Proposed Law May Help Dover Veteran Caught In Financial Bind

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Proposed law may help Dover veteran caught in financial bind
Foster's Daily Democrat

New Hampshire's congressional delegation filed legislation Thursday to help city veteran Wayne Merritt and others who have found themselves facing financial hardship at the hands of Department of Defense policy that lawmakers say unfairly recoups separation benefits.

As she made her way to the House floor to file the bill, Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter, D-Rochester, said she was thinking about Merritt and others who have been given a bad deal.

"He unleashed this change," the Rochester Democrat said."We're actually starting to hear from other congressional offices about this."

The Military Pay Fairness Act would provide the Department of Defense with the flexibility to develop "manageable monthly payment plans that do not impose undue financial hardship on services members," according to an announcement from the delegation.

The proposal also requires the department to determine a "fair" repayment schedule for the separation benefits, taking into account a veteran's financial situation. The department would not be allowed to take back more than 25 percent of a veteran's pension each month and would have to notify veterans of the recoupment no less than 90 days before repayment begins.

In Merritt's case, he received a letter dated March 5 on March 13 informing him that $1,032 of the $1,759 he receives each month would be withheld beginning with his April 1 check. The recoupment is set to continue until the military takes hold of the $27,243 he received as a special separation benefit when he retired after 14 years in the Air Force in 1992, when the military was undergoing a reduction in force following the end of the Cold War.

Merritt has said he was shocked by the news and continues to fear he may have to sell his home since he has relied on his pension to pay the mortgage. Plus, he's maintained he was never told he'd forfeit the benefit upon returning to the military, which he did in 1996, when he joined the N.H. Air National Guard. He retired in 2006 with a combined 24 years of service, including time as an Air Force Japanese linguist in support of intelligence.

As Merritt told Foster's in late March, he hasn't been looking to be cleared of the obligation regardless of his feelings of the Department of Defense protocol, how it's been administered or feeling like he's been taken advantage of after his service. He said he's looking for flexibility.

Shea-Porter said the proposed legislation would supersede the United States Code that allows the Department of Defense to use a harsh formula to recoup the benefits from members who qualify for retirement after 20 years regardless of whether the formula would cause severe financial hardship.

Lawmakers took up Merritt's case, and Shea-Porter said "this goes to prove that an individual who knows something is wrong, or has not been handed a fair deal, can actually go to Congress and see some resolution."

Merritt, a 48-year-old married father of two, said the process, however trying, has "renewed my faith" that the system "can work in favor of the so-called little person, the less connected."

"I'm delighted at the way my representatives got in my corner and gave me a voice in a way that otherwise I would not have had," he said. "They've given me the best reason in the last two months to be optimistic."

Still, with three months of savings in the bank, Merritt said he'll have to put his family's home of eight years up for sale "almost immediately ... in a real unfriendly market" if Congress shoots down the proposal.

Merritt works as a local airport operations supervisor, but as his family's primary breadwinner he has said his "modest" salary covers his family's living expenses and bills while his pension covers the $1,505 mortgage and federal pension taxes.

At the request of Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-Madbury, Merritt has been given a one-month repayment reprieve by the Department of Defense's accounting arm.

Sen. Judd Gregg, R-Rye, co-sponsored the bill in the Senate while Rep. Paul Hodes, D-Concord, backed it in the House.

"Especially now during this economic crisis, we need to make sure we're standing up for the veterans that have stood up for us," Shaheen said. "I'm proud to stand with the entire New Hampshire delegation in fighting for Sgt. Merritt and all our veterans to protect them from unfair economic hardship."

Gregg said "we must continue to work to ensure that our veterans, who have bravely served our country, have the resources and benefits they deserve."

Hodes said stories like Merritt's "are far too common and we must do everything we can to stand up for our veterans who have served our country with distinction."

The lawmakers said the legislation is supported by the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Military Officers Association of America.

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