"...in the fall of 2007 it was reported in a few media outlets that injured soldiers were being asked to return portions of their signing bonuses. The Army has stated that this was an “error in pay processing” and the situation was promptly rectified. It has been the policy of the Department of Defense that bonuses already paid should not be recouped if “injury or illness of the service member was not the result of the service member’s misconduct.” To date, there have only been handful of these mistakes reported to the Department of Defense.

"Although the Department of Defense and the Army have both made assurances that these problems concerning signing bonuses have been resolved, both the House of Representatives and the Senate have drafted legislation to clarify the law. Senate Bill 2400 and House of Representatives Bill 3793 both seek to make certain that service members medically retired or separated from active duty receive the entirety of their bonuses and are not required to return any portion of them. I am pleased to report that S.2400 passed the Senate by unanimous consent and will be certain to keep your comments in mind should H.R.3793 be brought up in the Senate.

"When a man or women puts on a military uniform and defends our country, this nation makes a sacred promise to care for them both during the battle and long after it is over. I will support any measure that will positively affect our current, retired, and future military personnel.