of the California National Guard and their families. We urge Congress to quickly resolve this crisis in way that honors the courageous Soldiers who have served our country in wartime.”
Chair of the State Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs Jim Nielsen (R-Gerber) said, “Our service men and women who made the extraordinary commitment to extend their active duty deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan did so with honor. Making these Soldiers pay back their bonuses is a betrayal of trust and an injustice. Congress must right this wrong.”
The linked letter (text below) was sent to House Speaker Paul Ryan, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Leader Harry Reid.
October 28, 2016
The Honorable Mitch McConnell
Majority Leader
United States Senate
317 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Paul Ryan
Speaker
United States House of Representatives
1233 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
The Honorable Harry Reid
Democratic Leader
United States Senate
522 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Democratic Leader
United States House of Representatives
233 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Majority Leader McConnell, Speaker Ryan, Democratic Leader Reid, and Democratic Leader Pelosi:
The California State Senate requests, in the strongest possible terms, for Congress to expedite all actions necessary to permanently waive the requirement that our state’s Army National Guard members repay federal financial incentives they received in exchange for wartime reenlistment.
We appreciate that the leadership of the United States Senate and House of Representatives already are beginning to address the matter, and that Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter has suspended collection of the repayments; however, we respectfully submit that this situation requires a solution that is both permanent and timely.
As you know, from 2005-2010, thousands of members of the Army National Guard in California and elsewhere were granted various financial incentives, including reenlistment bonuses and student loan repayments, to encourage their service reenlistment, primarily to help ensure their continued availability in fighting global terrorism.
We also understand that subsequent audits determined that approximately 6,500 California Soldiers were ineligible and improperly received those financial incentive payments. Although a small number of Guard members took bonus money knowing that they were committing fraud, the overwhelming majority acted on good faith, relying on bad information from recruiters and others in positions of authority. Now, years later, the federal government is demanding that the good-faith Soldiers pay the funds back - in most cases long after the money has been spent.
The federal clawback of the funds is devastating the families of current and former Guard members. In some cases, individuals must repay more than $15,000. The recovery effort ignores that the primary fault lies with the recruiting system's failure to ensure eligibility at the time of the awards and also that the Soldiers fulfilled the associated service obligations, which often included deploying back into combat zones in Iraq and Afghanistan.
As Californians, we are greatly appreciative of the crucial national security role that the California National Guard plays as part of the United States Department of Defense. However, we also know how vital the Guard's support is to our state during times of natural disaster and unrest. The morale of the California National Guard has been and continues to be tested by its exhausting wartime deployment schedule over the past 15 years, the current downsizing of the federal military force structure, and now also by the retroactive clawback of these incentive awards. We believe it is crucial to protect the morale and financial well-being of our Guard members and their families so that they can continue to serve our state and nation in times of crisis. Waiving the repayment requirement is both a moral obligation and practical necessity.
In addition, we posit that any federal remedy should extend some form of relief or repayment to those Soldiers who have already complied with recoupment orders despite the financial hardship.
Thank you for your leadership in resolving this issue in a manner that is fair and just to those Guard members who received the moneys in the same good faith with which they have served our nation during wartime.
Sincerely,
KEVIN DE LEÓN JIM NIELSEN
President Pro Tempore Chair, Committee on Veterans Affairs
Twenty-Fourth Senate District Fourth Senate District
JEAN FULLER BEN HUESO
Republican Leader Vice Chair, Committee on Veterans Affairs
Sixteenth Senate District Fortieth District Senate District
BEN ALLEN JOEL ANDERSON
Twenty-Sixth Senate District Thirty-Eighth Senate District
PATRICIA BATES JIM BEALL
Thirty-Sixth Senate District Fifteenth Senate District
TOM BERRYHILL MARTY BLOCK
Eighth Senate District Thirty-Ninth Senate District
ANTHONY CANNELLA TED GAINES
Twelfth Senate District First Senate District
CATHLEEN GALGIANI STEVEN M. GLAZER
Fifth Senate District Seventh Senate District
ISADORE HALL, III LONI HANCOCK
Thirty-Fifth Senate District Ninth Senate District
ED HERNANDEZ ROBERT M. HERTZBERG
Twenty-Second Senate District Eighteenth Senate District
JERRY HILL BOB HUFF
Thirteenth Senate District Twenty-Ninth Senate District
HANNAH-BETH JACKSON RICARDO LARA
Nineteenth Senate District Thirty-Third Senate District
MARK LENO CONNIE M. LEYVA
Eleventh Senate District Twentieth Senate District
CAROL LIU MIKE MCGUIRE
Twenty-Fifth Senate District Second Senate District
TONY MENDOZA HOLLY MITCHELL
Thirty-Second Senate District Thirtieth Senate District
BILL MONNING JOHN M. W. MOORLACH
Seventeenth Senate District Thirty-Seventh Senate District
MIKE MORRELL JANET NGUYEN
Twenty-Third Senate District Thirty-Fourth Senate District
RICHARD PAN FRAN PAVLEY
Sixth Senate District Twenty-Seventh Senate District
RICHARD D. ROTH JEFF STONE
Thirty-First Senate District Twenty-Eighth Senate District
ANDY VIDAK BOB WIECKOWSKI
Fourteenth Senate District Tenth Senate District
LOIS WOLK
Third Senate District
