Arlington, VA – Concerned Veterans for America (CVA) is applauding Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), for standing by veterans through the Pentagon’s recently-exposed bonus repayment scandal at the California National Guard.
Thousands of soldiers in California – many of whom served multiple combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan – were ordered to repay enlistment bonuses given to them by the Pentagon over a decade ago. If the veterans were unable to pay back the money, the Pentagon planned to use interest charges, wage garnishments, and tax liens to recoup it. Earlier this week Secretary of Defense Ash Carter announced that the DOD Finance and Accounting Service team is suspending efforts to grab back bonuses from California National Guard veterans until Carter is “satisfied that [the] process is working effectively.”
Rep. Issa responded immediately to the Pentagon’s decision to suspend efforts to claw back bonuses issued to members of the California National Guard, saying that a temporary suspension is “not enough” and calling for a permanent end to the collection efforts.
Concerned Veterans for America (CVA) Executive Director Mark Lucas issued the following statement:
“Rep. Issa, an Army veteran, understands what it means to put on a uniform and sacrifice everything for this country. Veterans who have put their lives on the line deserve a government system that honors their sacrifice, not one more interested in making the bad headlines go away than in actually fixing the underlying problems. We’ve seen this time and time again with scandals at the VA. This is why we need real, long-term legislative solutions that will reform the broken system and prevent this from ever happening again.”
CVA stands with Darrell Issa and our veterans, urging members of Congress to act quickly to waive the bonus repayments and work together for solutions that will protect our nation’s veterans from future government fraud and abuse.
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