It turns out that our do-nothing Congress knew about the Pentagon taking vets' money for 2 years

[KamaAina]

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/10/25/1586704/-It-turns-out-that-our-do-nothing-Congress-knew-about-the-Pentagon-taking-vets-money-for-2-years

Yesterday it was revealed that the Pentagon revisited old signing bonuses given to soldiers in an effort to boost enlistment numbers in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Pentagon found that, while there is no evidence that the soldiers receiving these bonuses did anything wrong, they must produce much of the money because the National Guard may have mishandled the monies they gave out. Not only is the Pentagon demanding repayment on money given to soldiers up to 10 years ago, they are also threatening large financial punishments for those who are unable to produce that money. How does this happen? The LA Times reported late yesterday that our do-nothing Congress, the one made up of so many Republicans who enjoy wearing red and white and blue memorabilia, knew for at least two years about the Pentagon’s methods of retrieving this money.

The California National Guard told the state’s members of Congress two years ago that the Pentagon was trying to claw back reenlistment bonuses from thousands of soldiers, and even offered a proposal to mitigate the problem, but Congress took no action, according to a senior National Guard official.

The official added that improper bonuses had been paid to National Guard members in every state, raising the possibility that many more soldiers may owe large debts to the Pentagon.

The majority of cases are based in California but the fact of the matter is that there are a number of states affected, and every single soldier we send out to protect us is the responsibility of every single congressman and congresswoman Democrat or Republican. Now House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi and others will be asking this useless group of Republican lawmakers to pass a bill as soon as they come back into session—after the election. Republicans will hem and haw about how if Democrats weren’t hellbent on turning our country into a communist Muslim caliphate, the Republican Party may have been able to find a way to do their jobs.

[Solly Mack]

1. K&R

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. Omigod, those dirty bastards! I read this in the LA Times too.

I want to strangle them all.

[Thinkingabout]

3. And a RW doctor I had an appointment recently blames Obama for not doing more for Veterans.

I explained he needs a bill across his desk before signing it into law, I ask him who was responsible for not sending the bill to Obama, and then explained it has been a Republican Congress. Republicans who refuse to vote for more benefits for our veterans. This is another example.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

8. And Embassy security. Why don't RWers know this?

They kept the war off budget. Everything is for sale.

[Thinkingabout]

10. Perhaps hoping they can fool us, can you imagine if Obama had left off a war

He started from the budget?

[SleeplessinSoCal]

19. The GOP runs a racket. That's all there is to it.

[moondust]

4. Maybe they can get hired at

[TheDebbieDee]

5. And all the ph*ckers could do was keep sending up bills

repealing Obamacare and de-funding Planned Parenthood...

[Thinkingabout]

11. Another discussion with RWers, we know PP provided abortions are funded by

Donations but I could never get the RWer to understand, a FOX listener.

[TheDebbieDee]

12. The Hyde Amendment might as well be Greek

to these people...

[Thinkingabout]

16. It does not serve FOX totellthe truth, this is her exposure.

[Vivid Lizard]

6. This happened to my son!

My son, who helped guard an international airport right after the attacks, and who then risked his life in Iraq as a Calvary Scout Gunner in a Humvee turret, and who liked the people and children there (even had Thanksgiving dinner with a family!) was told to return his reenlistment money promised to him. You have no idea how angry this makes me! I think he may have already paid it back, but I will fight like hell to have it given back to him if that's the case.

It makes me so sick to even think about...

[KamaAina]

20. Yikes!

And welcome to DU!

[SleeplessinSoCal]

7. Get Haliburton to pick up the tab. They made villions off our military's backs.

And Blackwater. And on and on. Get the war profiteers in America's face.

[Crash2Parties]

9. I don't get it...

Let's say a company I work for was being bought out or moving and offered me a retention bonus so long as I worked x more years, I worked the x years and then moved on. Turns out the agent of the company - some mid level manager - who offered me the bonus wasn't supposed to according to the company's internal rules. Now a decade later they want it back? No court in the land would say I have to return it!

What, please, is the difference?

[TheDebbieDee]

13. A Master Sergeant has already been Court-martialed..

and is serving time for this SNAFU. But I find it hard to believe that he/she acted without direction.

[Old Vet]

15. Lets get something straight, Some of these NCOs knew better...........

And after reading about this on different military mags, The COs and NCOs were mostly guility of letting lower ranked soldiers receive these funds. BUT on the other hand some soldiers are definitely getting screwed.

[Achilleaze]

14. Republicans have a long track record of shitting on our veterans

Check the record. Republicans love to pretend, but they screw over our vets time and time again.

Republicans have even selected another chickenhawk - with five freaking military deferment - to be their leader and role model. And then Donny Deferment (R) cozies up with the Evil Empire of Russia, insults our veterans, and demeans people who have been captured by the enemy while defending America.

[lindysalsagal]

17. Get Biden on it asap.

[Peaches999]

18. Does the do nothing Pentagon have no accountability here?

Do nothing is really the wrong word here, the Pentagon did do something. They were inappropriately clawing back these bonuses.

The Pentagon made no request to Congress to change the law until there was bipartisan opposition to what was happening. Rather than playing a petty blame game on this issue (there are much more important and stronger issues to use political capital to attack the Republicans), a law needs to be passed and one that remits back the already collected clawed back bonuses.