37 U.S.C. § 1011 : US Code - Section 1011: Mess operation: reimbursement of expenses

Search 37 U.S.C. § 1011 : US Code - Section 1011: Mess operation: reimbursement of expenses

(a) The Secretary of Defense shall, by regulation, establish
rates for meals sold at messes to officers, civilians, and enlisted
members. Such rates shall be established at a level sufficient to
provide reimbursement of operating expenses and food costs to the
appropriations concerned, but members of the uniformed services and
civilians in a travel status receiving a per diem allowance in lieu
of subsistence shall be charged at a rate of not less than $2.50
per day. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, if the Secretary
determines that it is in the best interest of the United States,
the Secretary may reduce a rate for meals established under this
subsection by the amount of that rate attributable to operating
expenses.
(b) For the purposes of this section, payment for meals at the
rates established under this section may be made in cash or, in the
case of enlisted members or civilian employees, by deduction from
pay. Members of organized nonprofit youth groups sponsored at
either the national or local level, when extended the privilege of
visiting a military installation or when residing at a military
installation pursuant to an agreement in effect on June 30, 1986,
and permitted to eat in the general mess by the commanding officer
of the installation, shall pay the commuted ration cost of such
meal or meals.
(c) Spouses and dependent children of enlisted members in pay
grades E-1, E-2, E-3, and E-4 may not be charged for meals sold at
messes in excess of a level sufficient to cover food costs.
(d) When the Coast Guard is not operating as a service in the
Navy, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall establish rates for
meals sold at Coast Guard dining facilities, provide for
reimbursement of operating expenses and food costs to the
appropriations concerned, and reduce the rates for such meals when
the Secretary determines that it is in the best interest of the
United States to do so.