Veterans that have finally been awarded their VA benefits are finding themselves in a financial nightmare.  The VA has been making errors on payout amounts for veterans, then expects prompt payment when they realize the error.  As of now the VA is allowed to take 100% of a veterans monthly benefit until the repayment is paid in full.  For most veterans this is causing an unforeseen hardship that was of no cause of their own.  According to the VA upwards of 200,000 overpayment notifications are sent out every year.  The VA Congressional and Senate Committee’s are asking the questions:

• Why are there so many accounting errors and how do we fix them?
• Is it really the responsibility of the veteran to repay an overpayment, or should they be able to keep the payment since it was not their error?
• Should the VA be allowed to garnish 100% of a veterans monthly payment until the over payment is paid?

“It’s wrong to put the debt from the VA’s accounting mistakes on the shoulders of men and women who have served their country,” Sen. Jon Tester, ranking member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, said in a statement. “For some veterans, these benefits make the difference between paying monthly rent or missing payments. We’ve got to stop the VA from pulling the rug out from under veterans and their families.”

The Veterans Debt Fairness Act has been introduced, but not scheduled for a hearing as of yet.  This Act will lower the maximum percentage that the VA can collect from a veteran’s monthly check to 25% and add a 5 year time limit on the recovery of over payments.