Government Bill Collectors OK To Keep Pursuing Families Of Fallen Soldiers

When is giving all not enough? When you are killed in the line of duty and government bill collectors come after your surviving family members.

A bill in the Senate to protect families of fallen soldiers has been stopped by Senator Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii.

Legislation had been introduced that would change Title 38 of the U.S. Code and forgive the debt owed by men and women who had lost their lives in combat. Debt like that of an Army soldier killed by a sniper's bullet. He owed the federal government $389 in "education overpayment." His family paid after they buried him.

Another soldier, an Army sergeant, attended two different colleges on VA loans. He was killed in a bomb explosion while serving in Iraq. At the time of his death, he owed $2,282 in student loans. His wife and four children were asked to repay the government after they were told of his death. They did.

They shouldn't have had to.

The money owed Uncle Sam by soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country in a war that costs billions, couldn't have mattered that much. It couldn't have mattered enough to disturb grieving families at the worst point in their lives.

The Combat Veterans Debt Elimination Act would relieve these families of the burden.

Senator Akaka should let the bill go forward for a vote on the Senate floor. Then he should apologize to the families who have already paid enough.