A quartet of congressional oversight committee leaders launched an investigation Tuesday to hold officials accountable who mismanaged programs that are forcing 10,000 California National Guard soldiers to repay $15,000 or more each in bonuses.
House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Jason Chaffetz, subcommittee chairmen Ron DeSantis and Mark Meadows, and subcommittee vice chairman Steve Russell are demanding documents related to the overpaid bonuses. Chaffetz is a Utah Republican, while Meadows is a North Carolina Republican, DeSantis is a Florida Republican and Russell is an Oklahoma Republican.
“The committee is seeking information about this serious matter and to see that officials who mismanaged bonus programs are held accountable,” the Republican lawmakers wrote.
The Pentagon is demanding nearly 10,000 soldiers repay at least $15,000 in bonuses that the California National Guard used to entice their reenlistment to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan a decade ago, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Audits revealed that California Guard officials frequently overpaid bonuses due to fraud, mismanagement and the lack of oversight, investigations found, the newspaper reported.
“The repayment demands are based upon audits that found bonuses and student loan repayments were improperly awarded to soldiers who did not qualify or were approved despite paperwork errors,” the Oversight committee’s letter said.
The documents the committee requested include all overpayment audits related to California National Guard bonuses since 2002, similar repayments demanded from soldiers in other states, and whether any alternatives were considered, among others.
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