37 U.S.C. § 402b — Basic needs allowance for members on active service in the Armed Forces

(a) Allowance Required
The military must pay^* this "basic needs allowance" to every member^* who qualifies under subsection (b), in the amount set under subsection (c).

(b) Eligible Members
A member qualifies if all three things are true: the member has finished initial entry training; the member's gross household income for the most recent year was no more than 200% of the federal poverty guidelines for their location and household size; and the member is not excluded under subsection (d) and has not opted out under subsection (g).

(c) Amount of Allowance
The monthly payment equals 200% of that year's federal poverty guidelines (based on the member's location and household size), minus the member's gross household income from the year before, with that difference divided by 12.

(d) Bases of Ineligibility
Some members can never get this allowance: anyone without dependents, and cadets or midshipmen at the service academies (or serving as cadets/midshipmen elsewhere). If a household has more than one member who would otherwise qualify, only one payment goes to that household — the members must jointly choose who receives it. If a member's income rises above the qualifying line because of a promotion or other permanent pay increase, they become ineligible, and any ongoing payment must stop within a reasonable time set by the Secretary of Defense. If a member's income drops because of a fine, forfeiture, or reduced rank^* imposed as military discipline, that drop alone does not make them eligible.

(e) Application by Members Seeking Allowance
A member who wants the allowance must apply, providing whatever information the Secretary requires to check eligibility. A member who is already getting the allowance and wants to keep getting it must reapply with updated information at least once a year. Applying is always voluntary. The Secretary of Defense must screen every member for eligibility during initial training and regularly afterward, and must tell any member who might qualify that they can apply.

(f) Determinations of Eligibility
The military must decide which members qualify and must notify each one in writing. That notice must also describe financial management and assistance programs the member might be eligible for.

(g) Election Not to Receive Allowance
A member found eligible can choose, in writing, not to take the allowance. A member who doesn't apply within a reasonable time (set by the Secretary) is treated as not eligible.

(h) Special Rule for Members Stationed Outside United States
For a member stationed outside the U.S., the income-limit and payment-amount calculations use the federal poverty guidelines for the continental United States^*, not the guidelines for wherever the member is actually stationed.

(i) Regulations
The Secretary of Defense had to write regulations for running this program within one year of the 2022 defense authorization law being enacted.

(j) Effective Period
The allowance can only be paid for months starting one year after that 2022 law was enacted, and it cannot be paid for any month after December 31, 2027.

(k) Definitions
"Gross household income" means all household income from any source, minus — for a member the Secretary decides lives in a high-cost area or otherwise has demonstrated need — any part of the member's housing allowance the Secretary chooses to leave out. "Household" means the member plus any dependents enrolled in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System, no matter where those dependents actually live.