(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.
(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.
