To: The United States House of Representatives and The United States Senate
Let Veterans Keep their Money! Stop Recoupment of Military Bonuses
Stop the recoupment of bonuses from service members who were reassigned occupations due to the needs of the military!
Why is this important?
http://www.cbs5az.com/story/34550515/government-bills-arizona-veteran-for-14000
Ashley Christopher served our nation faithfully for a total of 10 years, including two twelve month deployments in the middle east. After fulfilling her enlistment term, Ashley was honorably discharged in early 2015. She recently received a letter from the Department of the Treasury demanding repayment of her $15,000 reenlistment bonus because, apparently changing jobs (involuntarily — from military police to systems operator), meant she did not fulfill the terms of her contract.
Ashley is currently pursuing a Masters Degree in Social Work. She works full-time at a local homeless shelter rehousing homeless veterans. She will have to sell her home to repay her debt since she cannot afford to pay her mortgage while the Treasury garnishes 1/3 of her already low income.
In a cruel twist of irony, Ashley is now faced with the prospect of becoming a homeless veteran herself. Due to the significant decrease in her credit score (the Treasury immediately reported collection), she will not qualify for a new mortgage or a decent apartment.
Former members of the California National Guard were faced with this same issue. Due to significant media coverage, their plight was brought to the attention of Congress. Multiple bills were introduced which would have provided relief from this type of aggressive debt collection to all veterans. However, the issue was ultimately remedied through an NDAA provision (Subtitle F Section 671) which exclusively addressed the California National Guard, thus allowing the Pentagon to continue their aggressive debt collection tactics.
Ashley Christopher served our nation faithfully for a total of 10 years, including two twelve month deployments in the middle east. After fulfilling her enlistment term, Ashley was honorably discharged in early 2015. She recently received a letter from the Department of the Treasury demanding repayment of her $15,000 reenlistment bonus because, apparently changing jobs (involuntarily — from military police to systems operator), meant she did not fulfill the terms of her contract.
Ashley is currently pursuing a Masters Degree in Social Work. She works full-time at a local homeless shelter rehousing homeless veterans. She will have to sell her home to repay her debt since she cannot afford to pay her mortgage while the Treasury garnishes 1/3 of her already low income.
In a cruel twist of irony, Ashley is now faced with the prospect of becoming a homeless veteran herself. Due to the significant decrease in her credit score (the Treasury immediately reported collection), she will not qualify for a new mortgage or a decent apartment.
Former members of the California National Guard were faced with this same issue. Due to significant media coverage, their plight was brought to the attention of Congress. Multiple bills were introduced which would have provided relief from this type of aggressive debt collection to all veterans. However, the issue was ultimately remedied through an NDAA provision (Subtitle F Section 671) which exclusively addressed the California National Guard, thus allowing the Pentagon to continue their aggressive debt collection tactics.