Veterans Guaranteed Bonus Act of 2007

VETERANS GUARANTEED BONUS ACT OF 2007 -- (House of Representatives - December 17, 2007)

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Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3793, as amended, a bill to ensure that military personnel who die or who are retired or separated for medical reasons are paid their full enlistment or re-enlistment bonuses and are not subject to repayment of any portion of those bonuses.

Last month, media stories sparked outrage among Members of Congress and citizens alike when they highlighted what appeared to be a potentially widespread practice by the Army and Department of Defense. Media reports stated that wounded service members who could no longer continue on active duty because of those wounds were being required to repay portions of their enlistment or re-enlistment bonuses because they had not fulfilled the terms of their contracts. In some cases, the Army was cited as demanding repayment of thousands of dollars from soldiers who, but for their wound or injuries in combat, continued to serve the Army in this Nation honorably.

What the media failed to report completely was that the Department of Defense and the military services had an active policy in place that addressed this problem. The policy did the following: first, in cases where a service member died, not at the result of his or her own misconduct, the unpaid portions of an enlistment or re-enlistment bonus would be paid to the service member's survivors, and there would be no requirement to repay already paid bonuses.

Second, when the service member was unable to complete an enlistment or re-enlistment due to circumstances reasonably beyond the service- member's control, no already paid bonus would be recouped. Finally, the Secretaries of the military services had broad discretion, on a case-by-case basis, to forego recoupment and pay out unpaid portions of bonuses.

H.R. 3793, as amended, captures and codifies the most effective parts of the existing DOD policy, and goes beyond that policy. When enacted, H.R. 3793 will guarantee that a service member who dies or is retired or separated for medical disability will not be required to pay any portion of a bonus or similar benefit that they had received. It mandates that the full contracted amount of any unpaid bonus or similar benefit be paid, as appropriate, to the estates of service members who die or to service members who are retired or separated due to a disability. And it mandates that payments are to be made not later than 90 days after the death, retirement, or separation of the service member.

Additionally, if a service Secretary determines that requiring repayment or withholding payment of the unpaid bonus would be contrary to a personnel policy or management objective, against equity and good conscience, or be contrary to the best interests of the United States, then they would be allowed to waive repayment or to continue payment of unpaid bonuses. Discretion should be allowed for the most beneficial interpretation in favor of our courageous service members.

H.R. 3793 is a good bill, and I urge all my colleagues to join me in supporting it. Our servicemen and -women deserve our most humble thanks, and this bill would ensure that we are honoring their sacrifices by not denying them or their families their due pay.

In conclusion, God bless our troops, and we will never forget September 11th.

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