Signing Bonuses

Steve Benen linked to this story:

The U.S. Military is demanding that thousands of wounded service personnel give back signing bonuses because they are unable to serve out their commitments.

To get people to sign up, the military gives enlistment bonuses up to $30,000 in some cases.

Now men and women who have lost arms, legs, eyesight, hearing and can no longer serve are being ordered to pay some of that money back.

I remember this coming up as an issue a few years ago. I’m surprised nothing has been done yet.

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Update… In comments, reader JPKK adds…

As to the democrats passing laws to do this not quite. From the “National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006” for which the bonus related sections have been extended with minimal change.

SEC. 687. REPAYMENT OF UNEARNED PORTION OF BONUSES, SPECIAL PAYS, AND EDUCATIONAL BENEFITS.
“The Secretary concerned may establish, by regulations procedures for determining the amount of the repayment required under this subsection and the circumstances under which an exception to the required repayment may be granted.”

(JPKK is quoting from here.)

JPKK goes on:

So it’s not the Democrats who approved a law that required vets wounded on active duty to return the bonus, its been done by the Secretary of defense, probably under an executive request to try and keep war costs down.