WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter on Wednesday ordered the Pentagon to suspend its effort to seek repayments of enlistment bonuses given to thousands of California National Guard members who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Carter’s decision comes in the wake of angry reaction from congressional Republicans and Democrats who demanded he relieve the burden on the Guard members. And the White House said President Barack Obama had warned the Defense Department not to “nickel and dime” service members who were victims of fraud by overzealous recruiters.
In a statement issued during a meeting of defense ministers in Brussels, Carter said effort to collect reimbursement should stop “as soon as is practical.”
He said he has ordered the department to set up a streamlined process by Jan. 1 to help troops get relief from the repayment obligation, because the current program has moved too slowly.
“This process has dragged on too long, for too many service members,” Carter said. “Too many cases have languished without action. That’s unfair to service members and to taxpayers.”
The new process will put “as little burden as possible on any soldier who received an improper payment through no fault of his or her own, Carter said. “At the same time, it will respect our important obligation to the taxpayer.”
Carter said some of the soldiers knew or should have known that they didn’t qualify for the bonuses.
“While some soldiers knew or should have known they were ineligible for benefits they were claiming, many others did not.”
The Pentagon hopes to complete all cases by July 1. About 2,000 members of the National Guard in California have been asked to repay the erroneous payments.
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said he was pleased at the announcement and will work with other members of Congress to provide a long-term legislative solution so the repayment issue does not recur.
House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and other members of Congress had urged the Pentagon to suspend efforts to recover the enlistment bonuses, saying Guard members should not be punished for the mistakes of others.
The Los Angeles Times reported over the weekend that the Pentagon has demanded that some soldiers repay their enlistment bonuses after audits revealed overpayments by the California National Guard. Recruiters under pressure to hit enlistment goals improperly offered bonuses of $15,000 or more to soldiers who re-enlisted, the newspaper reported.
