The California National Guard proposes to resolve the double-dipping scandal involving its former top ranking officer by letting him keep much of the money he should never have gotten in the first place. That's just wrong.
Some time ago, the Guard confirmed what Sacramento Bee reporter Charles Piller documented: Major General William Wade improperly pocketed $155,000, collecting both federal pay and state pay when he was on active duty for the federal government. State law prohibits that kind of double-dipping.
To deal with the issue, the Guard has announced it will bill General Wade for only $80,720. They can't recoup the rest of the money, guard officials claim, because the statute of limitations has run.
Sen. Ted Lieu, a member of the state Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, questions that assessment. So do I. Lieu thinks the state should get back all overpayments. So do I.
To allow the general to keep money he was not entitled to dishonors the uniform and sends the exact wrong message to the troops.
The Texas National Guard fired its top general for double-dipping and sought to recoup ALL overpayments. At minimum, California should do the same.