106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 4

AN ACT

To improve pay and retirement equity for members of the

Armed Forces; and for other purposes.

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Soldiers’, Sailors’, Air5 men’s, and Marines’ Bill of Rights Act of 1999’’.
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1 TITLE I—PAY AND ALLOWANCES

2 SEC. 101. FISCAL YEAR 2000 INCREASE AND RESTRUCTUR3 ING OF BASIC PAY.

4 (a) WAIVER OF SECTION 1009 ADJUSTMENT.—Any

5 adjustment required by section 1009 of title 37, United

6 States Code, in the rates of monthly basic pay authorized

7 members of the uniformed services by section 203(a) of

8 such title to become effective during fiscal year 2000 shall

9 not be made.

10 (b) JANUARY 1, 2000, INCREASE IN BASIC PAY.—

11 Effective on January 1, 2000, the rates of monthly basic

12 pay for members of the uniformed services shall be in13 creased by 4.8 percent.

14 (c) BASIC PAY REFORM.—Effective on July 1, 2000,

15 the rates of monthly basic pay for members of the uni16 formed services within each pay grade are as follows:
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COMMISSIONED OFFICERS 1

Years of service computed under section 205 of title 37, United States Code

Pay

Grade 2 or less Over 2 Over 3 Over 4 Over 6

O–10 2 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00

O–9 ... 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

O–8 ... 6,594.30 6,810.30 6,953.10 6,993.30 7,171.80

O–7 ... 5,479.50 5,851.80 5,851.50 5,894.40 6,114.60

O–6 ... 4,061.10 4,461.60 4,754.40 4,754.40 4,772.40

O–5 ... 3,248.40 3,813.90 4,077.90 4,127.70 4,291.80

O–4 ... 2,737.80 3,333.90 3,556.20 3,606.04 3,812.40

O–3 3 2,544.00 2,884.20 3,112.80 3,364.80 3,525.90

O–2 3 2,218.80 2,527.20 2,910.90 3,000.00 3,071.10

O–1 3 1,926.30 2,004.90 2,423.10 2,423.10 2,423.10

Over 8 Over 10 Over 12 Over 14 Over 16

O–10 2 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00

O–9 ... 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

O–8 ... 7,471.50 7,540.80 7,824.60 7,906.20 8,150.10

O–7 ... 6,282.00 6,475.80 6,669.00 6,863.10 7,471.50

O–6 ... 4,976.70 5,004.00 5,004.00 5,169.30 5,791.20

O–5 ... 4,291.80 4,420.80 4,659.30 4,971.90 5,286.00

O–4 ... 3,980.40 4,251.50 4,464.00 4,611.00 4,758.90

O–3 3 3,702.60 3,850.20 4,040.40 4,139.10 4,139.10

O–2 3 3,071.10 3,071.10 3,071.10 3,071.10 3,071.10

O–1 3 2,423.10 2,423.10 2,423.10 2,423.10 2,423.10

Over 18 Over 20 Over 22 Over 24 Over 26

O–10 2 $0.00 $10,655.10 $10,707.60 $10,930.20 $11,318.40

O–9 ... 0.00 9,319.50 9,453.60 9,647.70 9,986.40

O–8 ... 8,503.80 8,830.20 9,048.00 9,048.00 9,048.00

O–7 ... 7,985.40 7,985.40 7,985.40 7,985.40 8,025.60

O–6 ... 6,086.10 6,381.30 6,549.00 6,719.10 7,049.10

O–5 ... 5,436.00 5,583.60 5,751.90 5,751.90 5,751.90

O–4 ... 4,808.70 4,808.70 4,808.70 4,808.70 4,808.70

O–3 3 4,139.10 4,139.10 4,139.10 4,139.10 4,139.10

O–2 3 3,071.10 3,071.10 3,071.10 3,071.10 3,071.10

O–1 3 2,423.10 2,423.10 2,423.10 2,423.10 2,423.10

1 Basic pay for these officers is limited to the rate of basic pay for level V of the Executive

Schedule. 2 While serving as Chairman or Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Chief of Staff of the

Army, Chief of Naval Operations, Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Commandant of the Marine

Corps, or Commandant of the Coast Guard, basic pay for this grade is calculated to be

$12,441.00, regardless of cumulative years of service computed under section 205 of title 37,

United States Code. Nevertheless, basic pay for these officers is limited to the rate of basic pay for

level V of the Executive Schedule. 3 Does not apply to commissioned officers who have been credited with over 4 years of active

duty service as an enlisted member or warrant officer.
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COMMISSIONED OFFICERS WITH OVER 4 YEARS OF ACTIVE DUTY SERVICE

AS AN ENLISTED MEMBER OR WARRANT OFFICER

Years of service computed under section 205 of title 37, United States Code

Pay

Grade 2 or less Over 2 Over 3 Over 4 Over 6

O–3E $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $3,364.80 $3,525.90

O–2E 0.00 0.00 0.00 3,009.00 3,071.10

O–1E 0.00 0.00 0.00 2,423.10 2,588.40

Over 8 Over 10 Over 12 Over 14 Over 16

O–3E $3,702.60 $3,850.20 $4,040.40 $4,200.30 $4,291.80

O–2E 3,168.60 3,333.90 3,461.40 3,556.20 3,556.20

O–1E 2,683.80 2,781.30 2,877.60 3,009.00 3,009.00

Over 18 Over 20 Over 22 Over 24 Over 26

O–3E $4,416.90 $4,416.90 $4,416.90 $4,416.90 $4,416.90

O–2E 3,556.20 3,556.20 3,556.20 3,556.20 3,556.20

O–1E 3,009.00 3,009.00 3,009.00 3,009.00 3,009.00

WARRANT OFFICERS

Years of service computed under section 205 of title 37, United States Code

Pay

Grade 2 or less Over 2 Over 3 Over 4 Over 6

W–5 .. $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00

W–4 .. 2,592.00 2,788.50 2,868.60 2,947.50 3,083.40

W–3 .. 2,355.90 2,555.40 2,555.40 2,588.40 2,694.30

W–2 .. 2,063.40 2,232.60 2,232.60 2,305.80 2,423.10

W–1 .. 1,719.00 1,971.00 1,971.00 2,135.70 2,232.60

Over 8 Over 10 Over 12 Over 14 Over 16

W–5 .. $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00

W–4 .. 3,217.20 3,352.80 3,485.10 3,622.20 3,753.60

W–3 .. 2,814.90 2,974.20 3,071.10 3,177.00 3,298.20

W–2 .. 2,555.40 2,852.60 2,749.80 2,844.30 2,949.00

W–1 .. 2,332.80 2,433.30 2,533.20 2,634.00 2,734.80

Over 18 Over 20 Over 22 Over 24 Over 26

W–5 .. $0.00 $4,475.10 $4,628.70 $4,782.90 $4,937.40

W–4 .. 3,888.00 4,019.00 4,155.60 4,289.70 4,427.10

W–3 .. 3,418.50 3,539.10 3,659.40 3,780.00 3,900.90

W–2 .. 3,058.40 3,163.80 3,270.90 3,378.30 3,378.30

W–1 .. 2,835.00 2,910.90 2,910.90 2,910.90 2,910.90
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ENLISTED MEMBERS

Years of service computed under section 205 of title 37, United States Code

Pay

Grade 2 or less Over 2 Over 3 Over 4 Over 6

E–9 4 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00

E–8 ... 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

E–7 ... 1,765.80 1,927.80 2,001.00 2,073.00 2,147.70

E–6 ... 1,518.90 1,678.20 1,752.60 1,824.30 1,899.30

E–5 ... 1,332.60 1,494.00 1,566.00 1,640.40 1,714.50

E–4 ... 1,242.90 1,373.10 1,447.20 1,520.10 1,593.90

E–3 ... 1,171.50 1,260.60 1,334.10 1,335.90 1,335.90

E–2 ... 1,127.40 1,127.40 1,127.40 1,127.40 1,127.40

E–1 ... 5 1,005.60 1,005.60 1,005.60 1,005.60 1,005.60

Over 8 Over 10 Over 12 Over 14 Over 16

E–9 4 $0.00 $3,015.30 $3,083.40 $3,169.80 $3,271.50

E–8 ... 2,528.40 2,601.60 2,669.70 2,751.60 2,840.10

E–7 ... 2,220.90 2,294.10 2,367.30 2,439.30 2,514.00

E–6 ... 1,973.10 2,047.20 2,118.60 2,191.50 2,244.60

E–5 ... 1,789.50 1,861.50 1,936.20 1,936.20 1,936.20

E–4 ... 1,593.90 1,593.90 1,593.90 1,593.90 1,593.90

E–3 ... 1,335.90 1,335.90 1,335.90 1,335.90 1,335.90

E–2 ... 1,127.40 1,127.40 1,127.40 1,127.40 1,127.40

E–1 ... 1,005.60 1,005.60 1,005.60 1,005.60 1,005.60

Over 18 Over 20 Over 22 Over 24 Over 26

E–9 4 $3,373.20 $3,473.40 $3,609.30 $3,744.00 $3,915.80

E–8 ... 2,932.50 3,026.10 3,161.10 3,295.50 3,483.60

E–7 ... 2,588.10 2,660.40 2,787.60 2,926.20 3,134.40

E–6 ... 2,283.30 2,283.30 2,285.70 2,285.70 2,285.70

E–5 ... 1,936.20 1,936.20 1,936.20 1,936.20 1,936.20

E–4 ... 1,593.90 1,593.90 1,593.90 1,593.90 1,593.90

E–3 ... 1,335.90 1,335.90 1,335.90 1,335.90 1,335.90

E–2 ... 1,127.40 1,127.40 1,127.40 1,123.20 1,127.40

E–1 ... 1,005.60 1,005.60 1,005.60 1,005.60 1,005.60

4 While serving as Sergeant Major of the Army, Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy, Chief

Master Sergeant of the Air Force, Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps, or Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard, basic pay for this grade is $4,701.00, regardless of cumulative years of

service computed under section 205 of title 37, United States Code. 5 In the case of members in the grade E–1 who have served less than 4 months on active duty,

basic pay is $930.30.

1 SEC. 102. PAY INCREASES FOR FISCAL YEARS AFTER FIS2 CAL YEAR 2000.

3 (a) ECI+0.5 PERCENT INCREASE FOR ALL MEM4 BERS.—Section 1009(c) of title 37, United States Code,

5 is amended to read as follows:

6 ‘‘(c) ECI+0.5 PERCENT INCREASE FOR ALL MEM7 BERS.—Subject to subsection (d), an adjustment taking

8 effect under this section during a fiscal year shall provide
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1 all eligible members with an increase in the monthly basic

2 pay by the percentage equal to the sum of one percent

3 plus the percentage calculated as provided under section

4 5303(a) of title 5 (without regard to whether rates of pay

5 under the statutory pay systems are actually increased

6 during such fiscal year under that section by the percent7 age so calculated).’’.

8 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by

9 subsection (a) shall take effect on October 1, 2000.

10 SEC. 103. SPECIAL SUBSISTENCE ALLOWANCE.

11 (a) ALLOWANCE.—(1) Chapter 7 of title 37, United

12 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 402 the

13 following new section:

14 ‘‘§ 402a. Special subsistence allowance

15 ‘‘(a) ENTITLEMENT.—Upon the application of an eli16 gible member of a uniformed service described in sub17 section (b)(1), the Secretary concerned shall pay the mem18 ber a special subsistence allowance for each month for

19 which the member is eligible to receive food stamp assist20 ance, as determined by the Secretary.

21 ‘‘(b) COVERED MEMBERS.—(1) A member referred

22 to subsection (a) is an enlisted member in pay grade E–

23 5 or below.

24 ‘‘(2) For the purposes of this section, a member shall

25 be considered as being eligible to receive food stamp assist-
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1 ance if the household of the member meets the income

2 standards of eligibility established under section 5(c)(2)

3 of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2014(c)(2)),

4 not taking into account the special subsistence allowance

5 that may be payable to the member under this section and

6 any allowance that is payable to the member under section

7 403 or 404a of this title.

8 ‘‘(c) TERMINATION OF ENTITLEMENT.—The entitle9 ment of a member to receive payment of a special subsist10 ence allowance terminates upon the occurrence of any of

11 the following events:

12 ‘‘(1) Termination of eligibility for food stamp

13 assistance.

14 ‘‘(2) Payment of the special subsistence allow15 ance for 12 consecutive months.

16 ‘‘(3) Promotion of the member to a higher

17 grade.

18 ‘‘(4) Transfer of the member in a permanent

19 change of station.

20 ‘‘(d) REESTABLISHED ENTITLEMENT.—(1) After a

21 termination of a member’s entitlement to the special sub22 sistence allowance under subsection (c), the Secretary con23 cerned shall resume payment of the special subsistence al24 lowance to the member if the Secretary determines, upon
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1 further application of the member, that the member is eli2 gible to receive food stamps.

3 ‘‘(2) Payments resumed under this subsection shall

4 terminate under subsection (c) upon the occurrence of an

5 event described in that subsection after the resumption of

6 the payments.

7 ‘‘(3) The number of times that payments are resumed

8 under this subsection is unlimited.

9 ‘‘(e) DOCUMENTATION OF ELIGIBILITY.—A member

10 of the uniformed services applying for the special subsist11 ence allowance under this section shall furnish the Sec12 retary concerned with such evidence of the member’s eligi13 bility for food stamp assistance as the Secretary may re14 quire in connection with the application.

15 ‘‘(f) AMOUNT OF ALLOWANCE.—The monthly

16 amount of the special subsistence allowance under this

17 section is $180.

18 ‘‘(g) RELATIONSHIP TO BASIC ALLOWANCE FOR

19 SUBSISTENCE.—The special subsistence allowance under

20 this section is in addition to the basic allowance for sub21 sistence under section 402 of this title.

22 ‘‘(h) FOOD STAMP ASSISTANCE DEFINED.—In this

23 section, the term ‘food stamp assistance’ means assistance

24 under the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et

25 seq.).
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1 ‘‘(i) TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.—No special sub2 sistence allowance may be made under this section for any

3 month beginning after September 30, 2004.’’.

4 (2) The table of sections at the beginning of such

5 chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating

6 to section 402 the following:

‘‘402a. Special subsistence allowance.’’.

7 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Section 402a of title 37,

8 United States Code, shall take effect on the first day of

9 the first month that begins not less than 180 days after

10 the date of the enactment of this Act.

11 (c) ANNUAL REPORT.—(1) Not later than March 1

12 of each year after 1999, the Secretary of Defense shall

13 submit to Congress a report setting forth the number of

14 members of the uniformed services who are eligible for as15 sistance under the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C.

16 2011 et seq.).

17 (2) In preparing the report, the Secretary shall con18 sult with the Secretary of Transportation (with respect to

19 the Coast Guard), who shall provide the Secretary of De20 fense with any information that the Secretary determines

21 necessary to prepare the report.

22 (3) No report is required under this section after

23 March 1, 2004.
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1 SEC. 104. INCREASED TUITION ASSISTANCE FOR MEMBERS

2 OF THE ARMED FORCES DEPLOYED IN SUP3 PORT OF A CONTINGENCY OPERATION OR

4 SIMILAR OPERATION.

5 (a) INAPPLICABILITY OF LIMITATION ON AMOUNT.—

6 Section 2007(a) of title 10, United States Code, is

7 amended—

8 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph

9 (2);

10 (2) by striking the period at the end of para11 graph (3) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

12 (3) by adding at the end the following:

13 ‘‘(4) in the case of a member deployed outside

14 the United States in support of a contingency oper15 ation or similar operation, all of the charges may be

16 paid while the member is so deployed.’’.

17 (b) INCREASED AUTHORITY SUBJECT TO APPRO18 PRIATIONS.—The authority to pay additional tuition as19 sistance under paragraph (4) of section 2007(a) of title

20 10, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), may

21 be exercised only to the extent provided for in appropria22 tions Acts.

23 SEC. 105. INCREASE IN RATE OF DIVING DUTY SPECIAL

24 PAY.

25 (a) INCREASE.—Section 304(b) of title 37, United

26 States Code, is amended—
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1 (1) by striking ‘‘$200’’ and inserting ‘‘$240’’;

2 and

3 (2) by striking ‘‘$300’’ and inserting ‘‘$340’’.

4 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

5 subsection (a) shall take effect on October 1, 1999, and

6 shall apply with respect to special pay paid under section

7 304 of title 37, United States Code, for months beginning

8 on or after that date.

9 SEC. 106. INCREASE IN MAXIMUM AMOUNT AUTHORIZED

10 FOR REENLISTMENT BONUS FOR ACTIVE

11 MEMBERS.

12 (a) INCREASE IN MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—Section

13 308(a)(2)(B) of title 37, United States Code, is amended

14 by striking ‘‘$45,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$60,000’’.

15 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by

16 subsection (a) shall take effect on October 1, 1999, and

17 shall apply with respect to reenlistments and extensions

18 of enlistments taking effect on or after that date.

19 SEC. 107. INCREASE IN ENLISTMENT BONUS FOR MEMBERS

20 WITH CRITICAL SKILLS.

21 (a) INCREASE.—Section 308a(a) of title 37, United

22 States Code, is amended in the first sentence by striking

23 ‘‘$12,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$20,000’’.

24 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by

25 subsection (a) shall take effect on October 1, 1999, and
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1 shall apply with respect enlistments and extensions of en2 listments taking effect on or after that date.

3 SEC. 108. INCREASE IN SPECIAL PAY AND BONUSES FOR

4 NUCLEAR-QUALIFIED OFFICERS.

5 (a) SPECIAL PAY FOR NUCLEAR-QUALIFIED OFFI6 CERS EXTENDING PERIOD OF ACTIVE SERVICE.—Section

7 312(a) of title 37, United States Code, is amended by

8 striking ‘‘$15,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$25,000’’.

9 (b) NUCLEAR CAREER ACCESSION BONUS.—Section

10 312b(a)(1) of title 37, United States Code, is amended

11 by striking ‘‘$10,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$20,000’’.

12 (c) NUCLEAR CAREER ANNUAL INCENTIVE BO13 NUSES.—Section 312c of title 37, United States Code, is

14 amended—

15 (1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘$12,000’’

16 and inserting ‘‘$22,000’’; and

17 (2) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ‘‘$5,500’’

18 and inserting ‘‘$10,000’’.

19 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—(1) The amendments made

20 by this section shall take effect on October 1, 1999.

21 (2) The amendments made by subsections (a) and (b)

22 shall apply with respect to agreements accepted under sec23 tion 312(a) and 312b(a), respectively, of title 37, United

24 States Code, on or after October 1, 1999.
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1 (3) The amendments made by subsection (c) shall

2 apply with respect to nuclear service years beginning on

3 or after October 1, 1999.

4 SEC. 109. INCREASE IN MAXIMUM MONTHLY RATE AUTHOR5 IZED FOR FOREIGN LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY

6 PAY.

7 (a) INCREASE IN MAXIMUM MONTHLY RATE.—Sec8 tion 316(b) of title 37, United States Code, is amended

9 by striking ‘‘$100’’ and inserting ‘‘$300’’.

10 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by

11 subsection (a) shall take effect on October 1, 1999, and

12 shall apply with respect to foreign language proficiency

13 pay paid under section 316 of title 37, United States

14 Code, for months beginning on or after that date.

15 SEC. 110. CAREER ENLISTED FLYER INCENTIVE PAY.

16 (a) INCENTIVE PAY AUTHORIZED.—(1) Chapter 5 of

17 title 37, United States Code, is amended by inserting after

18 section 301e the following new section 301f:

19 ‘‘§ 301f. Incentive pay: career enlisted flyers

20 ‘‘(a) PAY AUTHORIZED.—An enlisted member de21 scribed in subsection (b) may be paid career enlisted flyer

22 incentive pay as provided in this section.

23 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE MEMBERS.—An enlisted member re24 ferred to in subsection (a) is an enlisted member of the

25 armed forces who—
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1 ‘‘(1) is entitled to basic pay under section 204

2 of this title or is entitled to compensation under

3 paragraph (1) or (2) of section 206(a) of this title;

4 ‘‘(2) holds a military occupational specialty or

5 military rating designated as a career enlisted flyer

6 specialty or rating by the Secretary concerned in

7 regulations prescribed under subsection (f) and con8 tinues to be proficient in the skills required for that

9 specialty or rating, or is in training leading to the

10 award of such a specialty or rating; and

11 ‘‘(3) is qualified for aviation service.

12 ‘‘(c) MONTHLY PAYMENT.—(1) Career enlisted flyer

13 incentive pay may be paid a member referred to in sub14 section (b) for each month in which the member performs

15 aviation service that involves frequent and regular per16 formance of operational flying duty by the member.

17 ‘‘(2)(A) Career enlisted flyer incentive pay may be

18 paid a member referred to in subsection (b) for each

19 month in which the member performs service, without re20 gard to whether or the extent to which the member per21 forms operational flying duty during the month, as fol22 lows:

23 ‘‘(i) In the case of a member who has per24 formed at least 6, and not more than 15, years of

25 aviation service, the member may be so paid after
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1 the member has frequently and regularly performed

2 operational flying duty in each of 72 months if the

3 member so performed in at least that number of

4 months before completing the member’s first 10

5 years of performance of aviation service.

6 ‘‘(ii) In the case of a member who has per7 formed more than 15, and not more than 20, years

8 of aviation service, the member may be so paid after

9 the member has frequently and regularly performed

10 operational flying duty in each of 108 months if the

11 member so performed in at least that number of

12 months before completing the member’s first 15

13 years of performance of aviation service.

14 ‘‘(iii) In the case of a member who has per15 formed more than 20, and not more than 25, years

16 of aviation service, the member may be so paid after

17 the member has frequently and regularly performed

18 operational flying duty in each of 168 months if the

19 member so performed in at least that number of

20 months before completing the member’s first 20

21 years of performance of aviation service.

22 ‘‘(B) The Secretary concerned, or a designee of the

23 Secretary concerned not below the level of personnel chief

24 of the armed force concerned, may reduce the minimum

25 number of months of frequent and regular performance
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1 of operational flying duty applicable in the case of a par2 ticular member under—

3 ‘‘(i) subparagraph (A)(i) to 60 months;

4 ‘‘(ii) subparagraph (A)(ii) to 96 months; or

5 ‘‘(iii) subparagraph (A)(iii) to 144 months.

6 ‘‘(C) A member may not be paid career enlisted flyer

7 incentive pay in the manner provided under subparagraph

8 (A) after the member has completed 25 years of aviation

9 service.

10 ‘‘(d) MONTHLY RATES.—(1) The monthly rate of any

11 career enlisted flyer incentive pay paid under this section

12 to a member on active duty shall be prescribed by the Sec13 retary concerned, but may not exceed the following:

‘‘Years of aviation service Monthly rate

4 or less .................................................................................... $150

Over 4 ...................................................................................... $225

Over 8 ...................................................................................... $350

Over 14 .................................................................................... $400.

14 ‘‘(2) The monthly rate of any career enlisted flyer in15 centive pay paid under this section to a member of a re16 serve component for each period of inactive-duty training

17 during which aviation service is performed shall be equal

to 1 18 ⁄30 of the monthly rate of career enlisted flyer incentive

19 pay provided under paragraph (1) for a member on active

20 duty with the same number of years of aviation service.

21 ‘‘(e) NONAPPLICABILITY TO MEMBERS RECEIVING

22 HAZARDOUS DUTY INCENTIVE PAY OR SPECIAL PAY FOR

23 DIVING DUTY.—A member receiving incentive pay under
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1 section 301(a) of this title or special pay under section

2 304 of this title may not be paid special pay under this

3 section for the same period of service.

4 ‘‘(f) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary concerned shall

5 prescribe regulations for the administration of this section.

6 The regulations shall include the following:

7 ‘‘(1) Definitions of the terms ‘aviation service’

8 and ‘frequently and regularly performed operational

9 flying duty’ for purposes of this section.

10 ‘‘(2) The military occupational specialties or

11 military rating, as the case may be, that are des12 ignated as career enlisted flyer specialties or ratings,

13 respectively, for purposes of this section.

14 ‘‘(g) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘oper15 ational flying duty’ means—

16 ‘‘(1) flying performed under competent orders

17 while serving in assignments in which basic flying

18 skills normally are maintained in the performance of

19 assigned duties as determined by the Secretary con20 cerned; and

21 ‘‘(2) flying performed by members in training

22 that leads to the award of a military occupational

23 specialty or rating referred to in subsection (b)(2).’’.

24 (2) The table of sections at the beginning of chapter

25 5 of title 37, United States Code, is amended by inserting
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1 after the item relating to section 301e the following new

2 item:

‘‘301f. Incentive pay; career enlisted flyers.’’.

3 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

4 subsection (a) shall take effect on October 1, 1999.

5 (c) SAVE PAY PROVISION.—In the case of an enlisted

6 member of a uniformed service who is a designated career

7 enlisted flyer entitled to receive hazardous duty incentive

8 pay under section 301(b) or 301(c)(2)(A) of title 37,

9 United States Code, as of October 1, 1999, the member

10 shall be entitled from that date to payment of incentive

11 pay at the monthly rate that is the higher of—

12 (1) the monthly rate of incentive pay authorized

13 by such section 301(b) or 301(c)(2)(A) as of Sep14 tember 30, 1999; or

15 (2) the monthly rate of incentive pay authorized

16 by section 301f of title 37, United States Code, as

17 added by subsection (a).

18 SEC. 111. RETENTION BONUS FOR SPECIAL WARFARE OFFI19 CERS EXTENDING PERIODS OF ACTIVE DUTY.

20 (a) BONUS AUTHORIZED.—(1) Chapter 5 of title 37,

21 United States Code, is amended by inserting after section

22 301f, as added by section 110(a) of this Act, the following

23 new section:
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1 ‘‘§ 301g. Special pay: special warfare officers extend2 ing period of active duty

3 ‘‘(a) BONUS AUTHORIZED.—A special warfare officer

4 described in subsection (b) who executes a written agree5 ment to remain on active duty in special warfare service

6 for at least one year may, upon the acceptance of the

7 agreement by the Secretary concerned, be paid a retention

8 bonus as provided in this section.

9 ‘‘(b) COVERED OFFICERS.—A special warfare officer

10 referred to in subsection (a) is an officer of a uniformed

11 service who—

12 ‘‘(1) is qualified for a military occupational spe13 cialty or designator identified by the Secretary con14 cerned as a special warfare military occupational

15 specialty or designator and is serving in a position

16 for which that specialty or designator is authorized;

17 ‘‘(2) is in pay grade O–3, or is in pay grade O–

18 4 and is not on a list of officers recommended for

19 promotion, at the time the officer applies for an

20 agreement under this section;

21 ‘‘(3) has completed at least 6, but not more

22 than 14, years of active commissioned service; and

23 ‘‘(4) has completed any service commitment in24 curred to be commissioned as an officer.
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1 ‘‘(c) AMOUNT OF BONUS.—The amount of a reten2 tion bonus paid under this section may not be more than

3 $15,000 for each year covered by the written agreement.

4 ‘‘(d) PRORATION.—The term of an agreement under

5 subsection (a) and the amount of the bonus payable under

6 subsection (c) may be prorated as long as such agreement

7 does not extend beyond the date on which the officer mak8 ing such agreement would complete 14 years of active

9 commissioned service.

10 ‘‘(e) PAYMENT.—Upon acceptance of a written agree11 ment under subsection (a) by the Secretary concerned, the

12 total amount payable pursuant to the agreement becomes

13 fixed and may be paid—

14 ‘‘(1) in a lump sum equal to the amount of half

15 the total amount payable under the agreement at the

16 time the agreement is accepted by the Secretary con17 cerned followed by payments of equal annual install18 ments on the anniversary of the acceptance of the

19 agreement until the payment in full of the balance

20 of the amount that remains payable under the agree21 ment after the payment of the lump sum amount

22 under this paragraph; or

23 ‘‘(2) in graduated annual payments under regu24 lations prescribed by the Secretary concerned with

25 the first payment being payable at the time the
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1 agreement is accepted by the Secretary concerned

2 and subsequent payments being payable on the anni3 versaries of the acceptance of the agreement.

4 ‘‘(f) ADDITIONAL PAY.—A retention bonus paid

5 under this section is in addition to any other pay and al6 lowances to which an officer is entitled.

7 ‘‘(g) REPAYMENT.—(1) If an officer who has entered

8 into a written agreement under subsection (a) and has re9 ceived all or part of a retention bonus under this section

10 fails to complete the total period of active duty in special

11 warfare service as specified in the agreement, the Sec12 retary concerned may require the officer to repay the

13 United States, on a pro rata basis and to the extent that

14 the Secretary determines conditions and circumstances

15 warrant, all sums paid the officer under this section.

16 ‘‘(2) An obligation to repay the United States im17 posed under paragraph (1) is for all purposes a debt owed

18 to the United States.

19 ‘‘(3) A discharge in bankruptcy under title 11 that

20 is entered less than five years after the termination of a

21 written agreement entered into under subsection (a) does

22 not discharge the officer signing the agreement from a

23 debt arising under such agreement or under paragraph

24 (1).
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1 ‘‘(h) REGULATIONS.—The Secretaries concerned

2 shall prescribe regulations to carry out this section, includ3 ing the definition of the term ‘special warfare service’ for

4 purposes of this section. Regulations prescribed by the

5 Secretary of a military department under this section shall

6 be subject to the approval of the Secretary of Defense.’’.

7 (2) The table of sections at the beginning of chapter

8 5 of title 37, United States Code, as amended by section

9 110(a) of this Act, is amended by inserting after the item

10 relating to section 301f the following new item:

‘‘301g. Special pay: special warfare officers extending period of active duty.’’.

11 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

12 subsection (a) shall take effect on October 1, 1999.

13 SEC. 112. RETENTION BONUS FOR SURFACE WARFARE OF14 FICERS EXTENDING PERIODS OF ACTIVE

15 DUTY.

16 (a) BONUS AUTHORIZED.—(1) Chapter 5 of title 37,

17 United States Code, is amended by inserting after section

18 301g, as added by section 111(a) of this Act, the following

19 new section:

20 ‘‘§ 301h. Special pay: surface warfare officers extend21 ing period of active duty

22 ‘‘(a) SPECIAL PAY AUTHORIZED.—(1) A surface war23 fare officer described in subsection (b) who executes a

24 written agreement described in paragraph (2) may, upon

25 the acceptance of the agreement by the Secretary of the
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1 Navy, be paid a retention bonus as provided in this sec2 tion.

3 ‘‘(2) An agreement referred to in paragraph (1) is

4 an agreement in which the officer concerned agrees—

5 ‘‘(A) to remain on active duty for at least two

6 years and through the tenth year of active commis7 sioned service; and

8 ‘‘(B) to complete tours of duty to which the of9 ficer may be ordered during the period covered by

10 subparagraph (A) as a department head afloat.

11 ‘‘(b) COVERED OFFICERS.—A surface warfare officer

12 referred to in subsection (a) is an officer of the Regular

13 Navy or Naval Reserve on active duty who—

14 ‘‘(1) is designated and serving as a surface war15 fare officer;

16 ‘‘(2) is in pay grade O–3 at the time the officer

17 applies for an agreement under this section;

18 ‘‘(3) has been selected for assignment as a de19 partment head on a surface ship;

20 ‘‘(4) has completed at least four, but not more

21 than eight, years of active commissioned service; and

22 ‘‘(5) has completed any service commitment in23 curred to be commissioned as an officer.
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1 ‘‘(c) AMOUNT OF BONUS.—The amount of a reten2 tion bonus paid under this section may not be more than

3 $15,000 for each year covered by the written agreement.

4 ‘‘(d) PRORATION.—The term of an agreement under

5 subsection (a) and the amount of the bonus payable under

6 subsection (c) may be prorated as long as such agreement

7 does not extend beyond the date on which the officer mak8 ing such agreement would complete 10 years of active

9 commissioned service.

10 ‘‘(e) PAYMENT.—Upon acceptance of a written agree11 ment under subsection (a) by the Secretary of the Navy,

12 the total amount payable pursuant to the agreement be13 comes fixed and may be paid—

14 ‘‘(1) in a lump sum equal to the amount of half

15 the total amount payable under the agreement at the

16 time the agreement is accepted by the Secretary fol17 lowed by payments of equal annual installments on

18 the anniversary of the acceptance of the agreement

19 until the payment in full of the balance of the

20 amount that remains payable under the agreement

21 after the payment of the lump sum amount under

22 this paragraph; or

23 ‘‘(2) in equal annual payments with the first

24 payment being payable at the time the agreement is

25 accepted by the Secretary and subsequent payments
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1 being payable on the anniversaries of the acceptance

2 of the agreement.

3 ‘‘(f) ADDITIONAL PAY.—A retention bonus paid

4 under this section is in addition to any other pay and al5 lowances to which an officer is entitled.

6 ‘‘(g) REPAYMENT.—(1) If an officer who has entered

7 into a written agreement under subsection (a) and has re8 ceived all or part of a retention bonus under this section

9 fails to complete the total period of active duty specified

10 in the agreement, the Secretary of the Navy may require

11 the officer to repay the United States, on a pro rata basis

12 and to the extent that the Secretary determines conditions

13 and circumstances warrant, all sums paid under this sec14 tion.

15 ‘‘(2) An obligation to repay the United States im16 posed under paragraph (1) is for all purposes a debt

17 owned to the United States.

18 ‘‘(3) A discharge in bankruptcy under title 11 that

19 is entered less than five years after the termination of a

20 written agreement entered into under subsection (a) does

21 not discharge the officer signing the agreement from a

22 debt arising under such agreement or under paragraph

23 (1).

24 ‘‘(h) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of the Navy

25 shall prescribe regulations to carry out this section.’’.
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1 (2) The table of sections at the beginning of chapter

2 5 of title 37, United States Code, is amended by inserting

3 after the item relating to section 301g, as added by section

4 111(a) of this Act, the following new item:

‘‘301h. Special pay: surface warfare officers extending period of active duty.’’.

5 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

6 subsection (a) shall take effect on October 1, 1999.

7 SEC. 113. AVIATION CAREER OFFICER SPECIAL PAY.

8 (a) PERIOD OF AUTHORITY.—Subsection (a) of sec9 tion 301b of title 37, United States Code, is amended—

10 (1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘AUTHORIZED.—’’;

11 (2) by striking ‘‘during the period beginning on

12 January 1, 1989, and ending on December 31,

13 1999,’’ and inserting ‘‘during the period described in

14 paragraph (2),’’; and

15 (3) adding at the end the following:

16 ‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) applies with respect to agree17 ments executed during the period beginning on the first

18 day of the first month that begins on or after the date

19 of the enactment of the Soldiers’, Sailors’, Airmen’s, and

20 Marines’ Bill of Rights Act of 1999 and ending on Decem21 ber 31, 2004.’’.

22 (b) REPEAL OF LIMITATION TO CERTAIN YEARS OF

23 CAREER AVIATION SERVICE.—Subsection (b) of such sec24 tion is amended—

25 (1) by striking paragraph (5);
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1 (2) by inserting ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph

2 (4); and

3 (3) by redesignating paragraph (6) as para4 graph (5).

5 (c) REPEAL OF LOWER ALTERNATIVE AMOUNT FOR

6 AGREEMENT TO SERVE FOR 3 OR FEWER YEARS.—Sub7 section (c) of such section is amended by striking

8 ‘‘than—’’ and all that follows and inserting ‘‘than

9 $25,000 for each year covered by the written agreement

10 to remain on active duty.’’.

11 (d) PRORATION AUTHORITY FOR COVERAGE OF IN12 CREASED PERIOD OF ELIGIBILITY.—Subsection (d) of

13 such section is amended by striking ‘‘14 years of commis14 sioned service’’ and inserting ‘‘25 years of aviation serv15 ice’’.

16 (e) TERMINOLOGY.—Such section is further

17 amended—

18 (1) in subsection (f), by striking ‘‘A retention

19 bonus’’ and inserting ‘‘Any amount’’; and

20 (2) in subsection (i)(1), by striking ‘‘retention

21 bonuses’’ in the first sentence and inserting ‘‘special

22 pay under this section’’.

23 (f) REPEAL OF CONTENT REQUIREMENTS FOR AN24 NUAL REPORT.—Subsection (i)(1) of such section is fur25 ther amended by striking the second sentence.
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1 (g) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Subsection (g)(3) of

2 such section if amended by striking the second sentence.

3 (h) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section and the amend4 ments made by this section shall take effect on the first

5 day of the first month that begins on or after the date

6 of the enactment of this Act.

7 SEC. 114. THREE-YEAR EXTENSION OF AUTHORITIES RE8 LATING TO PAYMENT OF CERTAIN BONUSES

9 AND SPECIAL PAYS.

10 (a) AVIATION OFFICER RETENTION BONUS.—Sec11 tion 301b(a) of title 37, United States Code, is amended

12 by striking ‘‘December 31, 1999,’’ and inserting ‘‘Decem13 ber 31, 2002,’’.

14 (b) REENLISTMENT BONUS FOR ACTIVE MEM15 BERS.—Section 308(g) of title 37, United States Code, is

16 amended by striking ‘‘December 31, 1999’’ and inserting

17 ‘‘December 31, 2002’’.

18 (c) ENLISTMENT BONUSES FOR MEMBERS WITH

19 CRITICAL SKILLS.—Sections 308a(c) and 308f(c) of title

20 37, United States Code, are each amended by striking

21 ‘‘December 31, 1999’’ and inserting ‘‘December 31,

22 2002’’.

23 (d) SPECIAL PAY FOR NUCLEAR-QUALIFIED OFFI24 CERS EXTENDING PERIOD OF ACTIVE SERVICE.—Section

25 312(e) of title 37, United States Code, is amended by
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1 striking ‘‘December 31, 1999’’ and inserting ‘‘December

2 31, 2002’’.

3 (e) NUCLEAR CAREER ACCESSION BONUS.—Section

4 312b(c) of title 37, United States Code, is amended by

5 striking ‘‘December 31, 1999’’ and inserting ‘‘December

6 31, 2002’’.

7 (f) NUCLEAR CAREER ANNUAL INCENTIVE

8 BONUS.—Section 312c(d) of title 37, United States Code,

9 is amended by striking ‘‘any fiscal year beginning before

10 October 1, 1998, and the 15-month period beginning on

11 that date and ending on December 31, 1999’’ and insert12 ing ‘‘the 15-month period beginning on October 1, 1998,

13 and ending on December 31, 1999, and any year begin14 ning after December 31, 1999, and ending before January

15 1, 2003’’.

16 SEC. 115. THREE-YEAR EXTENSION OF CERTAIN BONUSES

17 AND SPECIAL PAY AUTHORITIES FOR RE18 SERVE FORCES.

19 (a) SPECIAL PAY FOR HEALTH PROFESSIONALS IN

20 CRITICALLY SHORT WARTIME SPECIALTIES.—Section

21 302g(f) of title 37, United States Code, is amended by

22 striking ‘‘December 31, 1999’’ and inserting ‘‘December

23 31, 2002’’.

24 (b) SELECTED RESERVE REENLISTMENT BONUS.—

25 Section 308b(f) of title 37, United States Code, is amend-
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1 ed by striking ‘‘December 31, 1999’’ and inserting ‘‘De2 cember 31, 2002’’.

3 (c) SELECTED RESERVE ENLISTMENT BONUS.—Sec4 tion 308c(e) of title 37, United States Code, is amended

5 by striking ‘‘December 31, 1999’’ and inserting ‘‘Decem6 ber 31, 2002’’.

7 (d) SPECIAL PAY FOR ENLISTED MEMBERS AS8 SIGNED TO CERTAIN HIGH PRIORITY UNITS.—Section

9 308d(c) of title 37, United States Code, is amended by

10 striking ‘‘December 31, 1999’’ and inserting ‘‘December

11 31, 2002’’.

12 (e) SELECTED RESERVE AFFILIATION BONUS.—Sec13 tion 308e(e) of title 37, United States Code, is amended

14 by striking ‘‘December 31, 1999’’ and inserting ‘‘Decem15 ber 31, 2002’’.

16 (f) READY RESERVE ENLISTMENT AND REENLIST17 MENT BONUS.—Section 308h(g) of title 37, United States

18 Code, is amended by striking ‘‘December 31, 1999’’ and

19 inserting ‘‘December 31, 2002’’.

20 (g) PRIOR SERVICE ENLISTMENT BONUS.—Section

21 308i(f) of title 37, United States Code, is amended by

22 striking ‘‘December 31, 1999’’ and inserting ‘‘December

23 31, 2002’’.

24 (h) REPAYMENT OF EDUCATION LOANS FOR CER25 TAIN HEALTH PROFESSIONALS WHO SERVE IN THE SE-
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1 LECTED RESERVE.—Section 16302(d) of title 10, United

2 States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘January 1, 2000’’

3 and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘January 1, 2003’’.

4 SEC. 116. THREE-YEAR EXTENSION OF CERTAIN BONUSES

5 AND SPECIAL PAY AUTHORITIES FOR NURSE

6 OFFICER CANDIDATES, REGISTERED NURSES,

7 AND NURSE ANESTHETISTS.

8 (a) NURSE OFFICER CANDIDATE ACCESSION PRO9 GRAM.—Section 2130a(a)(1) of title 10, United States

10 Code, is amended by striking ‘‘December 31, 1999’’ and

11 inserting ‘‘December 31, 2002’’.

12 (b) ACCESSION BONUS FOR REGISTERED NURSES.—

13 Section 302d(a)(1) of title 37, United States Code, is

14 amended by striking ‘‘December 31, 1999’’ and inserting

15 ‘‘December 31, 2002’’.

16 (c) INCENTIVE SPECIAL PAY FOR NURSE ANES17 THETISTS.—Section 302e(a)(1) of title 37, United States

18 Code, is amended by striking ‘‘December 31, 1999’’ and

19 inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘December 31, 2002’’.

20 SEC. 117. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING PARITY BE21 TWEEN ADJUSTMENTS IN MILITARY AND

22 CIVIL SERVICE PAY.

23 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find24 ings:
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1 (1) Members of the uniformed services of the

2 United States and civilian employees of the United

3 States make significant contributions to the general

4 welfare of the United States.

5 (2) Increases in the levels of pay of members of

6 the uniformed services and of civilian employees of

7 the United States have not kept pace with increases

8 in the overall levels of pay of workers in the private

9 sector so that there is now up to a 30 percent gap

10 between the compensation levels of Federal civilian

11 employees and the compensation levels of private

12 sector workers and a 9 to 14 percent gap between

13 the compensation levels of members of the uni14 formed services and the compensation levels of pri15 vate sector workers.

16 (3) In almost every year of the past two dec17 ades, there have been equal adjustments in the com18 pensation of members of the uniformed services and

19 the compensation of civilian employees of the United

20 States.

21 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con22 gress that there should continue to be parity between the

23 adjustments in the compensation of members of the uni24 formed services and the adjustments in the compensation

25 of civilian employees of the United States.
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1 SEC. 118. ENTITLEMENT OF RESERVES NOT ON ACTIVE

2 DUTY TO RECEIVE SPECIAL DUTY ASSIGN3 MENT PAY.

4 (a) AUTHORITY.—Section 307(a) of title 37, United

5 States Code, is amended by inserting after ‘‘is entitled to

6 basic pay’’ in the first sentence the following: ‘‘, or is enti7 tled to compensation under section 206 of this title in the

8 case of a member of a reserve component not on active

9 duty,’’.

10 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by

11 subsection (a) shall take effect on the first day of the first

12 month that begins on or after the date of the enactment

13 of this Act.

14 SEC. 119. SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING USE OF EX15 TENSION OF TIME TO FILE TAX RETURNS

16 FOR MEMBERS OF UNIFORMED SERVICES ON

17 DUTY ABROAD.

18 (a) FINDINGS.—The Senate finds that—

19 (1) the Internal Revenue Service provides a 2-

20 month extension of the deadline for filing tax re21 turns for members of the uniformed services who are

22 in an area outside the United States or the Com23 monwealth of Puerto Rico for a tour of duty which

24 includes the date for filing tax returns;
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1 (2) any taxpayer using this 2-month extension

2 who owes additional tax must pay the tax on or be3 fore the regular filing deadline;

4 (3) those who use the 2-month extension and

5 wait to pay the additional tax at the time of filing

6 are charged interest from the regular filing deadline,

7 and may also be required to pay a penalty; and

8 (4) it is fundamentally unfair to members of

9 the uniformed services who make use of this exten10 sion to require them to pay penalties and interest on

11 the additional tax owed.

12 (b) SENSE OF THE SENATE.—It is the sense of the

13 Senate that—

14 (1) the 2-month extension of the deadline for

15 filing tax returns for certain members of the uni16 formed services provided in Internal Revenue Service

17 regulations should be codified; and

18 (2) eligible members of the uniformed services

19 should be able to make use of the extension without

20 accumulating interest or penalties.

21 SEC. 120. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SPECIAL SUPPLE22 MENTAL NUTRITION PROGRAM.

23 (a) CLARIFICATION OF BENEFITS RESPONSIBIL24 ITY.—Subsection (a) of section 1060a of title 10, United

25 States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘may carry out a pro-
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1 gram to provide special supplemental food benefits’’ and

2 inserting ‘‘shall carry out a program to provide supple3 mental foods and nutrition education’’.

4 (b) RELATIONSHIP TO WIC PROGRAM.—Subsection

5 (b) of such section is amended to read as follows:

6 ‘‘(b) FEDERAL PAYMENTS.—For the purpose of pro7 viding supplemental foods under the program required

8 under subsection (a), the Secretary of Agriculture shall

9 make available to the Secretary of Defense for each of fis10 cal years 1999 through 2003, out of funds available for

11 such fiscal year pursuant to the authorization of appro12 priations under section 17(g)(1) of the Child Nutrition Act

13 of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786(g)(1)), $10,000,000 plus such

14 additional amount as is necessary to provide supplemental

15 foods under the program for such fiscal year. The Sec16 retary of Defense shall use funds available for the Depart17 ment of Defense to provide nutrition education and to pay

18 for costs for nutrition services and administration under

19 the program.’’.

20 (c) PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION.—Subsection

21 (c)(1)(A) of such section is amended by adding at the end

22 the following: ‘‘In the determining of eligibility for the pro23 gram benefits, a person already certified for participation

24 in the special supplemental nutrition program for women,

25 infants, and children under section 17 of the Child Nutri-
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1 tion Act of 1996 (42 U.S.C. 1786) shall be considered eli2 gible for the duration of the certification period under that

3 program.’’.

4 (d) NUTRITIONAL RISK STANDARDS.—Subsection

5 (c)(1)(B) of such section is amended by inserting ‘‘and

6 nutritional risk standards’’ after ‘‘income eligibility stand7 ards’’.

8 (e) DEFINITIONS.—Subsection (f) of such section is

9 amended by adding at the end the following:

10 ‘‘(4) The terms ‘costs for nutrition services and

11 administration’, ‘nutrition education’ and ‘supple12 mental foods’ have the meanings given the terms in

13 paragraphs (4), (7), and (14), respectively, of sec14 tion 17(b) of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42

15 U.S.C. 1786(b)).’’.

16 (f) REPORT.—Not later than March 1, 2001, the Sec17 retary of Defense, in consultation with the Secretary of

18 Agriculture, shall submit to Congress a report on the im19 plementation of the special supplemental food program re20 quired under section 1060a of title 10, United States

21 Code. The report shall include a discussion of whether the

22 amount required to be provided by the Secretary of Agri23 culture for supplemental foods under subsection (b) of

24 that section is adequate for the purpose and, if not, an
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1 estimate of the amount necessary to provide supplemental

2 foods under the program.

3 TITLE II—RETIREMENT

4 BENEFITS

5 SEC. 201. RETIRED PAY OPTIONS FOR PERSONNEL ENTER6 ING UNIFORMED SERVICES ON OR AFTER AU7 GUST 1, 1986.

8 (a) REDUCED RETIRED PAY ONLY FOR MEMBERS

9 ELECTING 15-YEAR SERVICE BONUS.—(1) Paragraph (2)

10 of section 1409(b) of title 10, United States Code, is

11 amended by inserting after ‘‘July 31, 1986,’’ the following:

12 ‘‘has elected to receive a bonus under section 318 of title

13 37,’’.

14 (2)(A) Paragraph (2)(A) of section 1401a(b) of title

15 10, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘The Sec16 retary shall increase the retired pay of each member and

17 former member who first became a member of a uniformed

18 service before August 1, 1986,’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as

19 otherwise provided in this subsection, the Secretary shall

20 increase the retired pay of each member and former mem21 ber’’.

22 (B) Paragraph (3) of such section 1401a(b) is

23 amended by inserting after ‘‘August 1, 1986,’’ the follow24 ing: ‘‘and has elected to receive a bonus under section 318

25 of title 37,’’.
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1 (3) Section 1410 of title 10, United States Code, is

2 amended by inserting after ‘‘August 1, 1986,’’ the follow3 ing: ‘‘who has elected to receive a bonus under section 318

4 of title 37,’’.

5 (b) OPTIONAL LUMP-SUM BONUS AT 15 YEARS OF

6 SERVICE.—(1) Chapter 5 of title 37, United States Code,

7 is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

8 ‘‘§ 318. Special pay: 15-year service bonus elected by

9 members entering on or after August 1,

10 1986

11 ‘‘(a) PAYMENT OF BONUS.—The Secretary concerned

12 shall pay a bonus to a member of a uniformed service who

13 is eligible and elects to receive the bonus under this sec14 tion.

15 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY FOR BONUS.—A member of a uni16 formed service serving on active duty is eligible to receive

17 a bonus under this section if the member—

18 ‘‘(1) first became a member of a uniformed

19 service on or after August 1, 1986;

20 ‘‘(2) has completed 15 years of active duty in

21 the uniformed services; and

22 ‘‘(3) if not already obligated to remain on active

23 duty for a period that would result in at least 20

24 years of active-duty service, executes a written

25 agreement (prescribed by the Secretary concerned)
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1 to remain continuously on active duty for five years

2 after the date of the completion of 15 years of ac3 tive-duty service.

4 ‘‘(c) ELECTION.—(1) A member eligible to receive a

5 bonus under this section may elect to receive the bonus.

6 The election shall be made in such form and within such

7 period as the Secretary concerned requires.

8 ‘‘(2) An election made under this subsection is irrev9 ocable.

10 ‘‘(d) NOTIFICATION OF ELIGIBILITY.—The Secretary

11 concerned shall transmit a written notification of the op12 portunity to elect to receive a bonus under this section

13 to each member who is eligible (or upon execution of an

14 agreement described in subsection (b)(3), would be eligi15 ble) to receive the bonus. The Secretary shall complete the

16 notification within 180 days after the date on which the

17 member completes 15 years of active duty. The notifica18 tion shall include the procedures for electing to receive the

19 bonus and an explanation of the effects under sections

20 1401a, 1409, and 1410 of title 10 that such an election

21 has on the computation of any retired or retainer pay

22 which the member may become eligible to receive.

23 ‘‘(e) FORM AND AMOUNT OF BONUS.—A bonus

24 under this section shall be paid in one lump sum of

25 $30,000.
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1 ‘‘(f) TIME FOR PAYMENT.—Payment of a bonus to

2 a member electing to receive the bonus under this section

3 shall be made not later than the first month that begins

4 on or after the date that is 60 days after the Secretary

5 concerned receives from the member an election that satis6 fies the requirements imposed under subsection (c).

7 ‘‘(g) REPAYMENT OF BONUS.—(1) If a person paid

8 a bonus under this section fails to complete the total pe9 riod of active duty specified in the agreement entered into

10 under subsection (b)(3), the person shall refund to the

11 United States the amount that bears the same ratio to

12 the amount of the bonus payment as the unserved part

13 of that total period bears to the total period.

14 ‘‘(2) Subject to paragraph (3), an obligation to reim15 burse the United States imposed under paragraph (1) is

16 for all purposes a debt owed to the United States.

17 ‘‘(3) The Secretary concerned may waive, in whole

18 or in part, a refund required under paragraph (1) if the

19 Secretary concerned determines that recovery would be

20 against equity and good conscience or would be contrary

21 to the best interests of the United States.

22 ‘‘(4) A discharge in bankruptcy under title 11 that

23 is entered less than five years after the termination of an

24 agreement under this section does not discharge the mem-
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1 ber signing such agreement from a debt arising under the

2 agreement or this subsection.’’.

3 (2) The table of sections at the beginning of such

4 chapter is amended by adding at the end the following

5 new item:

‘‘318. Special pay: 15-year service bonus elected by members entering on or

after August 1, 1986.’’.

6 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO SURVIVOR BENE7 FIT PLAN PROVISIONS.—(1) Section 1451(h)(3) of title

8 10, United States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘OF CER9 TAIN MEMBERS’’ after ‘‘RETIREMENT’’.

10 (2) Section 1452(i) of such title is amended by strik11 ing ‘‘When the retired pay’’ and inserting ‘‘Whenever the

12 retired pay’’.

13 (d) RELATED TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.—(1) Sec14 tion 1401a(b) of title 10, United States Code, is

15 amended—

16 (A) by striking the heading for paragraph (1)

17 and inserting ‘‘INCREASE REQUIRED.—’’;

18 (B) by striking the heading for paragraph (2)

19 and inserting ‘‘PERCENTAGE INCREASE.—’’; and

20 (C) by striking the heading for paragraph (3)

21 and inserting ‘‘REDUCED PERCENTAGE FOR CER22 TAIN POST-AUGUST 1, 1986 MEMBERS.—’’.
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1 (2) Section 1409(b)(2) of title 10, United States

2 Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘CERTAIN’’ after ‘‘REDUC3 TION APPLICABLE TO’’ in the paragraph heading.

4 (3)(A) The heading of section 1410 of such title is

5 amended by inserting ‘‘certain’’ before ‘‘members’’.

6 (B) The item relating to such section in the table of

7 sections at the beginning of chapter 71 of title 10, United

8 States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘certain’’ before

9 ‘‘members’’.

10 SEC. 202. PARTICIPATION IN THRIFT SAVINGS PLAN.

11 (a) PARTICIPATION AUTHORITY.—(1)(A) Chapter 3

12 of title 37, United States Code, is amended by adding at

13 the end the following:

14 ‘‘§ 211. Participation in Thrift Savings Plan

15 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY.—A member of the uniformed serv16 ices serving on active duty and a member of the Ready

17 Reserve in any pay status may participate in the Thrift

18 Savings Plan in accordance with section 8440e of title 5.

19 ‘‘(b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION REGARDING SEPARA20 TION.—For the purposes of section 8440e of title 5, the

21 following actions shall be considered separation of a mem22 ber of the uniformed services from Government employ23 ment:

24 ‘‘(1) Release of the member from active-duty

25 service (not followed by a resumption of active-duty
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1 service within 30 days after the effective date of the

2 release).

3 ‘‘(2) Transfer of the member by the Secretary

4 concerned to a retired list maintained by the Sec5 retary.’’.

6 (B) The table of sections at the beginning of such

7 chapter is amended by adding at the end the following:

‘‘211. Participation in Thrift Savings Plan.’’.

8 (2)(A) Subchapter III of chapter 84 of title 5, United

9 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the follow10 ing:

11 ‘‘§ 8440e. Members of the uniformed services: mem12 bers on active duty; members of the

13 Ready Reserve

14 ‘‘(a) PARTICIPATION AUTHORIZED.—(1) A member

15 of the uniformed services authorized to participate in the

16 Thrift Savings Plan under section 211(a) of title 37 may

17 contribute to the Thrift Savings Fund.

18 ‘‘(2) An election to contribute to the Thrift Savings

19 Fund under paragraph (1) may be made only during a

20 period provided under section 8432(b) for individuals sub21 ject to this chapter.

22 ‘‘(b) APPLICABILITY OF THRIFT SAVINGS PLAN PRO23 VISIONS.—Except as otherwise provided in this section,

24 the provisions of this subchapter and subchapter VII of

25 this chapter shall apply with respect to members of the
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1 uniformed services making contributions to the Thrift

2 Savings Fund as if such members were employees within

3 the meaning of section 8401(11).

4 ‘‘(c) MAXIMUM CONTRIBUTION.—(1) The amount

5 contributed by a member of the uniformed services for any

6 pay period out of basic pay may not exceed 5 percent of

7 such member’s basic pay for such pay period.

8 ‘‘(2)(A) Subject to subparagraph (B), the amount

9 contributed by a member of the Ready Reserve for any

10 pay period for any compensation received under section

11 206 of title 37 may not exceed 5 percent of such member’s

12 compensation for such pay period.

13 ‘‘(B) Notwithstanding any other provision of this

14 subchapter, no contribution may be made under this para15 graph for a member of the Ready Reserve for any year

16 to the extent that such contribution, when added to prior

17 contributions for such member for such year under this

18 subchapter, exceeds any limitation under section 415 of

19 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

20 ‘‘(d) OTHER MEMBER CONTRIBUTIONS.—A member

21 of the uniformed services making contributions to the

22 Thrift Savings Fund out of basic pay, or out of compensa23 tion under section 206 of title 37, may also contribute (by

24 direct transfer to the Fund) any part of any special or

25 incentive pay that the member receives under section 308,
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1 308a through 308h, or 318 of title 37. No contribution

2 made under this subsection shall be subject to, or taken

3 into account for purposes of, the first sentence of section

4 8432(d), relating to the applicability of any limitation

5 under section 415 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

6 ‘‘(e) AGENCY CONTRIBUTIONS GENERALLY PROHIB7 ITED.—Except as provided in section 211(c) of title 37,

8 no contribution under section 8432(c) of this title may be

9 made for the benefit of a member of the uniformed serv10 ices making contributions to the Thrift Savings Fund

11 under subsection (a).

12 ‘‘(f) BENEFITS AND ELECTIONS OF BENEFITS.—In

13 applying section 8433 to a member of the uniformed serv14 ices who has an account balance in the Thrift Savings

15 Fund—

16 ‘‘(1) any reference in such section to separation

17 from Government employment shall be construed to

18 refer to an action described in section 211(b) of title

19 37; and

20 ‘‘(2) the reference in section 8433(g)(1) to con21 tributions made under section 8432(a) shall be

22 treated as being a reference to contributions made to

23 the Fund by the member, whether made under sec24 tion 8351, 8432(a), or this section.
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1 ‘‘(g) BASIC PAY DEFINED.—For purposes of this sec2 tion, the term ‘basic pay’ means basic pay that is payable

3 under section 204 of title 37.’’.

4 (B) The table of sections at the beginning of chapter

5 84 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding

6 after the item relating to section 8440d the following:

‘‘8440e. Members of the uniformed services: members on active duty; members

of the Ready Reserve

7 (3) Section 8432b(b) of title 5, United States Code,

8 is amended—

9 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘Each em10 ployee’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in para11 graph (4), each employee’’;

12 (B) by redesignating paragraph (4) as para13 graph (5); and

14 (C) by inserting after paragraph (3) the follow15 ing new paragraph (4):

16 ‘‘(4) No contribution may be made under this section

17 for a period for which an employee made a contribution

18 under section 8440e.’’.

19 (4) Section 8473 of title 5, United States Code, is

20 amended—

21 (A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘14 mem22 bers’’ and inserting ‘‘15 members’’; and

23 (B) in subsection (b)—
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1 (i) by striking ‘‘14 members’’ and inserting

2 ‘‘15 members’’;

3 (ii) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para4 graph (8);

5 (iii) by striking the period at the end of

6 paragraph (9) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

7 (iv) by adding at the end the following:

8 ‘‘(10) 1 shall be appointed to represent partici9 pants (under section 8440e) who are members of the

10 uniformed services.’’.

11 (5) Paragraph (11) of section 8351(b) of title 5,

12 United States Code, is redesignated as paragraph (8).

13 (b) APPLICABILITY.—The authority of members of

14 the uniformed services to participate in the Thrift Savings

15 Plan under section 211 of title 37, United States Code

16 (as added by subsection (a)(1)), shall take effect on July

17 1, 2000.

18 (c) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 180 days after

19 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Executive Direc20 tor appointed by the Federal Thrift Retirement Invest21 ment Board shall issue regulations to implement section

22 8440e of title 5, United States Code (as added by sub23 section (a)(2)) and section 211 of title 37, United States

24 Code (as added by subsection (a)(1)).
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1 SEC. 203. SPECIAL RETENTION INITIATIVE.

2 Section 211 of title 37, United States Code, as added

3 by section 202, is amended by adding at the end the fol4 lowing:

5 ‘‘(c) AGENCY CONTRIBUTIONS FOR RETENTION IN

6 CRITICAL SPECIALTIES.—(1) The Secretary concerned

7 may enter into an agreement with a member to make con8 tributions to the Thrift Savings Fund for the benefit of

9 the member if the member—

10 ‘‘(A) is in a specialty designated by the Sec11 retary as critical to meet requirements (whether

12 such specialty is designated as critical to meet war13 time or peacetime requirements); and

14 ‘‘(B) commits in such agreement to continue to

15 serve on active duty in that specialty for a period of

16 six years.

17 ‘‘(2) Under any agreement entered into with a mem18 ber under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall make con19 tributions to the Fund for the benefit of the member for

20 each pay period of the 6-year period of the agreement for

21 which the member makes a contribution out of basic pay

22 to the Fund under this section. Paragraph (2) of section

23 8432(c) applies to the Secretary’s obligation to make con24 tributions under this paragraph, except that the reference

25 in such paragraph to contributions under paragraph (1)

26 of such section does not apply.’’.
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1 SEC. 204. REPEAL OF REDUCTION IN RETIRED PAY FOR CI2 VILIAN EMPLOYEES.

3 (a) REPEAL.—(1) Section 5532 of title 5, United

4 States Code, is repealed.

5 (2) The chapter analysis at the beginning of chapter

6 55 of such title is amended by striking out the item relat7 ing to section 5532.

8 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

9 subsection (a) shall take effect on the first day of the first

10 month that begins after the date of the enactment of this

11 Act.

12 TITLE III—MONTGOMERY GI

13 BILL BENEFITS

14 SEC. 301. INCREASE IN RATES OF EDUCATIONAL ASSIST15 ANCE FOR FULL-TIME EDUCATION.

16 (a) INCREASE.—Section 3015 of title 38, United

17 States Code, is amended—

18 (1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘$528’’ and

19 inserting ‘‘$600’’; and

20 (2) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ‘‘$429’’

21 and inserting ‘‘$488’’.

22 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

23 subsection (a) shall take effect on October 1, 1999, and

24 shall apply with respect to educational assistance allow25 ances paid for months after September 1999. However,

26 no adjustment in rates of educational assistance shall be
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1 made under subsection (g) of section 3015 of title 38,

2 United States Code, for fiscal year 2000.

3 SEC. 302. TERMINATION OF REDUCTIONS OF BASIC PAY.

4 (a) REPEALS.—(1) Section 3011 of title 38, United

5 States Code, is amended by striking subsection (b).

6 (2) Section 3012 of such title is amended by striking

7 subsection (c).

8 (3) The amendments made by paragraphs (1) and (2)

9 shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act

10 and shall apply to individuals whose initial obligated pe11 riod of active duty under section 3011 or 3012 of title

12 38, United States Code, as the case may be, begins on

13 or after such date.

14 (b) TERMINATION OF REDUCTIONS IN PROGRESS.—

15 Any reduction in the basic pay of an individual referred

16 to in section 3011(b) of title 38, United States Code, by

17 reason of such section 3011(b), or of any individual re18 ferred to in section 3012(c) of such title by reason of such

19 section 3012(c), as of the date of the enactment of this

20 Act shall cease commencing with the first month begin21 ning after such date, and any obligation of such individual

22 under such section 3011(b) or 3012(c), as the case may

23 be, as of the day before such date shall be deemed to be

24 fully satisfied as of such date.
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1 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 3034(e)(1)

2 of title 38, United States Code, is amended in the second

3 sentence by striking ‘‘as soon as practicable’’ and all that

4 follows through ‘‘such additional times’’ and inserting ‘‘at

5 such times’’.

6 SEC. 303. ACCELERATED PAYMENTS OF EDUCATIONAL AS7 SISTANCE.

8 Section 3014 of title 38, United States Code, is

9 amended—

10 (1) by inserting ‘‘(a)’’ before ‘‘The Secretary

11 shall pay’’; and

12 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub13 section (b):

14 ‘‘(b)(1) When the Secretary determines that it is ap15 propriate to accelerate payments under the regulations

16 prescribed pursuant to paragraph (6), the Secretary may

17 make payments of basic educational assistance allowance

18 under this subchapter on an accelerated basis.

19 ‘‘(2) The Secretary may pay a basic educational as20 sistance allowance on an accelerated basis only to an indi21 vidual entitled to payment of the allowance under this sub22 chapter who has made a request for payment of the allow23 ance on an accelerated basis.

24 ‘‘(3) In the event an adjustment under section

25 3015(g) of this title in the monthly rate of basic edu-
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1 cational assistance will occur during a period for which

2 a payment of an allowance is made on an accelerated basis

3 under this subsection, the Secretary shall—

4 ‘‘(A) pay on an accelerated basis the amount

5 the allowance otherwise payable under this sub6 chapter for the period without regard to the adjust7 ment under that section; and

8 ‘‘(B) pay on the date of the adjustment any ad9 ditional amount of the allowance that is payable for

10 the period as a result of the adjustment.

11 ‘‘(4) The entitlement to a basic educational assistance

12 allowance under this subchapter of an individual who is

13 paid an allowance on an accelerated basis under this sub14 section shall be charged at a rate equal to one month for

15 each month of the period covered by the accelerated pay16 ment of the allowance.

17 ‘‘(5) A basic educational assistance allowance shall be

18 paid on an accelerated basis under this subsection as fol19 lows:

20 ‘‘(A) In the case of an allowance for a course

21 leading to a standard college degree, at the begin22 ning of the quarter, semester, or term of the course

23 in a lump-sum amount equivalent to the aggregate

24 amount of monthly allowance otherwise payable
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1 under this subchapter for the quarter, semester, or

2 term, as the case may be, of the course.

3 ‘‘(B) In the case of an allowance for a course

4 other than a course referred to in subparagraph

5 (A)—

6 ‘‘(i) at the later of (I) the beginning of the

7 course, or (II) a reasonable time after the re8 quest for payment by the individual concerned;

9 and

10 ‘‘(ii) in any amount requested by the indi11 vidual concerned up to the aggregate amount of

12 monthly allowance otherwise payable under this

13 subchapter for the period of the course.

14 ‘‘(6) The Secretary shall prescribe regulations for

15 purposes of making payments of basic educational allow16 ance on an accelerated basis under this subsection. Such

17 regulations shall specify the circumstances under which

18 accelerated payments should be made and include require19 ments relating to the request for, making and delivery of,

20 and receipt and use of such payments.’’.

21 SEC. 304. TRANSFER OF ENTITLEMENT TO EDUCATIONAL

22 ASSISTANCE.

23 (a) AUTHORITY TO TRANSFER TO FAMILY MEM24 BER.—Subchapter II of chapter 30 of title 38, United
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1 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the follow2 ing new section:

3 ‘‘§ 3020. Transfer of entitlement to basic educational

4 assistance

5 ‘‘(a) The Secretary may, for the purpose of enhancing

6 recruiting and retention, and at the Secretary’s sole dis7 cretion, permit an individual entitled to educational assist8 ance under this subchapter to elect to transfer such indi9 vidual’s entitlement to such assistance, in whole or in part,

10 to the individuals specified in subsection (b).

11 ‘‘(b) An individual’s entitlement to educational assist12 ance may be transferred when authorized under subsection

13 (a) as follows:

14 ‘‘(1) To the individual’s spouse.

15 ‘‘(2) To one or more of the individual’s chil16 dren.

17 ‘‘(3) To a combination of the individuals re18 ferred to in paragraphs (1) and (2).

19 ‘‘(c)(1) An individual electing to transfer an entitle20 ment to educational assistance under this section shall—

21 ‘‘(A) designate the individual or individuals to

22 whom such entitlement is being transferred and the

23 percentage of such entitlement to be transferred to

24 each such individual; and
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1 ‘‘(B) specify the period for which the transfer

2 shall be effective for each individual designated

3 under subparagraph (A).

4 ‘‘(2) The aggregate amount of the entitlement trans5 ferable by an individual under this section may not exceed

6 the aggregate amount of the entitlement of such individual

7 to educational assistance under this subchapter.

8 ‘‘(3) An individual electing to transfer an entitlement

9 under this section may elect to modify or revoke the trans10 fer at any time before the use of the transferred entitle11 ment. An individual shall make the election by submitting

12 written notice of such election to the Secretary.

13 ‘‘(d)(1) The use of any entitlement transferred under

14 this section shall be charged against the entitlement of the

15 individual making the transfer at the rate of one month

16 for each month of transferred entitlement that is used.

17 ‘‘(2) Except as provided in paragraph (3), an individ18 ual using entitlement transferred under this section shall

19 be subject to the provisions of this chapter in such use

20 as if such individual were entitled to the educational as21 sistance covered by the transferred entitlement in the indi22 vidual’s own right.

23 ‘‘(3) Notwithstanding section 3031 of this title, a

24 child shall complete the use of any entitlement transferred
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1 to the child under this section before the child attains the

2 age of 26 years.

3 ‘‘(e) In the event of an overpayment of educational

4 assistance with respect to an individual to whom entitle5 ment is transferred under this section, such individual and

6 the individual making the transfer under this section shall

7 be jointly and severally liable to the United States for the

8 amount of the overpayment for purposes of section 3685

9 of this title.

10 ‘‘(f) The Secretary shall prescribe regulations for

11 purposes of this section. Such regulations shall specify the

12 manner and effect of an election to modify or revoke a

13 transfer of entitlement under subsection (c)(3).’’.

14 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections

15 at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting

16 after the item relating to section 3019 the following new

17 item:

‘‘3020. Transfer of entitlement to basic educational assistance.’’.

18 SEC. 305. AVAILABILITY OF MONTGOMERY GI BILL BENE19 FITS FOR PREPARATORY COURSES FOR COL20 LEGE AND GRADUATE SCHOOL ENTRANCE

21 EXAMS.

22 For purposes of section 3002(3) of title 38, United

23 States Code, the term ‘‘program of education’’ shall in24 clude the following:
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1 (1) A preparatory course for a test that is re2 quired or utilized for admission to an institution of

3 higher education.

4 (2) A preparatory course for test that is re5 quired or utilized for admission to a graduate school.

6 TITLE IV—OTHER EDUCATIONAL

7 BENEFITS

8 SEC. 401. ACCELERATED PAYMENTS OF CERTAIN EDU9 CATIONAL ASSISTANCE FOR MEMBERS OF

10 THE SELECTED RESERVE.

11 Section 16131 of title 10, United States Code, is

12 amended by adding at the end the following new sub13 section:

14 ‘‘(j)(1) Whenever a person entitled to an educational

15 assistance allowance under this chapter so requests and

16 the Secretary concerned, in consultation with the Chief of

17 the reserve component concerned, determines it appro18 priate, the Secretary may make payments of the edu19 cational assistance allowance to the person on an acceler20 ated basis.

21 ‘‘(2) An educational assistance allowance shall be

22 paid to a person on an accelerated basis under this sub23 section as follows:

24 ‘‘(A) In the case of an allowance for a course

25 leading to a standard college degree, at the begin-
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1 ning of the quarter, semester, or term of the course

2 in a lump-sum amount equivalent to the aggregate

3 amount of monthly allowance otherwise payable

4 under this chapter for the quarter, semester, or

5 term, as the case may be, of the course.

6 ‘‘(B) In the case of an allowance for a course

7 other than a course referred to in subparagraph

8 (A)—

9 ‘‘(i) at the later of (I) the beginning of the

10 course, or (II) a reasonable time after the Sec11 retary concerned receives the person’s request

12 for payment on an accelerated basis; and

13 ‘‘(ii) in any amount requested by the per14 son up to the aggregate amount of monthly al15 lowance otherwise payable under this chapter

16 for the period of the course.

17 ‘‘(3) If an adjustment in the monthly rate of edu18 cational assistance allowances will be made under sub19 section (b)(2) during a period for which a payment of the

20 allowance is made to a person on an accelerated basis, the

21 Secretary concerned shall—

22 ‘‘(A) pay on an accelerated basis the amount of

23 the allowance otherwise payable for the period with24 out regard to the adjustment under that subsection;

25 and
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1 ‘‘(B) pay on the date of the adjustment any ad2 ditional amount of the allowance that is payable for

3 the period as a result of the adjustment.

4 ‘‘(4) A person’s entitlement to an educational assist5 ance allowance under this chapter shall be charged at a

6 rate equal to one month for each month of the period cov7 ered by an accelerated payment of the allowance to the

8 person under this subsection.

9 ‘‘(5) The regulations prescribed by the Secretary of

10 Defense and the Secretary of Transportation under sub11 section (a) shall provide for the payment of an educational

12 assistance allowance on an accelerated basis under this

13 subsection. The regulations shall specify the circumstances

14 under which accelerated payments may be made and the

15 manner of the delivery, receipt, and use of the allowance

16 so paid

17 ‘‘(6) In this subsection, the term ‘Chief of the reserve

18 component concerned’ means the following:

19 ‘‘(A) The Chief of the Army Reserve, with re20 spect to members of the Army Reserve.

21 ‘‘(B) the Chief of Naval Reserve, with respect

22 to members of the Naval Reserve.

23 ‘‘(C) The Chief of the Air Force Reserve, with

24 respect to members of the Air Force Reserve.
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1 ‘‘(D) The Commander, Marine Reserve Forces,

2 with respect to members of the Marine Corps Re3 serve.

4 ‘‘(E) The Chief of the National Guard Bureau,

5 with respect to members of the Army National

6 Guard and the Air National Guard.

7 ‘‘(F) The Commandant of the Coast Guard,

8 with respect to members of the Coast Guard Re9 serve.’’.

10 SEC. 402. MODIFICATION OF TIME FOR USE BY CERTAIN

11 MEMBERS OF THE SELECTED RESERVE OF

12 ENTITLEMENT TO CERTAIN EDUCATIONAL

13 ASSISTANCE.

14 Section 16133(b) of title 10, United States Code, is

15 amended by adding at the end the following new para16 graph:

17 ‘‘(5)(A) In the case of a person who continues to

18 serve as member of the Selected Reserve as of the end

19 of the 10-year period applicable to the person under sub20 section (a), as extended, if at all, under paragraph (4),

21 the period during which the person may use the person’s

22 entitlement shall expire at the end of the 5-year period

23 beginning on the date the person is separated from the

24 Selected Reserve.
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1 ‘‘(B) The provisions of paragraph (4) shall apply with

2 respect to any period of active duty of a person referred

3 to in subparagraph (A) during the 5-year period referred

4 to in that subparagraph.’’.

5 TITLE V—REPORT

6 SEC. 501. ANNUAL REPORT ON EFFECTS OF INITIATIVES ON

7 RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION.

8 (a) REQUIREMENT FOR REPORT.—On December 1 of

9 each year, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to Con10 gress a report that sets forth the Secretary’s assessment

11 of the effects that the provisions of this Act and the

12 amendments made by the Act are having on recruitment

13 and retention of personnel for the Armed Forces.

14 (b) FIRST REPORT.—The first report under this sec15 tion shall be submitted not later than December 1, 2000.

16 SEC. 502. REPORT AND REGULATIONS ON DEPARTMENT OF

17 DEFENSE POLICIES ON PROTECTING THE

18 CONFIDENTIALITY OF COMMUNICATIONS

19 WITH PROFESSIONALS PROVIDING THERA20 PEUTIC OR RELATED SERVICES REGARDING

21 SEXUAL OR DOMESTIC ABUSE.

22 (a) REQUIREMENT FOR STUDY.—(1) The Comptrol23 ler General shall study the policies, procedures, and prac24 tices of the military departments for protecting the con25 fidentiality of communications between—
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1 (A) a dependent of a member of the Armed

2 Forces who—

3 (i) is a victim of sexual harassment, sexual

4 assault, or intrafamily abuse; or

5 (ii) has engaged in such misconduct; and

6 (B) a therapist, counselor, advocate, or other

7 professional from whom the dependent seeks profes8 sional services in connection with effects of such

9 misconduct.

10 (2) The Comptroller General shall conclude the study

11 and submit to the Secretary of Defense a report on the

12 results of the study within such period as is necessary to

13 enable the Secretary to satisfy the reporting requirement

14 under subsection (d).

15 (b) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of Defense shall

16 prescribe in regulations the policies and procedures that

17 the Secretary considers necessary to provide the maximum

18 possible protections for the confidentiality of communica19 tions described in subsection (a) relating to misconduct

20 described in that subsection, consistent with—

21 (1) the findings of the Comptroller General;

22 (2) the standards of confidentiality and ethical

23 standards issued by relevant professional organiza24 tions;
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1 (3) applicable requirements of Federal and

2 State law;

3 (4) the best interest of victims of sexual harass4 ment, sexual assault, or intrafamily abuse; and

5 (5) such other factors as the Secretary, in con6 sultation with the Attorney General, may consider

7 appropriate.

8 TITLE VI—MISCELLANEOUS

9 SEC. 601. IMPROVEMENT OF TRICARE PROGRAM.

10 (a) IMPROVEMENT OF TRICARE PROGRAM.—(1)

11 Chapter 55 of title 10, United States Code, is amended

12 by inserting after section 1097a the following new section:

13 ‘‘§ 1097b. TRICARE: comparability of benefits with

14 benefits under Federal Employees Health

15 Benefits program; other requirements

16 and authorities

17 ‘‘(a) COMPARABILITY OF BENEFITS.—The Secretary

18 of Defense shall, to the maximum extent practicable, en19 sure that the health care coverage available through the

20 TRICARE program is substantially similar to the health

21 care coverage available under similar health benefits plans

22 offered under the Federal Employees Health Benefits pro23 gram established under chapter 89 of title 5.

24 ‘‘(b) PORTABILITY OF BENEFITS.—The Secretary of

25 Defense shall provide that any covered beneficiary enrolled
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1 in the TRICARE program may receive benefits under that

2 program at facilities that provide benefits under that pro3 gram throughout the various regions of that program.

4 ‘‘(c) PATIENT MANAGEMENT.—(1) The Secretary of

5 Defense shall, to the maximum extent practicable, mini6 mize the authorization or certification requirements im7 posed upon covered beneficiaries under the TRICARE

8 program as a condition of access to benefits under that

9 program.

10 ‘‘(2) The Secretary of Defense shall, to the maximum

11 extent practicable, utilize practices for processing claims

12 under the TRICARE program that are similar to the best

13 industry practices for processing claims for health care

14 services in a simplified and expedited manner. To the max15 imum extent practicable, such practices shall include elec16 tronic processing of claims.

17 ‘‘(d) REIMBURSEMENT OF HEALTH CARE PROVID18 ERS.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary of De19 fense may increase the reimbursement provided to health

20 care providers under the TRICARE program above the

21 reimbursement otherwise authorized such providers under

22 that program if the Secretary determines that such in23 crease is necessary in order to ensure the availability of

24 an adequate number of qualified health care providers

25 under that program.
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1 ‘‘(2) The amount of reimbursement provided under

2 paragraph (1) with respect to a health care service may

3 not exceed the lesser of—

4 ‘‘(A) the amount equal to the local usual and

5 customary charge for the service in the service area

6 (as determined by the Secretary) in which the serv7 ice is provided; or

8 ‘‘(B) the amount equal to 115 per cent of the

9 CHAMPUS maximum allowable charge for the serv10 ice.

11 ‘‘(e) AUTHORITY FOR CERTAIN THIRD-PARTY COL12 LECTIONS.—(1) A medical treatment facility of the uni13 formed services under the TRICARE program may collect

14 from a third-party payer the reasonable charges for health

15 care services described in paragraph (2) that are incurred

16 by the facility on behalf of a covered beneficiary under

17 that program to the extent that the beneficiary would be

18 eligible to receive reimbursement or indemnification from

19 the third-party payer if the beneficiary were to incur such

20 charges on the beneficiary’s own behalf.

21 ‘‘(2) The reasonable charges described in this para22 graph are reasonable charges for services or care covered

23 by the medicare program under title XVIII of the Social

24 Security Act.
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1 ‘‘(3) The collection of charges, and the utilization of

2 amounts collected, under this subsection shall be subject

3 to the provisions of section 1095 of this title. The term

4 ‘reasonable costs’, as used in that section shall be deemed

5 for purposes of the application of that section to this sub6 section to refer to the reasonable charges described in

7 paragraph (2).

8 ‘‘(f) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary of Defense

9 shall carry out any actions under this section after con10 sultation with the other administering Secretaries.’’.

11 (2) The table of sections at the beginning of chapter

12 55 of such title is amended by inserting after the item

13 relating to section 1097a the following new item:

‘‘1097b. TRICARE: comparability of benefits with benefits under Federal Employees Health Benefits program; other requirements and authorities.’’.

14 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

15 subsection (a) shall take effect one year after the date of

16 the enactment of this Act.

17 (c) REPORT ON IMPLEMENTATION.—(1) Not later

18 than 6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act,

19 the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the other

20 administering Secretaries, shall submit to Congress a re21 port assessing the effects of the implementation of the re22 quirements and authorities set forth in section 1097b of

23 title 10, United States Code (as added by subsection (a)).

24 (2) The report shall include the following:
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1 (A) An assessment of the cost of the implemen2 tation of such requirements and authorities.

3 (B) An assessment whether or not the imple4 mentation of any such requirements and authorities

5 will result in the utilization by the TRICARE pro6 gram of the best industry practices with respect to

7 the matters covered by such requirements and au8 thorities.

9 (3) In this subsection, the term ‘‘administering Sec10 retaries’’ has the meaning given that term in section

11 1072(3) of title 10, United States Code.

12 (d) INAPPLICABILITY OF REPORTING REQUIRE13 MENTS.—The reports required by section 501 shall not

14 address the amendments made by subsection (a).

15 SEC. 602. SENSE OF SENATE REGARDING PROCESSING OF

16 CLAIMS FOR VETERANS’ BENEFITS.

17 (a) FINDINGS.—The Senate makes the following

18 findings:

19 (1) Despite advances in technology, tele20 communications, and training, the Department of

21 Veterans Affairs currently requires 20 percent more

22 time to process claims for veterans’ benefits than the

23 Department required to process such claims in 1997.

24 (2) The Department does not currently process

25 claims for veterans’ benefits in a timely manner.
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1 (b) SENSE OF SENATE.—It is the sense of the Senate

2 to urge the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to—

3 (1) review the program, policies, and procedures

4 of the Veterans Benefits Administration of the De5 partment of Veterans Affairs in order to identify

6 areas in which the Administration does not currently

7 process claims for veterans’ benefits in a manner

8 consistent with the objectives set forth in the Na9 tional Performance Review (including objectives re10 garding timeliness of Executive branch activities);

11 (2) initiate any actions necessary to ensure that

12 the Administration processes claims for such bene13 fits in a manner consistent with such objectives; and

14 (3) report to the Congress by June 1, 1999, on

15 measures taken to improve processing time for veter16 ans’ claims.

17 SEC. 603. EXPANSION OF LIST OF DISEASES PRESUMED TO

18 BE SERVICE-CONNECTED FOR RADIATION-EX19 POSED VETERANS.

20 Section 1112(c)(2) of title 38, United States Code,

21 is amended by adding at the end the following:

22 ‘‘(P) Lung cancer.

23 ‘‘(Q) Colon cancer.

24 ‘‘(R) Tumors of the brain and central nervous

25 system.’’.
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1 SEC. 604. MEDICARE SUBVENTION DEMONSTRATION

2 PROJECT FOR VETERANS.

3 Title XVIII of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.

4 1395 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the follow5 ing:

6 ‘‘MEDICARE SUBVENTION DEMONSTRATION PROJECT FOR

7 VETERANS

8 ‘‘SEC. 1897. (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

9 ‘‘(1) ADMINISTERING SECRETARIES.—The term

10 ‘administering Secretaries’ means the Secretary and

11 the Secretary of Veterans Affairs acting jointly.

12 ‘‘(2) DEMONSTRATION PROJECT; PROJECT.—

13 The terms ‘demonstration project’ and ‘project’

14 mean the demonstration project carried out under

15 this section.

16 ‘‘(3) DEMONSTRATION SITE.—The term ‘dem17 onstration site’ means a Veterans Affairs medical fa18 cility, including a group of Veterans Affairs medical

19 facilities that provide hospital care or medical serv20 ices as part of a service network or similar organiza21 tion.

22 ‘‘(4) MILITARY RETIREE.—The term ‘military

23 retiree’ means a member or former member of the

24 Armed Forces who is entitled to retired pay.
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1 ‘‘(5) TARGETED MEDICARE-ELIGIBLE VET2 ERAN.—The term ‘targeted medicare-eligible vet3 eran’ means an individual who—

4 ‘‘(A) is a veteran (as defined in section

5 101(2) of title 38, United States Code) and is

6 described in section 1710(a)(3) of title 38,

7 United States Code;

8 ‘‘(B) has attained age 65;

9 ‘‘(C) is entitled to benefits under part A of

10 this title; and

11 ‘‘(D)(i) is enrolled for benefits under part

12 B of this title; and

13 ‘‘(ii) if such individual attained age 65 be14 fore the date of enactment of the Veterans’

15 Equal Access to Medicare Act, was so enrolled

16 on such date.

17 ‘‘(6) TRUST FUNDS.—The term ‘trust funds’

18 means the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund

19 established in section 1817 and the Federal Supple20 mentary Medical Insurance Trust Fund established

21 in section 1841.

22 ‘‘(7) VETERANS AFFAIRS MEDICAL FACILITY.—

23 The term ‘Veterans Affairs medical facility’ means a

24 medical facility as defined in section 8101 of title

25 38, United States Code.
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1 ‘‘(b) DEMONSTRATION PROJECT.—

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—

3 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—The administer4 ing Secretaries are authorized to establish a

5 demonstration project (under an agreement en6 tered into by the administering Secretaries)

7 under which the Secretary shall reimburse the

8 Secretary of Veterans Affairs, from the trust

9 funds, for medicare health care services fur10 nished to certain targeted medicare-eligible vet11 erans at a demonstration site.

12 ‘‘(B) AGREEMENT.—The agreement en13 tered into under subparagraph (A) shall include

14 at a minimum—

15 ‘‘(i) a description of the benefits to be

16 provided to the participants in the dem17 onstration project established under this

18 section;

19 ‘‘(ii) a description of the eligibility

20 rules for participation in the demonstration

21 project, including any terms and conditions

22 established under subparagraph (C) and

23 any cost-sharing required under subpara24 graph (D);
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1 ‘‘(iii) a description of how the dem2 onstration project will satisfy the require3 ments under this title (including bene4 ficiary protections and quality assurance

5 mechanisms);

6 ‘‘(iv) a description of the demonstra7 tion sites selected under paragraph (2);

8 ‘‘(v) a description of how reimburse9 ment and maintenance of effort require10 ments under subsection (h) will be imple11 mented in the demonstration project;

12 ‘‘(vi) a statement that the Secretary

13 shall have access to all data of the Depart14 ment of Veterans Affairs that the Sec15 retary determines is necessary to conduct

16 independent estimates and audits of the

17 maintenance of effort requirement, the an18 nual reconciliation, and related matters re19 quired under the demonstration project;

20 ‘‘(vii) a description of any require21 ment that the Secretary waives pursuant

22 to subsection (d); and

23 ‘‘(viii) a certification, provided after

24 review by the administering Secretaries,

25 that any entity that is receiving payments
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1 by reason of the demonstration project has

2 sufficient—

3 ‘‘(I) resources and expertise to

4 provide, consistent with payments

5 under subsection (h), the full range of

6 benefits required to be provided to

7 beneficiaries under the project; and

8 ‘‘(II) information and billing sys9 tems in place to ensure the accurate

10 and timely submission of claims for

11 benefits and to ensure that providers

12 of services, physicians, and other

13 health care professionals are reim14 bursed by the entity in a timely and

15 accurate manner.

16 ‘‘(C) VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION.—Par17 ticipation of targeted medicare-eligible veterans

18 in the demonstration project shall be voluntary,

19 subject to the capacity of participating dem20 onstration sites and the funding limitations

21 specified in subsection (h), and shall be subject

22 to such terms and conditions as the administer23 ing Secretaries may establish. In the case of a

24 demonstration site described in paragraph

25 (2)(C)(i), targeted medicare-eligible veterans
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1 who are military retirees shall be given pref2 erence for participating in the project conducted

3 at that site.

4 ‘‘(D) COST-SHARING.—The Secretary of

5 Veterans Affairs may establish cost-sharing re6 quirements for veterans participating in the

7 demonstration project. If such cost-sharing re8 quirements are established, those requirements

9 shall be the same as the requirements that

10 apply to targeted medicare-eligible patients at

11 medical centers that are not Veterans Affairs

12 medical facilities.

13 ‘‘(E) DATA MATCH.—

14 ‘‘(i) ESTABLISHMENT OF DATA

15 MATCHING PROGRAM.—The administering

16 Secretaries shall establish a data matching

17 program under which there is an exchange

18 of information of the Department of Veter19 ans Affairs and of the Department of

20 Health and Human Services as is nec21 essary to identify veterans (as defined in

22 section 101(2) of title 38, United States

23 Code) who are entitled to benefits under

24 part A or enrolled under part B, or both,

25 in order to carry out this section. The pro-
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1 visions of section 552a of title 5, United

2 States Code, shall apply with respect to

3 such matching program only to the extent

4 the administering Secretaries find it fea5 sible and appropriate in carrying out this

6 section in a timely and efficient manner.

7 ‘‘(ii) PERFORMANCE OF DATA

8 MATCH.—The administering Secretaries,

9 using the data matching program estab10 lished under clause (i), shall perform a

11 comparison in order to identify veterans

12 who are entitled to benefits under part A

13 or enrolled under part B, or both. To the

14 extent such Secretaries deem appropriate

15 to carry out this section, the comparison

16 and identification may distinguish among

17 such veterans by category of veterans, by

18 entitlement to benefits under this title, or

19 by other characteristics.

20 ‘‘(iii) DEADLINE FOR FIRST DATA

21 MATCH.—Not later than October 31, 1999,

22 the administering Secretaries shall first

23 perform a comparison under clause (ii).

24 ‘‘(iv) CERTIFICATION BY INSPECTOR

25 GENERAL.—
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1 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The admin2 istering Secretaries may not conduct

3 the program unless the Inspector Gen4 eral of the Department of Health and

5 Human Services certifies to Congress

6 that the administering Secretaries

7 have established the data matching

8 program under clause (i) and have

9 performed a comparison under clause

10 (ii).

11 ‘‘(II) DEADLINE FOR CERTIFI12 CATION.—Not later than December

13 15, 1999, the Inspector General of the

14 Department of Health and Human

15 Services shall submit a report to Con16 gress containing the certification

17 under subclause (I) or the denial of

18 such certification.

19 ‘‘(2) NUMBER OF DEMONSTRATION SITES.—

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara21 graphs (B) and (C), and subsection

22 (g)(1)(D)(ii), the administering Secretaries

23 shall establish a plan for the selection of up to

24 10 demonstration sites located in geographically

25 dispersed locations to participate in the project.
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1 ‘‘(B) CRITERIA.—The administering Sec2 retaries shall favor selection of those dem3 onstration sites that consideration of the follow4 ing factors indicate are suited to serve targeted

5 medicare-eligible veterans:

6 ‘‘(i) There is a high potential demand

7 by targeted medicare-eligible veterans for

8 the services to be provided at the dem9 onstration site.

10 ‘‘(ii) The demonstration site has suffi11 cient capability in billing and accounting to

12 participate in the project.

13 ‘‘(iii) The demonstration site can dem14 onstrate favorable indicators of quality of

15 care, including patient satisfaction.

16 ‘‘(iv) The demonstration site delivers

17 a range of services required by targeted

18 medicare-eligible veterans.

19 ‘‘(v) The demonstration site meets

20 other relevant factors identified in the

21 plan.

22 ‘‘(C) REQUIRED DEMONSTRATION SITES.—

23 At least 1 of each of the following demonstra24 tion sites shall be selected for inclusion in the

25 demonstration project:
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1 ‘‘(i) DEMONSTRATION SITE NEAR

2 CLOSED BASE.—A demonstration site that

3 is in the same catchment area as a mili4 tary treatment facility referred to in sec5 tion 1074(a) of title 10, United States

6 Code, which was closed pursuant to

7 either—

8 ‘‘(I) the Defense Base Closure

9 and Realignment Act of 1990 (part A

10 of title XXIX of Public Law 101–510;

11 10 U.S.C. 2687 note); or

12 ‘‘(II) title II of the Defense Au13 thorization Amendments and Base

14 Closure and Realignment Act (Public

15 Law 100–526; 10 U.S.C. 2687 note).

16 ‘‘(ii) DEMONSTRATION SITE IN A

17 RURAL AREA.—A demonstration site that

18 serves a predominantly rural population.

19 ‘‘(3) RESTRICTION.—No new buildings may be

20 built or existing buildings expanded with funds from

21 the demonstration project.

22 ‘‘(4) DURATION.—The administering Secretar23 ies shall conduct the demonstration project during

24 the 3-year period beginning on January 1, 2000.
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1 ‘‘(c) CREDITING OF PAYMENTS.—A payment received

2 by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs under the demonstra3 tion project shall be credited to the applicable Department

4 of Veterans Affairs medical appropriation and (within that

5 appropriation) to funds that have been allotted to the

6 demonstration site that furnished the services for which

7 the payment is made. Any such payment received during

8 a fiscal year for services provided during a prior fiscal year

9 may be obligated by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs dur10 ing the fiscal year during which the payment is received.

11 ‘‘(d) AUTHORITY TO WAIVE CERTAIN MEDICARE RE12 QUIREMENTS.—

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para14 graph (2), the Secretary may, to the extent nec15 essary to carry out the demonstration project, waive

16 any requirement under this title.

17 ‘‘(2) BENEFICIARY PROTECTIONS FOR MAN18 AGED CARE PLANS.—In the case of a managed care

19 plan established by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs

20 pursuant to subsection (g), such plan shall comply

21 with the requirements of part C of this title that re22 late to beneficiary protections and other matters, in23 cluding such requirements relating to the following

24 areas:

25 ‘‘(A) Enrollment and disenrollment.
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1 ‘‘(B) Nondiscrimination.

2 ‘‘(C) Information provided to beneficiaries.

3 ‘‘(D) Cost-sharing limitations.

4 ‘‘(E) Appeal and grievance procedures.

5 ‘‘(F) Provider participation.

6 ‘‘(G) Access to services.

7 ‘‘(H) Quality assurance and external re8 view.

9 ‘‘(I) Advance directives.

10 ‘‘(J) Other areas of beneficiary protections

11 that the Secretary determines are applicable to

12 such project.

13 ‘‘(3) DESCRIPTION OF WAIVER.—If the Sec14 retary waives any requirement pursuant to para15 graph (1), the Secretary shall include a description

16 of such waiver in the agreement described in sub17 section (b)(1)(B).

18 ‘‘(e) INSPECTOR GENERAL.—Nothing in the agree19 ment entered into under subsection (b) shall limit the In20 spector General of the Department of Health and Human

21 Services from investigating any matters regarding the ex22 penditure of funds under this title for the demonstration

23 project, including compliance with the provisions of this

24 title and all other relevant laws.
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1 ‘‘(f) REPORT.—At least 60 days prior to the com2 mencement of the demonstration project, the administer3 ing Secretaries shall submit a copy of the agreement en4 tered into under subsection (b) to the committees of juris5 diction in Congress.

6 ‘‘(g) MANAGED HEALTH CARE.—

7 ‘‘(1) MANAGED HEALTH CARE PLANS.—

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Vet9 erans Affairs may establish and operate man10 aged health care plans at demonstration sites.

11 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—Any managed

12 health care plan established in accordance with

13 subparagraph (A) shall be operated by or

14 through a Veterans Affairs medical facility, or

15 a group of Veterans Affairs medical facilities,

16 and may include the provision of health care

17 services by public and private entities under ar18 rangements made between the Department of

19 Veterans Affairs and the other public or private

20 entity concerned. Any such managed health

21 care plan shall be established and operated in

22 conformance with standards prescribed by the

23 administering Secretaries.

24 ‘‘(C) MINIMUM BENEFITS.—The admin25 istering Secretaries shall prescribe the mini-
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1 mum health care benefits to be provided under

2 a managed health care plan to veterans enrolled

3 in the plan, which benefits shall include at least

4 all health care services covered under the medi5 care program under this title.

6 ‘‘(D) INCLUSION IN NUMBER OF DEM7 ONSTRATION SITES.—

8 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause

9 (ii), if the Secretary of Veterans Affairs

10 elects to establish a managed health care

11 plan under this section, the establishment

12 of such plan is a selected demonstration

13 site for purposes of applying the numerical

14 limitation under subsection (b)(2).

15 ‘‘(ii) LIMITATION.—The Secretary of

16 Veterans Affairs shall not establish more

17 than 4 managed health care plans under

18 this section.

19 ‘‘(2) DEMONSTRATION SITE REQUIREMENTS.—

20 The Secretary of Veterans Affairs may establish a

21 managed health care plan under paragraph (1)

22 using 1 or more demonstration sites and other pub23 lic or private entities only after the Secretary of Vet24 erans Affairs submits to Congress a report setting

25 forth a plan for the use of such sites and entities.
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1 The plan may not be implemented until the Sec2 retary of Veterans Affairs has received from the In3 spector General of the Department of Veterans Af4 fairs, and has forwarded to Congress, certification of

5 each of the following:

6 ‘‘(A) The cost accounting system of the

7 Veterans Health Administration (currently

8 known as the Decision Support System) is oper9 ational and is providing reliable cost informa10 tion on care delivered on an inpatient and out11 patient basis at such sites and entities.

12 ‘‘(B) The demonstration sites and entities

13 have developed a credible plan (on the basis of

14 market surveys, data from the Decision Support

15 System, actuarial analysis, or other appropriate

16 methods and taking into account the level of

17 payment under subsection (h) and the costs of

18 providing covered services at the sites and enti19 ties) to minimize, to the extent feasible, the risk

20 that appropriated funds allocated to the sites

21 and entities will be required to meet the obliga22 tion of the sites and entities to targeted medi23 care-eligible veterans under the demonstration

24 project.
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1 ‘‘(C) The demonstration sites and entities

2 collectively have available capacity to provide

3 the contracted benefits package to a sufficient

4 number of targeted medicare-eligible veterans.

5 ‘‘(D) The Veterans Affairs medical facility

6 administering the health plan has sufficient sys7 tems and safeguards in place to minimize any

8 risk that instituting the managed care model

9 will result in reducing the quality of care deliv10 ered to participants in the demonstration

11 project or to other veterans receiving care under

12 paragraph (1) or (2) of section 1710(a) of title

13 38, United States Code.

14 ‘‘(3) RESERVES.—The Secretary of Veterans

15 Affairs shall maintain such reserves as may be nec16 essary to ensure against the risk that appropriated

17 funds, allocated to demonstration sites and public or

18 private entities participating in the demonstration

19 project through a managed health care plan under

20 this section, will be required to meet the obligations

21 of those sites and entities to targeted medicare-eligi22 ble veterans.

23 ‘‘(h) PAYMENTS BASED ON REGULAR MEDICARE

24 PAYMENT RATES.—

25 ‘‘(1) PAYMENTS.—
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the suc2 ceeding provisions of this subsection, the Sec3 retary shall reimburse the Secretary of Veter4 ans Affairs for services provided under the dem5 onstration project at the following rates:

6 ‘‘(i) NONCAPITATION.—Except as pro7 vided in clause (ii) and subject to subpara8 graphs (B) and (D), at a rate equal to 95

9 percent of the amounts that otherwise

10 would be payable under this title on a

11 noncapitated basis for such services if the

12 demonstration site was not part of this

13 demonstration project, was participating in

14 the medicare program, and imposed

15 charges for such services.

16 ‘‘(ii) CAPITATION.—Subject to sub17 paragraphs (B) and (D), in the case of

18 services provided to an enrollee under a

19 managed health care plan established

20 under subsection (g), at a rate equal to 95

21 percent of the amount paid to a

22 Medicare+Choice organization under part

23 C with respect to such an enrollee.

24 ‘‘(iii) OTHER CASES.—In cases in

25 which a payment amount may not other-
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1 wise be readily computed under clauses (i)

2 or (ii), the Secretaries shall establish rules

3 for computing equivalent or comparable

4 payment amounts.

5 ‘‘(B) EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN AMOUNTS.—

6 In computing the amount of payment under

7 subparagraph (A), the following shall be ex8 cluded:

9 ‘‘(i) DISPROPORTIONATE SHARE HOS10 PITAL ADJUSTMENT.—Any amount attrib11 utable to an adjustment under section

12 1886(d)(5)(F) of the Social Security Act

13 (42 U.S.C. 1395ww(d)(5)(F)).

14 ‘‘(ii) DIRECT GRADUATE MEDICAL

15 EDUCATION PAYMENTS.—Any amount at16 tributable to a payment under subsection

17 (h) of such section.

18 ‘‘(iii) PERCENTAGE OF INDIRECT

19 MEDICAL EDUCATION ADJUSTMENT.—40

20 percent of any amount attributable to the

21 adjustment under subsection (d)(5)(B) of

22 such section.

23 ‘‘(iv) PERCENTAGE OF CAPITAL PAY24 MENTS.—67 percent of any amounts at-
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1 tributable to payments for capital-related

2 costs under subsection (g) of such section.

3 ‘‘(C) PERIODIC PAYMENTS FROM MEDI4 CARE TRUST FUNDS.—Payments under this

5 subsection shall be made—

6 ‘‘(i) on a periodic basis consistent

7 with the periodicity of payments under this

8 title; and

9 ‘‘(ii) in appropriate part, as deter10 mined by the Secretary, from the trust

11 funds.

12 ‘‘(D) ANNUAL LIMIT ON MEDICARE PAY13 MENTS.—The amount paid to the Department

14 of Veterans Affairs under this subsection for

15 any year for the demonstration project may not

16 exceed $50,000,000.

17 ‘‘(2) REDUCTION IN PAYMENT FOR VA FAILURE

18 TO MAINTAIN EFFORT.—

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To avoid shifting onto

20 the medicare program under this title costs pre21 viously assumed by the Department of Veterans

22 Affairs for the provision of medicare-covered

23 services to targeted medicare-eligible veterans,

24 the payment amount under this subsection for
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1 the project for a fiscal year shall be reduced by

2 the amount (if any) by which—

3 ‘‘(i) the amount of the VA effort level

4 for targeted veterans (as defined in sub5 paragraph (B)) for the fiscal year ending

6 in such year, is less than

7 ‘‘(ii) the amount of the VA effort level

8 for targeted veterans for fiscal year 1998.

9 ‘‘(B) VA EFFORT LEVEL FOR TARGETED

10 VETERANS DEFINED.—For purposes of sub11 paragraph (A), the term ‘VA effort level for

12 targeted veterans’ means, for a fiscal year, the

13 amount, as estimated by the administering Sec14 retaries, that would have been expended under

15 the medicare program under this title for VA16 provided medicare-covered services for targeted

17 veterans (as defined in subparagraph (C)) for

18 that fiscal year if benefits were available under

19 the medicare program for those services. Such

20 amount does not include expenditures attrib21 utable to services for which reimbursement is

22 made under the demonstration project.

23 ‘‘(C) VA-PROVIDED MEDICARE-COVERED

24 SERVICES FOR TARGETED VETERANS.—For

25 purposes of subparagraph (B), the term ‘VA-
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1 provided medicare-covered services for targeted

2 veterans’ means, for a fiscal year, items and

3 services—

4 ‘‘(i) that are provided during the fis5 cal year by the Department of Veterans

6 Affairs to targeted medicare-eligible veter7 ans;

8 ‘‘(ii) that constitute hospital care and

9 medical services under chapter 17 of title

10 38, United States Code; and

11 ‘‘(iii) for which benefits would be

12 available under the medicare program

13 under this title if they were provided other

14 than by a Federal provider of services that

15 does not charge for those services.

16 ‘‘(3) ASSURING NO INCREASE IN COST TO MEDI17 CARE PROGRAM.—

18 ‘‘(A) MONITORING EFFECT OF DEM19 ONSTRATION PROGRAM ON COSTS TO MEDICARE

20 PROGRAM.—

21 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretaries,

22 in consultation with the Comptroller Gen23 eral, shall closely monitor the expenditures

24 made under the medicare program for tar25 geted medicare-eligible veterans during the
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1 period of the demonstration project com2 pared to the expenditures that would have

3 been made for such veterans during that

4 period if the demonstration project had not

5 been conducted.

6 ‘‘(ii) ANNUAL REPORT BY THE COMP7 TROLLER GENERAL.—Not later than De8 cember 31 of each year during which the

9 demonstration project is conducted, the

10 Comptroller General shall submit to the

11 Secretaries and the appropriate committees

12 of Congress a report on the extent, if any,

13 to which the costs of the Secretary under

14 the medicare program under this title in15 creased during the preceding fiscal year as

16 a result of the demonstration project.

17 ‘‘(B) REQUIRED RESPONSE IN CASE OF IN18 CREASE IN COSTS.—

19 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If the administer20 ing Secretaries find, based on subpara21 graph (A), that the expenditures under the

22 medicare program under this title in23 creased (or are expected to increase) dur24 ing a fiscal year because of the demonstra-
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1 tion project, the administering Secretaries

2 shall take such steps as may be needed—

3 ‘‘(I) to recoup for the medicare

4 program the amount of such increase

5 in expenditures; and

6 ‘‘(II) to prevent any such in7 crease in the future.

8 ‘‘(ii) STEPS.—Such steps—

9 ‘‘(I) under clause (i)(I), shall in10 clude payment of the amount of such

11 increased expenditures by the Sec12 retary of Veterans Affairs from the

13 current medical care appropriation of

14 the Department of Veterans Affairs to

15 the trust funds; and

16 ‘‘(II) under clause (i)(II), shall

17 include suspending or terminating the

18 demonstration project (in whole or in

19 part) or lowering the amount of pay20 ment under paragraph (1)(A).

21 ‘‘(i) EVALUATION AND REPORTS.—

22 ‘‘(1) INDEPENDENT EVALUATION.—

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The administering

24 Secretaries shall arrange for an independent en25 tity with expertise in the evaluation of health
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1 care services to conduct an evaluation of the

2 demonstration project.

3 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—The evaluation con4 ducted under subparagraph (A) shall include an

5 assessment, based on the agreement entered

6 into under subsection (b), of the following:

7 ‘‘(i) The cost to the Department of

8 Veterans Affairs of providing care to veter9 ans under the project.

10 ‘‘(ii) Compliance of participating dem11 onstration sites with applicable measures

12 of quality of care, compared to such com13 pliance for other medicare-participating

14 medical centers that are not Veterans Af15 fairs medical facilities.

16 ‘‘(iii) A comparison of the costs of

17 participation of the demonstration sites in

18 the program with the reimbursements pro19 vided for services of such sites.

20 ‘‘(iv) Any savings or costs to the

21 medicare program under this title from the

22 project.

23 ‘‘(v) Any change in access to care or

24 quality of care for targeted medicare-eligi25 ble veterans participating in the project.
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1 ‘‘(vi) Any effect of the project on the

2 access to care and quality of care for tar3 geted medicare-eligible veterans not par4 ticipating in the project and other veterans

5 not participating in the project.

6 ‘‘(vii) The provision of services under

7 managed health care plans under sub8 section (g), including the circumstances (if

9 any) under which the Secretary of Veter10 ans Affairs uses reserves described in para11 graph (3) of such subsection and the Sec12 retary of Veterans Affairs’ response to

13 such circumstances (including the termi14 nation of managed health care plans re15 quiring the use of such reserves).

16 ‘‘(viii) Any effect that the demonstra17 tion project has on the enrollment in

18 Medicare+Choice plans offered by

19 Medicare+Choice organizations under part

20 C of this title in the established site areas.

21 ‘‘(ix) Any additional elements that the

22 independent entity determines is appro23 priate to assess regarding the demonstra24 tion project.
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1 ‘‘(C) ANNUAL REPORTS.—The independent

2 entity conducting the evaluation under subpara3 graph (A) shall submit reports on such evalua4 tion to the administering Secretaries and to the

5 committees of jurisdiction in the Congress as

6 follows:

7 ‘‘(i) INITIAL REPORT.—The entity

8 shall submit the initial report not later

9 than 12 months after the date on which

10 the demonstration project begins operation.

11 ‘‘(ii) SECOND ANNUAL REPORT.—The

12 entity shall submit the second annual re13 port not later than 30 months after the

14 date on which the demonstration project

15 begins operation.

16 ‘‘(iii) FINAL REPORT.—The entity

17 shall submit the final report not later than

31 18 ⁄2 years after the date on which the dem19 onstration project begins operation.

20 ‘‘(2) REPORT ON EXTENSION AND EXPANSION

OF DEMONSTRATION PROJECT.—Not later than 31 21 ⁄2

22 years after the date on which the demonstration

23 project begins operation, the administering Secretar24 ies shall submit to Congress a report containing—

25 ‘‘(A) their recommendation as to—
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S 4 ES

1 ‘‘(i) whether to extend the demonstra2 tion project or make the project perma3 nent;

4 ‘‘(ii) whether to expand the project to

5 cover additional demonstration sites and to

6 increase the maximum amount of reim7 bursement (or the maximum amount of re8 imbursement permitted for managed health

9 care plans under this section) under the

10 project in any year; and

11 ‘‘(iii) whether the terms and condi12 tions of the project should be continued (or

13 modified) if the project is extended or ex14 panded; and

15 ‘‘(B) a detailed description of any costs as16 sociated with their recommendation made pur17 suant to clauses (i) and (ii) of subparagraph

18 (A).’’.

Passed the Senate February 24, 1999.

Attest:

Secretary.
106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 4

AN ACT

To improve pay and retirement equity for members

of the Armed Forces; and for other purposes.