Washington, D.C. – Congressman Mark DeSaulnier (CA-11) issued the following statement after thousands of California soldiers were ordered to repay enlistment bonuses more than a decade after re-enlisting to serve in Iraq and Afghanistan.-
“It is outrageous that California’s veterans, who have served our country and experienced personal sacrifice, are expected to go through financial hardship in order to repay signing bonuses which they believed were rightfully earned. The responsibility for the overpayment of these bonuses should not fall on the backs of our servicemembers. The State of California did the right thing in auditing its books for any inconsistencies, and now the American people deserve a full audit of the Department of Defense’s finances. Action must be taken to do right by our veterans and determine how something like this could have occurred. No veteran should be penalized for answering the call for duty,” said Congressman Mark DeSaulnier.
According to the Los Angeles Times, around 9,700 members had been improperly awarded the money and will have to return at least $15,000 per person. This comes after California National Guard officials were found guilty of mismanaging the program and submitting false claims.
