Thousands of soldiers in the CA National Guard were enticed with bonuses to reenlist for six years in combat specialties needed at the start of the war in Iraq. Now, ten years later, it has come to light that those overseeing the CA Guard's bonus programs knowingly overpaid bonuses or paid bonuses for which the soldier was not qualified to meet reenlistment goals. As a consequence the federal government is demanding the bonuses be paid back although the soldiers who received them acted in good faith with no intent to defraud the government as they were told that they were entitled to the money.
These soldiers are being subjected to extreme financial hardship when they have done no wrong. We ask that congress act immediately to forgive these debts and refund money already collected.