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Story of US veteran asked to pay bonus may be overblown

A wounded Iraq War veteran came forward last month to say the Pentagon asked him to repay a large chunk of his enlistment bonus, and Congress was outraged.

Lawmakers condemned the practice, and more than 250 signed on to sponsor legislation designed to right the wrong. They promised to rein in the heartless government bureaucrats who dared to implement a policy that could snatch soldiers' money away.

Problem is, there does not appear to be much of a problem.

Only a handful of cases have been found in which a wounded soldier was asked to repay a bonus, and those turned out to be clerical mistakes.

But Iraq is such an emotional issue that initial reports of mistreated veterans got many in Congress riled up.

"It's just a disgrace," said Senator Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat, estimating that the policy affected hundreds of veterans in his state alone.

"Unthinkable," said Senator Jeff Sessions.

It "shocks the conscience," said Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, a New York Democrat and presidential candidate. "This policy is outrageous and should be reversed immediately."

Those watching such developments say the problem appears to have been wildly overstated.

"We're six years into a war. The military's been paying enlistment bonuses for a while, and we would have heard a lot about it" if it were happening, said Joe Davis, a spokesman for Veterans of Foreign Wars. "There are other issues that are more important for the Congress to be taking up."

The Pentagon says it has received just two complaints on the issue since a ``wounded warrior'' hotline was set up this summer.

Pentagon policy and practice for at least 20 years has been to fully pay enlistment bonuses to soldiers forced to leave the military early for reasons beyond their control, such as a combat injury, according to Bill Carr, deputy undersecretary of defense.

Administrative lapses have occurred, however.

Most recently, Jordan Fox, an Army sniper from Mount Lebanon, Pennsylvania, who was partially blinded by a roadside bomb in Iraq, was mistakenly sent a letter asking him to repay US$2,800 of his enlistment bonus. A similar case, involving a veteran whose bonus payments were cut off, was found by a presidential commission formed earlier this year to recommend improvements in veterans' care.

In both instances, the Pentagon said the problems were administrative errors that would be corrected.

Fox, it turned out, will not be asked to repay his bonus.

Despite that, lawmakers have rushed to respond.

A bill was introduced in the Senate on Monday with sponsors including Clinton and fellow presidential candidate Senator John McCain of Arizona. In the House, members stepped up by the dozens after hearing Fox's story to sign on as co-sponsors of a similar bill introduced in October.
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