I
107TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 5353
To amend title 10, United States Code, to require that additional special
pay received by medical, dental, or veterinary officers of the uniformed
services be treated as part of basic pay for retirement purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SEPTEMBER 9, 2002
Mrs. MORELLA (for herself, Mr. WOLF, Mr. NORWOOD, Mr. FORD, and Mr.
RODRIGUEZ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Armed Services
A BILL
To amend title 10, United States Code, to require that
additional special pay received by medical, dental, or
veterinary officers of the uniformed services be treated
as part of basic pay for retirement purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Military Physician Eq-
uity Act of 2002’’.
SEC. 2. ADDITIONAL SPECIAL PAY RECEIVED BY MEDICAL,
DENTAL, AND VETERINARY OFFICERS OF
THE UNIFORMED SERVICES TREATED AS
PART OF BASIC PAY FOR RETIREMENT PUR-
POSES.
(a) MEMBERS WHO BECAME MEMBERS BEFORE
SEPTEMBER 8, 1980.—Section 1406 of title 10, United
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new subsection:
‘‘(j) SPECIAL RULE FOR MEDICAL, DENTAL, OR VET-
ERINARY
OFFICER
RECEIVING
ADDITIONAL
SPECIAL
PAY.—(1) For purposes of determining the retired pay
base or retainer pay base of a member of the uniformed
services, the monthly basic pay of the member includes
the monthly equivalent of any additional special pay re-
ceived by the member under section 302, 302b, or 303
of title 37 (or, in the case of a commissioned officer in
the Public Health Service, received under such section
pursuant to section 303a(b) of title 37) during the year
immediately preceding the date of the member’s retire-
ment.
‘‘(2) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection,
additional special pay referred to in paragraph (1) may
not be treated as basic pay for purposes of any computa-
tion under this section unless, before the date of the mem-
ber’s retirement, the member has completed at least 15
years of service as a medical, dental, or veterinary officer
of the uniformed services (whether performed before, on,
or after the date of the enactment of this subsection).
‘‘(3) If the condition under paragraph (2) is met,
then, the monthly equivalent of amounts received by the
member in the form of additional special pay referred to
in paragraph (1) shall (for the purposes referred to in
paragraph (2)) be treated as basic pay, but only to the
extent that such amounts are attributable to service per-
formed on or after the date of the enactment of this sub-
section, and only to the extent of the percentage allowable,
which shall be determined as follows:
‘‘If the total amount of service
performed, on or after the date of
Then, the percentage
the enactment of this subsection,
allowable is:
as a medical, dental, or veterinary officer is:
Less than 2 years ....................................................................
At least 2 but less than 4 years ...............................................
At least 4 but less than 6 years ...............................................
At least 6 but less than 8 years ...............................................
At least 8 years ........................................................................
100.
‘‘(4) Notwithstanding any other provision of this sub-
section, 100 percent of the monthly equivalent of all
amounts received as additional special pay referred to in
paragraph (1) shall, to the extent attributable to service
performed on or after the date of the enactment of this
subsection, be treated as basic pay (without regard to any
of the preceding provisions of this subsection) for purposes
of computing—
(A) disability retired pay; and
(B) a survivor annuity under chapter 73 of this
title, if based on the service of a member who dies
before retirement.’’.
(b) MEMBERS WHO BECAME MEMBERS AFTER SEP-
TEMBER 7, 1980.—Section 1407 of title 10, United States
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new
subsection:
‘‘(g) SPECIAL RULE
FOR MEDICAL, DENTAL, OR
VETERINARY OFFICER RECEIVING ADDITIONAL SPECIAL
PAY.—(1) For purposes of the computations required
under subsections (c) and (d) to determine the high-three
average of a member of the uniformed services, the month-
ly equivalent of any additional special pay received by the
member under section 302, 302b, or 303 of title 37 (or,
in the case of a commissioned officer in the Public Health
Service, received under such section pursuant to section
303a(b) of title 37) during the periods referred to in such
subsections shall be treated as a part of the basic pay of
the member.
‘‘(2) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection,
additional special pay referred to in paragraph (1) may
not be treated as basic pay for purposes of any computa-
tion under this section unless, before the date of the mem-
ber’s retirement, the member has completed at least 15
years of service as a medical, dental, or veterinary officer