37 U.S.C. § 303a : US Code - Section 303A: Special pay: general provisions

Search 37 U.S.C. § 303a : US Code - Section 303A: Special pay: general provisions

(a) The Secretary of Defense, with respect to the Army, Navy, and
Air Force, and the Secretary of Health and Human Services, with
respect to the Public Health Service, shall prescribe regulations
for the administration of sections 301d, 302 through 302j, and 303
of this title.
(b)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) or as otherwise
provided under a provision of this chapter, a commissioned officer
in the Regular or Reserve Corps of the Public Health Service is
entitled to special pay under a provision of this chapter in the
same amounts, and under the same terms and conditions, as a
commissioned officer of the armed forces is entitled to special pay
under that provision.
(2) A commissioned medical officer in the Regular or Reserve
Corps of the Public Health Service (other than an officer serving
in the Indian Health Service) may not receive additional special
pay under section 302(a)(4) of this title for any period during
which the officer is providing obligated service under the
following provisions of law:
(A) Section 338B of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C.
254l-1).
(B) Section 225(e) of the Public Health Service Act, as that
section was in effect before October 1, 1977.
(C) Section 752 of the Public Health Service Act, as that
section was in effect between October 1, 1977, and August 13,
1981.
(c) Special pay authorized under sections 301d, 302 through 302j,
and 303 of this title is in addition to any other pay or allowance
to which an officer is entitled. The amount of special pay to which
an officer is entitled under any of such sections may not be
included in computing the amount of any increase in pay authorized
by any other provision of this title or in computing retired pay,
separation pay, severance pay, or readjustment pay.
(d) The Secretary of Defense shall conduct a review every two
years of the special pay for health professionals authorized by
sections 301d, 302 through 302j, and 303 of this title.
(e) Repayment of Unearned Portion of Bonuses and Other Benefits
When Conditions of Payment not Met. - (1) A member of the uniformed
services who receives a bonus or similar benefit and whose receipt
of the bonus or similar benefit is subject to the condition that
the member continue to satisfy certain eligibility requirements
shall repay to the United States an amount equal to the unearned
portion of the bonus or similar benefit if the member fails to
satisfy the requirements, except in certain circumstances
authorized by the Secretary concerned.
(2) The Secretary concerned may establish, by regulations,
procedures for determining the amount of the repayment required
under this subsection and the circumstances under which an
exception to the required repayment may be granted. The Secretary
concerned may specify in the regulations the conditions under which
an installment payment of a bonus or similar benefit to be paid to
a member of the uniformed services will not be made if the member
no longer satisfies the eligibility requirements for the bonus or
similar benefit. For the military departments, this subsection
shall be administered under regulations prescribed by the Secretary
of Defense.
(3) An obligation to repay the United States under this
subsection is, for all purposes, a debt owed the United States. A
discharge in bankruptcy under title 11 does not discharge a person
from such debt if the discharge order is entered less than five
years after -
(A) the date of the termination of the agreement or contract on
which the debt is based; or
(B) in the absence of such an agreement or contract, the date
of the termination of the service on which the debt is based.
(4) In this subsection:
(A) The term "bonus or similar benefit" means a bonus,
incentive pay, special pay, or similar payment, or an educational
benefit or stipend, paid to a member of the uniformed services
under a provision of law that refers to the repayment
requirements of this subsection.
(B) The term "service", as used in paragraph (3)(B), refers to
an obligation willingly undertaken by a member of the uniformed
services, in exchange for a bonus or similar benefit offered by
the Secretary of Defense or the Secretary concerned -
(i) to remain on active duty or in an active status in a
reserve component;
(ii) to perform duty in a specified skill, with or without a
specified qualification or credential;
(iii) to perform duty at a specified location; or
(iv) to perform duty for a specified period of time.