§302j. Special pay: accession bonus for pharmacy officers
(a) Accession Bonus Authorized.-A person who is a graduate of an accredited pharmacy school and who, during the period beginning on the date of the enactment of the Floyd D. Spence National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001 and ending on September 30, 2004, executes a written agreement described in subsection (c) 1 to accept a commission as an officer of a uniformed service and remain on active duty for a period of not less than 4 years may, upon acceptance of the agreement by the Secretary concerned, be paid an accession bonus in an amount determined by the Secretary concerned.
(b) Limitation on Amount of Bonus.-The amount of an accession bonus under subsection (a) may not exceed $30,000.
(c) Limitation on Eligibility for Bonus.-A person may not be paid a bonus under subsection (a) if-
(1) the person, in exchange for an agreement to accept an appointment as a warrant or commissioned officer, received financial assistance from the Department of Defense or the Department of Health and Human Services to pursue a course of study in pharmacy; or
(2) the Secretary concerned determines that the person is not qualified to become and remain licensed as a pharmacist.
(d) Agreement.-The agreement referred to in subsection (a) shall provide that, consistent with the needs of the uniformed service concerned, the person executing the agreement shall be assigned to duty, for the period of obligated service covered by the agreement, as a pharmacy officer in the Medical Service Corps of the Army or Navy, a biomedical sciences officer in the Air Force designated as a pharmacy officer, or a pharmacy officer of the Public Health Service.
(e) Repayment.-(1) An officer who receives a payment under subsection (a) and who fails to become and remain licensed as a pharmacist during the period for which the payment is made shall refund to the United States an amount equal to the full amount of such payment.
(2) An officer who voluntarily terminates service on active duty before the end of the period agreed to be served under subsection (a) shall refund to the United States an amount that bears the same ratio to the amount paid to the officer as the unserved part of such period bears to the total period agreed to be served.
(3) An obligation to reimburse the United States under paragraph (1) or (2) is for all purposes a debt owed to the United States.
(4) A discharge in bankruptcy under title 11 that is entered less than 5 years after the termination of an agreement under this section does not discharge the person signing such agreement from a debt arising under such agreement or this subsection. This paragraph applies to any case commenced under title 11 after the date of the enactment of the Floyd D. Spence National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001.
(Added
Pub. L. 106–398, §1 [[div. A], title VI, §628(a)], Oct. 30, 2000, 114 Stat. 1654
, 1654A-154.)
References in Text
The date of the enactment of the Floyd D. Spence National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001, referred to in subsecs. (a) and (e)(4), is the date of enactment of Pub. L. 106–398, which was approved Oct. 30, 2000.
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in section 303a of this title.