I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4413 

To amend the Uniform Code of Military Justice to prevent the receipt of 

unpaid pay and allowances by Bowe Bergdahl and other members of 

the Armed Forces who are guilty of desertion and to reserve such 

unpaid pay and allowances to provide additional compensation to members of the Armed Forces who are killed, wounded, or injured while 

searching for a missing member of the Armed Forces who turns out 

to have deserted. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 15, 2017 

Mr. PEARCE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Armed Services 

A BILL 

To amend the Uniform Code of Military Justice to prevent 

the receipt of unpaid pay and allowances by Bowe 

Bergdahl and other members of the Armed Forces who 

are guilty of desertion and to reserve such unpaid pay 

and allowances to provide additional compensation to 

members of the Armed Forces who are killed, wounded, 

or injured while searching for a missing member of the 

Armed Forces who turns out to have deserted. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘No Back Pay for 

3 Bergdahl Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON RECEIPT OF UNPAID PAY AND AL5 LOWANCES BY MEMBERS OF THE ARMED 

6 FORCES GUILTY OF DESERTION. 

7 (a) PROHIBITION.—Section 885 of title 10, United 

8 States Code (article 85 of the Uniform Code of Military 

9 Justice), is amended by adding at the end the following 

10 new subsection: 

11 ‘‘(d)(1) Any person found guilty of desertion or an 

12 attempt to desert is not entitled to any payments or bene13 fits otherwise provided under section 552 or 559 of title 

14 37 for any period during which the person is treated as 

15 being in a missing or captive status after the date on 

16 which the person was first determined to be absent from 

17 the person’s post of duty without authority. 

18 ‘‘(2) If payments or benefits described in paragraph 

19 (1) have already been made for that period, the person 

20 is indebted to the United States for the full amount of 

21 such payments or benefits. 

22 ‘‘(3) The punishment under paragraph (1) is in addi23 tion to the punishments authorized under subsection (c). 

24 ‘‘(4) The Secretary of Defense shall use amounts un25 paid by reason of operation of paragraph (1) or recovered 


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1 under paragraph (2) to provide compensation, in such 

2 amounts as the Secretary considers appropriate, to— 

3 ‘‘(A) any members of the armed forces who 

4 were wounded or injured while searching for the per5 son found guilty of desertion or attempt to desert; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(B) the designated representatives of any 

8 members of the armed forces who were killed while 

9 searching for the person. 

10 ‘‘(5) In the absence of members of the armed forces 

11 described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (4), 

12 the Secretary of Defense shall use the amounts as pro13 vided in section 2601(b) of this title.’’. 

14 (b) APPLICATION OF AMENDMENT TO BOWE

15 BERGDAHL.—Subsection (d) of section 885 of title 10, 

16 United States Code (article 85 of the Uniform Code of 

17 Military Justice), as added by subsection (a), shall apply 

18 with respect to Bowe Bergdahl. 

Æ 


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