Hillary Clinton called for a "swift" response from Congress to counteract the recoupment effort. | Getty Clinton 'appalled' by effort to recoup veterans' bonuses

Hillary Clinton slammed the California National Guard and Pentagon on Monday for reportedly demanding soldiers who fought in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan a decade ago to return enlistment bonuses they received for their service.

"I am appalled that National Guard officials are attempting to recoup money from soldiers who accepted bonuses a decade ago," the Democratic nominee said in a statement released Monday night in response to the reports, which first appeared in the Los Angeles Times.


"These troops deserve our support and our deepest gratitude; they served admirably and upheld their part of the bargain," she said. "It is unacceptable to now subject them and their families to undue financial burdens thanks to to mismanagement from the California National Guard and rigid bureaucracy on the part of the Pentagon."

According to reports, nearly 10,000 soldiers have been ordered to repay bonuses upwards of $15,000 they received as incentive to enlist for military service during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The move by the California Guard came in response to a recent audit that revealed the Guard paid out larger bonuses than they were supposed to. Some veterans have been subject to interest charges and tax liens.

Clinton, whose statement hails the courage of the soldiers while blasting the "mismanagement" of the California Guard and the "rigid bureaucracy" of the Pentagon, called on Congress to act "swiftly" to pass legislation to remedy the issue.

"We should assist these families in identifying and applying for relief as well establishing an expedited review process," Clinton. "We simply cannot allow this type of mistreatment of veterans, for any reason."

Top congressional leaders sharply rebuked the effort earlier Monday. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, called the initiative "disgraceful" and called on Department of Defense officials to waive repayments for soldiers.

“Our military heroes should not shoulder the burden of military recruiters' faults from over a decade ago,” McCarthy said in a statement. “They should not owe for what was promised during a difficult time in our country.”

House Minority leader Nancy Pelosi echoed the call for a speedy legislative response in a statement released Monday.

“The overpayment of enlistment signing bonuses by the Department of Defense should not be the responsibility of our servicemembers or veterans to pay back, years after the fact,” Pelosi said. “Speaker Ryan and Leader McConnell must join with Congressional Democrats and pass a legislative fix as soon as we gavel back into session.”

Though the state guard says it would like to remove the debts-owed, they say any such action would be illegal and costly.

“At the end of the day, the soldiers ended up paying the largest price,” Maj. Gen. Matthew Beevers, deputy commander of the California Guard, told the Los Angeles Times. “We’d be more than happy to absolve these people of their debts. We just can’t do it. We’d be breaking the law.”