Acting Ranking Member Mark Takano Leads Bipartisan Call for Permanent Fix for Members of the California National Guard
Washington, D.C. – Today, Acting Ranking Member Mark Takano was joined by Democrats and Republicans in sending letters to the Department of Defense and House Leadership calling for a permanent resolution to the financial burden facing thousands of servicemembers and veterans of the California Nation Guard.
In the letters, the bipartisan coalition commends the Defense Department for suspending efforts to claw back enlistment bonuses from members of the California National Guard but encourages further action on a permanent solution. It also calls on House Leadership to quickly advance legislation that provides a permanent solution for servicemembers and veterans who received the bonuses in good faith.
An investigation published by the Los Angeles Times on Saturday revealed the Department of Defense and the California National Guard were demanding repayment of enlistment bonuses improperly offered to members of the California National Guard as far back as ten years ago.
“The vast majority of those who served in the California National Guard bear no responsibility for the mistakes and misconduct that led to these payments. It is unfair and unacceptable to hold them accountable a decade later,” the letter states. “Guard members who received bonuses in good faith should not be required to go through a lengthy and frustrating appeals process that damages their credit and causes undue stress on Guard members and their families.”
The letter to the Department of Defense, signed by a bipartisan group of 108 Members of Congress, advises Defense Secretary Ash Carter and National Guard Bureau Chief General Joseph L. Lengyel that “any permanent solution should also make servicemembers who acted in good faith whole if they have already repaid the Department.”
The letter to House Leadership, signed by a bipartisan group of 106 Members of Congress, asks Speaker Paul Ryan, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, and Minority Whip Steny Hoyer to act “should the Department [of Defense] need additional guidance or authority to end the unfair recoupments for those who acted in good faith and make servicemembers whole.”
Members signed on to letter to the Department of Defense (108): Aguilar, Ashford, Bass, Beatty, Bera, Sanford Bishop, Boyle, Brownley, Butterfield, Capps, Cárdenas, Carson, Cartwright, Castro, Chu, Cicilline, Clarke, Cohen, Conyers, Cooper, Costa, Crowley, Curbelo, Delaney, DeLauro, Denham, DeSaulnier, Dingell, Ellison, Eshoo, Esty, Farr, Foster, Garamendi, Gosar, Grijalva, Gutierrez, Hahn, Hastings, Hinojosa, Honda, Huffman, Hunter, Israel, Jenkins, Jolly, Jones, Keating, Kildee, Kinzinger, Larsen, Larson, Lee, Lewis, Lieu, LoBiondo, Loebsack, Lofgren, Lowenthal, Lujan, Lujan Grisham, Carolyn Maloney, Matsui, McCollum, McDermott, McGovern, McNerney, Meeks, Meng, Patrick Murphy, Nadler, Napolitano, Neal, Nolan, Norton, Pallone, Payne, Pingree, Pocan, Polis, Rice, Ruiz, Tim Ryan, Linda Sánchez, Loretta Sánchez, Schakowsky, Schiff, Bobby Scott, Sensenbrenner, Serrano, Sherman, Sires, Slaughter, Adam Smith, Swallwell, Titus, Torres, Van Hollen, Vargas, Velazquez, Waters, Watson Coleman, Welch, Frederica Wilson, Yarmuth
Members signed on to letter to House Leadership (106): Aguilar, Ashford, Bass, Beatty, Bera, Sanford Bishop, Boyle, Brownley, Butterfield, Capps, Cárdenas, Carson, Cartwright, Castro, Chu, Cicilline, Clarke, Cohen, Conyers, Cooper, Costa, Crowley, Curbelo, Delaney, DeLauro, Denham, DeSaulnier, Dingell, Ellison, Eshoo, Esty, Farr, Foster, Garamendi, Gosar, Grijalva, Gutierrez, Hahn, Hastings, Hinojosa, Honda, Huffman, Hunter, Israel, Jolly, Jones, Keating, Kildee, Kinzinger, Kuster, Larsen, Larson, Lee, Lewis, Lieu, LoBiondo, Loebsack, Lofgren, Lowenthal, Lujan, Lujan Grisham, Carolyn Maloney, Matsui, McCollum, McDermott, McGovern, McNerney, Meeks, Meng, Patrick Murphy, Nadler, Napolitano, Neal, Nolan, Norton, Pallone, Payne, Pingree, Pocan, Rice, Ruiz, Tim Ryan, Linda Sánchez, Loretta Sánchez, Schakowsky, Schiff, Bobby Scott, Sensenbrenner, Serrano, Sherman, Sires, Slaughter, Adam Smith, Swallwell, Titus, Torres, Van Hollen, Vargas, Veasey, Velazquez, Waters, Watson Coleman, Welch, Frederica Wilson, Yarmuth
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