§ 323. — Special pay: retention incentives for members qualified in a critical military skill.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 37USC323]
TITLE 37--PAY AND ALLOWANCES OF THE UNIFORMED SERVICES
CHAPTER 5--SPECIAL AND INCENTIVE PAYS
Sec. 323. Special pay: retention incentives for members
qualified in a critical military skill
(a) Retention Bonus Authorized.--An officer or enlisted member of
the armed forces who is serving on active duty and is qualified in a
designated critical military skill may be paid a retention bonus as
provided in this section if--
(1) in the case of an officer, the member executes a written
agreement to remain on active duty for at least 1 year; or
(2) in the case of an enlisted member, the member reenlists or
voluntarily extends the member's enlistment for a period of at least
1 year.
(b) Designation of Critical Skills.--(1) A designated critical
military skill referred to in subsection (a) is a military skill
designated as critical by the Secretary of Defense, or by the Secretary
of Homeland Security with respect to the Coast Guard when it is not
operating as a service in the Navy.
(2) The Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary of Homeland Security
with respect to the Coast Guard when it is not operating as a service in
the Navy, shall notify Congress, in advance, of each military skill to
be designated by the Secretary as critical for purposes of this section.
The notice shall be submitted at least 90 days before any bonus with
regard to that critical skill is offered under subsection (a) and shall
include a discussion of the necessity for the bonus, the amount and
method of payment of the bonus, and the retention results that the bonus
is expected to achieve.
(c) Payment Methods.--A bonus under this section may be paid in a
single lump sum or in periodic installments.
(d) Maximum Bonus Amount.--(1) A member may enter into an agreement
under this section, or reenlist or voluntarily extend the member's
enlistment, more than once to receive a bonus under this section.
However, a member may not receive a total of more than $200,000 in
payments under this section.
(2) The limitation in paragraph (1) on the total bonus payments that
a member may receive under this section does not apply with respect to
an officer who is assigned duties as a health care professional.
(e) Certain Members Ineligible.--(1) A retention bonus may not be
provided under subsection (a) to a member of the armed forces who--
(A) has completed more than 25 years of active duty; or
(B) will complete the member's twenty-fifth year of active duty
before the end of the period of active duty for which the bonus is
being offered.
(2) The limitations in paragraph (1) do not apply with respect to an
officer who is assigned duties as a health care professional during the
period of active duty for which the bonus is being offered.
(f) Relationship to Other Incentives.--A retention bonus paid under
this section is in addition to any other pay and allowances to which a
member is entitled.
(g) Repayment of Bonus.--(1) If an officer who has entered into a
written agreement under subsection (a) fails to complete the total
period of active duty specified in the agreement, or an enlisted member
who voluntarily or because of misconduct does not complete the term of
enlistment for which a bonus was paid under this section, the Secretary
of Defense, and the Secretary of Homeland Security with respect to
members of the Coast Guard when it is not operating as a service in the
Navy, may require the member to repay the United States, on a pro rata
basis and to the extent that the Secretary determines conditions and
circumstances warrant, all sums paid under this section.
(2) An obligation to repay the United States imposed under paragraph
(1) is for all purposes a debt owed to the United States.
(3) A discharge in bankruptcy under title 11 that is entered less
than 5 years after the termination of a written agreement entered into
under subsection (a) does not discharge the member from a debt arising
under paragraph (2).
(h) Annual Report.--Not later than February 15 of each year, the
Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Transportation shall submit to
Congress a report--
(1) analyzing the effect, during the preceding fiscal year, of
the provision of bonuses under this section on the retention of
members qualified in the critical military skills for which the
bonuses were offered; and
(2) describing the intentions of the Secretary regarding the
continued use of the bonus authority during the current and next
fiscal years.
(i) Termination of Bonus Authority.--No bonus may be paid under this
section with respect to any reenlistment, or voluntary extension of an
enlistment, in the armed forces entered into after December 31, 2003,
and no agreement under this section may be entered into after that date.
(Added Pub. L. 106-398, Sec. 1 [[div. A], title VI, Sec. 633(a)(1)],
Oct. 30, 2000, 114 Stat. 1654, 1654A-157; amended Pub. L. 107-107, div.
A, title VI, Sec. 614(d), Dec. 28, 2001, 115 Stat. 1136; Pub. L. 107-
296, title XVII, Sec. 1704(c), Nov. 25, 2002, 116 Stat. 2314; Pub. L.
107-314, div. A, title VI, Secs. 614(d), 618, Dec. 2, 2002, 116 Stat.
2568, 2570.)
Amendments
2002--Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 107-296 substituted ``of Homeland
Security'' for ``of Transportation'' in pars. (1) and (2).
Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 107-314, Sec. 618(a), designated existing
provisions as par. (1) and added par. (2).
Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 107-314, Sec. 618(b), designated existing
provisions as par. (1), redesignated former pars. (1) and (2) as
subpars. (A) and (B), respectively, of par. (1), and added par. (2).
Subsec. (g)(1). Pub. L. 107-296 substituted ``of Homeland Security''
for ``of Transportation''.
Subsec. (i). Pub. L. 107-314, Sec. 614(d), substituted ``December
31, 2003'' for ``December 31, 2002''.
2001--Subsec. (i). Pub. L. 107-107 substituted ``December 31, 2002''
for ``December 31, 2001''.
Effective Date of 2002 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 107-296 effective on the date of transfer of
the Coast Guard to the Department of Homeland Security, see section
1704(g) of Pub. L. 107-296, set out as a note under section 101 of Title
10, Armed Forces.
Effective Date
Pub. L. 106-398, Sec. 1 [[div. A], title VI, Sec. 633(b)], Oct. 30,
2000, 114 Stat. 1654, 1654A-158, provided that: ``Section 323 of title
10, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall take effect on
October 1, 2000.''
Transfer of Functions
For transfer of authorities, functions, personnel, and assets of the
Coast Guard, including the authorities and functions of the Secretary of
Transportation relating thereto, to the Department of Homeland Security,
and for treatment of related references, see sections 468(b), 551(d),
552(d), and 557 of Title 6, Domestic Security, and the Department of
Homeland Security Reorganization Plan of November 25, 2002, as modified,
set out as a note under section 542 of Title 6.
