MAG: Soldiers wounded in war have been improperly billed by Pentagon

Drudge Report
Apr. 23, 2006

Hundreds of soldiers wounded in Afghanistan and Iraq have been improperly billed for service-related debts as a result of systemic errors by the Pentagon's Defense Finance and Accounting Service, according to documents obtained by U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT.

Almost 900 Army soldiers were assessed debts totaling $1.2 million between 2001 and 2005, according to two draft reports from the Government Accountability Office that were obtained by the magazine; 73 percent of the debts assigned to the soldiers were the result of Pentagon payroll errors.

The GAO reports identified "331 battle-injured soldiers whose military-service debts were undergoing collection action, including at least 74 soldiers whose military debts had been reported to credit bureaus and private collection agencies."

The House Committee on Government Reform is scheduled to hold a hearing on the payroll errors this week. David Marin, the committee's staff director, declined to comment on the GAO findings but said that Rep. Tom Davis, who chairs the panel, "wants to make sure that these brave victims of financial friendly fire are taken care of."

The Defense Finance and Accounting Service declined to comment.

The story written by U.S. NEWS reporter, Alex Kingsbury, will hit newsstands on Monday.

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