114 STAT. 1654A-158 PUBLIC LAW 106-398—APPENDIX this section. However, a member may not receive a total of more than $200,000 in payments under this section. "(e) CERTAIN MEMBERS INELIGIBLE. —A retention bonus may not be provided under subsection (a) to a member of the armed forces who— "(1) has completed more than 25 years of active duty; or "(2) will complete the member's twenty-fifth year of active duty before the end of the period of active duty for which the bonus is being offered. "(f) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER INCENTIVES. —^A retention bonus paid under this section is in addition to any other pay and allowances to which a member is entitled. "(g) REPAYMENT OF BONUS.— (1) If ati officer who has entered into a written agreement under subsection (a) fails to complete the total period of active duty specified in the agreement, or an enlisted member who voluntarily or because of misconduct does not complete the term of enlistment for which a bonus was paid under this section, the Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary of Transportation with respect to members of the Coast Guard when it is not operating as a service in the Navy, may require the member to repay the United States, on a pro rata basis and to the extent that the Secretary determines conditions and circumstances warrant, all sums paid under this section. "(2) An obligation to repay the United States imposed under paragraph (1) is for all purposes a debt owed to the United States. "(3) A discharge in bankruptcy under title 11 that is entered less than 5 years after the termination of a written agreement entered into under subsection (a) does not discharge the member from a debt arising under paragraph (2). "(h) ANNUAL REPORT. —Not later than February 15 of each year, the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Transportation shall submit to Congress a report— "(1) analyzing the effect, during the preceding fiscal year, of the provision of bonuses under this section on the retention of members qualified in the critical military skills for which the bonuses were offered; and "(2) describing the intentions of the Secretary regarding the continued use of the bonus authority during the current and next fiscal years. "(i) TERMINATION OF BoNtis AUTHORITY.—No bonus may be paid under this section with respect to any reenlistment, or voluntary extension of an enlistment, in the armed forces entered into after December 31, 2001, and no agreement under this section may be entered into after that date.". (2) The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter is amended by adding at the end the following new item: "323. Special pay: retention incentives for members qualified in a critical military skill.". (b) EFFECTIVE DATE. —Section 323 of title 10, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall take effect on October 1, 2000.
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