12 2 STA T . 1 7 7 PUBLIC LA W 11 0– 1 8 1 —J A N .28 , 2008 expos e dt o ah ost il e f i r ee v e n t , as des c ri b ed u nder section 351 of this title, and is hospitali z ed for treat m ent of the w ound, in j ur y , or illness, the S ecretary concerned may continue to pay to the member, notwithstandin g any provision of this chapter to the con - trary, all pay and allowances ( including any bonus, incentive pay, or similar benefit ) that were being paid to the member at the time the member incurred the wound, injury, or illness .‘ ‘(b) DURATION . —T he payment of pay and allowances to a member under subsection (a) may continue until the end of the first month beginning after the earliest of the following dates
‘‘(1) The date on which the member is returned for assign- ment to other than a medical or patient unit for duty. ‘‘( 2 ) O ne year after the date on which the member is first hospitalized for the treatment of the wound, injury, or illness, except that the Secretary concerned may extend the termination date in six-month increments. ‘‘(3) The date on which the member is discharged, sepa- rated, or retired (including temporary disability retirement) from the uniformed services. ‘‘(c) B ONU S , I N CE NTI V E P A Y ,ORSI M I L AR BENE F IT DEFINE D .— In this section, the term ‘bonus, incentive pay, or similar benefit ’ means a bonus, incentive pay, special pay, or similar payment paid to a member of the uniformed services under this title or title 1 0 . ‘ ‘ §37 3 .Repaym e ntofu nea r ne d port i on of b onu s, in c enti v e pay, or simi l ar benefit wh en conditions of pay - ment not met ‘‘(a) R E P AYMENT.— E xcept as provided in subsection (b), a member of the uniformed services who is paid a bonus, incentive pay, or similar benefit, the receipt of which is contingent upon the member’s satisfaction of certain service or eligibility re q uire- ments, shall repay to the U nited States any unearned portion of the bonus, incentive pay, or similar benefit if the member fails to satisfy any such service or eligibility requirement. ‘‘(b) E X CEPTIONS.—The regulations prescribed to administer this section may specify procedures for determining the circumstances under which an exception to the required repayment may be granted. ‘‘(c) EFFECT OF BAN K RUPTCY.— A n obligation to repay the United States under this section is, for all purposes, a debt owed the United States. A discharge in ban k ruptcy under title 11 does not discharge a person from such debt if the discharge order is entered less than five years after— ‘‘(1) the date of the termination of the agreement or contract on which the debt is based
or ‘‘(2) in the absence of such an agreement or contract, the date of the termination of the service on which the debt is based. ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: ‘‘(1) The term ‘bonus, incentive pay, or similar benefit’ means a bonus, incentive pay, special pay, or similar payment, or an educational benefit or stipend, paid to a member of the uniformed services under a provision of law that refers to the repayment requirements of this section or section 303a(e) of this title.
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