[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 85 (Tuesday, June 9, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1355]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     INTRODUCTION OF THE MILITARY OVERPAYMENT FAIRNESS ACT OF 2009

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                         HON. CAROL SHEA-PORTER

                            of new hampshire

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 9, 2009

  Ms. SHEA-PORTER. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of the 
Military Overpayment Fairness Act. Payment errors are common in all 
military branches and the burden of having to quickly repay an 
overpayment can place a significant strain on military families.
  When I had a meeting with National Guard families and asked for their 
most significant problems, they spoke to me about the hardships caused 
by overpayment errors. I heard the story of a National Guard Sergeant 
from New Hampshire who was injured in Afghanistan and hospitalized in 
Walter Reed. Due to an error by the Defense Finance and Accounting 
Service (DFAS), he received four months of pay in error. He immediately 
brought these overpayments to DFAS's attention. DFAS assured the 
service member that there was no error and that he was entitled to all 
of the money he received. The service member disputed the payments 
several times, but was told they were correct. Then, a year later, DFAS 
reversed itself and suddenly notified him that he had been overpaid. 
They began deducting at the rate two-thirds of his monthly paycheck. To 
make matters worse, by this time he had enrolled in college and still 
had the continued, added burden of house payments. This and other 
similar stories show the severity of this problem in my home state of 
New Hampshire and across the nation.
  I am introducing this legislation to ease the burden on servicemen 
and women by requiring DFAS to take into account the finances of 
members of the Armed Forces when pay errors are made. This bill gives 
the Department of Defense the flexibility to negotiate the terms of 
repayment, taking into account the finances of the service member, to 
avoid causing service members undue hardship. In addition, the bill 
states that not more than 10 percent of a service member's pay can be 
deducted monthly for an overpayment. Currently, up to two-thirds of a 
service member's salary can be deducted. The bill delays repayments if 
service members are wounded, ill, or deployed. It also has a five-year 
statute of limitations. These provisions should encourage the 
Department of Defense to improve its accounting practices.
  The men and women that serve our nation have already sacrificed for 
our country--there is no excuse for placing undue financial burdens on 
these men and women as a result of poor accounting practices. I was 
proud to introduce legislation to address the hardships caused by these 
errors. I look forward to its consideration in the House of 
Representatives.

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