National Guard Bonus Repayment and Financial Relief Act

National Guard Bonus Repayment and Financial Relief Act

This bill requires the Army to review all bonuses, incentive pays, or similar benefits received by members of the Army National Guard between January 1, 2004, and December 31, 2010, to determine if such benefits were issued erroneously and to either: (1) waive repayment of such an erroneous payment if the member concerned fully satisfies any period of service otherwise agreed to or imposed upon the member in connection with receipt of the payment; or (2) repay any such erroneous payment and any interest that was repaid by a member before this bill's enactment if the member fully satisfies any such period of service.

The Army may require an Army National Guard member to repay any such erroneous payment upon determining that: (1) the member knowingly received the benefit through fraud or misrepresentation in which the member participated, or (2) repayment is otherwise consistent with provisions governing repayment of unearned pay.

For any such member granted relief under this bill, the Army shall: (1) notify all consumer credit reporting agencies that any debt subject to the relief was never valid, and (2) provide assistance to the member facing financial hardship as a result of recoupment actions taken in connection with receipt of the payment. A consumer reporting agency notified of the invalidity of such a debt may not, after the date of notice, make any consumer report containing information relating to the debt.

Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov