TRANSITIONAL COMPENSATION AND OTHER BENEFITS FOR DEPENDENTS OF MEMBERS SEPARATED FOR DEPENDENT ABUSE.

SEC. 535. TRANSITIONAL COMPENSATION AND OTHER BENEFITS FOR DEPENDENTS OF MEMBERS SEPARATED FOR DEPENDENT ABUSE. (a) Earlier Commencement of Payments.— Subsection (e) of section 1059 of title 10, United States Code, as redesignated by section 1070(a)(5) of this Act, is amended to read as follows: “(e) Commencement and Duration of Payment.— (1) Payment of transitional compensation under this section— “(A) in the case of a member convicted by a court-martial for a dependent-abuse offense, shall commence as of the date of the approval of the court-martial sentence by the person acting under section 860(c) of this title (article 60(c) of the Uniform Code of Military Justice) if the sentence, as approved, includes a dismissal, dishonorable discharge, bad conduct discharge, or forfeiture of all pay and allowances; and “(B) in the case of a member being considered under applicable regulations for administrative separation from active duty in accordance with such regulations (if the basis for the separation includes a dependent-abuse offense), shall commence as of the date on which the separation action is initiated by a commander of the member pursuant to such regulations, as determined by the Secretary concerned. “(2) Transitional compensation with respect to a member shall be paid for a period of 36 months, except that, if as of the date on which payment of transitional compensation commences the unserved portion of the member’s period of obligated active duty service is less than 36 months, the period for which transitional compensation is paid shall be equal to the greater of— “(A) the unserved portion of the member’s period of obligated active duty service; or “(B) 12 months. 108 STAT. 2763 “(3) (A) If a member is sentenced by a court-martial to receive punishment that includes a dismissal, dishonorable discharge, bad conduct discharge, or forfeiture of all pay and allowances as a result of a conviction by a court-martial for a dependent-abuse offense and each such punishment applicable to the member under the sentence is remitted, set aside, or mitigated to a lesser punishment that does not include any such punishment, any payment of transitional compensation that has commenced under this section on the basis of such sentence in that case shall cease. “(B) If administrative separation of a member from active duty is proposed on a basis that includes a dependent-abuse offense and the proposed administrative separation is disapproved by competent authority under applicable regulations, payment of transitional compensation in such case shall cease. “(C) Cessation of payments under subparagraph (A) or (B) shall be effective as of the first day of the first month following the month in which the Secretary concerned notifies the recipient of such transitional compensation in writing that payment of the transitional compensation will cease. The recipient may not be required to repay amounts of transitional compensation received before that effective date (except to the extent necessary to recoup any amount that was erroneous when paid).”. (b) Commissary and Exchange Benefits.— Such section is further amended— (1) by redesignating subsections (j) and (k) as subsections (k) and (1), respectively; and (2) by inserting after subsection (i) the following new subsection (j): “(j) Commissary and Exchange Benefits.— (1) A dependent or former dependent entitled to payment of monthly transitional compensation under this section shall, while receiving payments in accordance with this section, be entitled to use commissary and exchange stores to the same extent and in the same manner as a dependent of a member of the armed forces on active duty for a period of more than 30 days. “(2) If a dependent or former dependent eligible or entitled to use commissary and exchange stores under paragraph (1) is eligible or entitled to use commissary and exchange stores under another provision of law, the eligibility or entitlement of that dependent or former dependent to use commissary and exchange stores shall be determined under such other provision of law rather than under paragraph (1).”. (c) Conforming Amendments.— (1) The heading of such section is amended to read as follows: “§ 1059. Dependents of members separated for dependent abuse: transitional compensation; commissary and exchange benefits”. (2) The item relating to such section in the table of sections at the beginning of chapter 53 of such title is amended to read as follows: “1059. Dependents of members separated for dependent abuse: transitional compensation; commissary and exchange benefits.”.