37 U.S.C. § 303a — Special pay: general provisions

(a) The Secretary of Defense (for the Army, Navy, and Air Force) and the Secretary of Health and Human Services (for the Public Health Service) must write regulations to carry out sections 301d, 302 through 302j, and 303 of this title.

(b)(1) Unless stated otherwise, a commissioned officer^* in the Public Health Service's Regular or Reserve Corps gets special pay^* under this chapter in the same amounts and under the same conditions as an armed forces^* officer^* would. (2) But a commissioned medical officer in the Public Health Service's Regular or Reserve Corps (except one serving in the Indian Health Service) cannot get the extra special pay under section 302(a)(4) while providing service required under: (A) section 338B of the Public Health Service Act; (B) section 225(e) of that Act, as it existed before October 1, 1977; or (C) section 752 of that Act, as it existed between October 1, 1977, and August 13, 1981.

(c) Special pay under sections 301d, 302 through 302j, and 303 is in addition to any other pay or allowance an officer receives. It cannot be counted when figuring out other pay increases, or when calculating retired pay, separation pay, severance pay, or readjustment pay.

(d) The Secretary of Defense must review the special pay for health professionals — under sections 301d, 302 through 302j, and 303 — every two years.

(e) Repayment rules for bonuses and similar benefits: (1)(A) Normally, if a service member^* gets a bonus or similar benefit that depends on meeting certain eligibility requirements, and the member later fails to meet them, the member must repay the unearned portion and loses any unpaid amounts still owed — unless the Secretary decides that requiring repayment would go against personnel policy or management goals, would be unfair, or would hurt the country's best interests. (B) The Secretary can write regulations setting how repayment amounts are calculated and when exceptions apply, including rules for withholding future installment payments; for the military departments, the Secretary of Defense sets these regulations.

(2)(A) If a member gets a "sole survivorship discharge" (described below), the Secretary (i) cannot require repayment of any bonus already paid, and (ii) can choose not to cut off unpaid future bonus amounts, if doing so would go against personnel policy or management goals, would be unfair, or would hurt the country's best interests. (B) A "sole survivorship discharge" means an early, voluntary discharge given under Department of Defense policy to someone who is the only surviving child in a family where (i) a parent or sibling served in the Armed Forces and was killed, died from wounds, accident, or disease, went missing or captured, or became permanently and totally disabled or hospitalized and unable to work because of it, and (ii) that death, status, or disability wasn't caused by the parent's or sibling's own misconduct or an unauthorized absence.

(3)(A) If a member dies, retires, or is separated because of a combat-related disability, the Secretary (i) cannot require repayment of any bonus already paid, and (ii) must pay the member or their estate whatever remaining bonus amount the member would have received if not for the death, retirement, or separation. (B) This doesn't apply if the death or disability resulted from the member's own misconduct. (C) The amount owed equals the full amount specified in the bonus agreement, as if the member had stayed eligible. (D) This amount must be paid in a lump sum within 90 days of the death, retirement, or separation. (E) "Combat-related disability" has the meaning given in section 1413a(e) of title 10.

(4) A debt to repay the government under this subsection is treated, for all purposes, as a debt owed the United States. Bankruptcy cannot erase this debt if the bankruptcy discharge is entered less than five years after the agreement ended, or — if there was no formal agreement — less than five years after the related service ended.

(5) Definitions: (A) A "bonus or similar benefit" means a bonus, incentive pay, special pay, or similar payment, or an educational benefit or stipend, paid under a law that refers to this subsection's repayment rules. (B) "Service" means an obligation a member willingly takes on, in exchange for a bonus, to (i) stay on active duty^* or in an active reserve status, (ii) work in a specific skill area, (iii) work in a specific location, or (iv) work for a specific length of time.