Carol Shea-Porter: “These brave men and women have volunteered for service with the assurances of health care and benefits for them and…”

“These brave men and women have volunteered for service with the assurances of health care and benefits for them and their families. But despite entering into this solemn pledge, far too often our government has unfairly shortchanged our veterans. With our readiness levels considered to be reaching all-time lows, our military has been attracting recruits via monetary incentives. The Department of Defense has been offering signing bonuses to soldiers in order to entice candidates for longer enlistment periods. But in too many cases, our wounded warriors are having their payments cut short or, in some instances, entirely taken away. Soldiers who sustain a combat-related injury and cannot serve out the entirety of their enlistment period are being forced to return part of or all of their bonuses. That is flat wrong.”