CONSOLIDATION AND MODIFICATION OF BONUSES FOR AFFILIATION OR ENLISTMENT IN THE SELECTED RESERVE.

SEC. 631. CONSOLIDATION AND MODIFICATION OF BONUSES FOR AFFILIATION OR ENLISTMENT IN THE SELECTED RESERVE.(a) Consolidation and Modification of Bonuses.—Section 308c of title 37, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:“§ 308c. Special pay: bonus for affiliation or enlistment in the Selected Reserve“(a) Affiliation Bonus Authorized.—The Secretary concerned may pay an affiliation bonus to an enlisted member of an armed force who—“(1) has completed fewer than 20 years of military service; and“(2) executes a written agreement to serve in the Selected Reserve of the Ready Reserve of an armed force for a period of not less than three years in a skill, unit, or pay grade designated under subsection (b) after being discharged or released from active duty under honorable conditions.“(b) Designation of Skills, Units, and Pay Grades.—The Secretary concerned shall designate the skills, units, and pay grades for which an affiliation bonus may be paid under subsection (a). Any skill, unit, or pay grade so designated shall be a skill, unit, or pay grade for which there is a critical need for personnel in the Selected Reserve of the Ready Reserve of an armed force, as determined by the Secretary concerned. The Secretary concerned shall establish other requirements to ensure that members accepted for affiliation meet required performance and discipline standards.“(c) Accession Bonus Authorized.—The Secretary concerned may pay an accession bonus to a person who—“(1) has not previously served in the armed forces; and“(2) executes a written agreement to serve as an enlisted member in the Selected Reserve of the Ready Reserve of an armed force for a period of not less than three years upon acceptance of the agreement by the Secretary concerned.“(d) Limitation on Amount of Bonus.—The amount of a bonus under subsection (a) or (c) may not exceed $20,000.“(e) Payment Method.—Upon acceptance of a written agreement by the Secretary concerned, the total amount of the bonus payable under the agreement becomes fixed. The agreement shall specify whether the bonus shall be paid by the Secretary concerned in a lump sum or in installments.“(f) Continued Entitlement to Bonus Payments.—A member entitled to a bonus under this section who is called or ordered to active duty shall be paid, during that period of active duty, any amount of the bonus that becomes payable to the member during that period of active duty.“(g) Repayment.—(1) A person who enters into an agreement under subsection (a) or (c) and receives all or part of the bonus under the agreement, but who does not commence to serve in the Selected Reserve or does not satisfactorily participate in the Selected Reserve for the total period of service specified in the agreement, shall repay to the United States the amount of the bonus so paid, except as otherwise prescribed under paragraph (2).119 STAT. 3299“(2) The Secretary concerned shall prescribe in regulations whether repayment of an amount otherwise required under paragraph (1) shall be made in whole or in part, the method for computing the amount of such repayment, and any conditions under which an exception to required repayment would apply.“(3) An obligation to repay the United States imposed under paragraph (1) is for all purposes a debt owed to the United States. A discharge in bankruptcy under title 11 that is entered less than five years after the termination of an agreement entered into under subsection (a) or (c) does not discharge the individual signing the agreement from a debt arising under such agreement or under paragraph (1).“(h) Regulations.—This section shall be administered under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense for the armed forces under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Defense and by the Secretary of Homeland Security for the Coast Guard when it is not operating as a service in the Navy.“(i) Termination of Bonus Authority.—No bonus may be paid under this section with respect to any agreement entered into under subsection (a) or (c) after December 31, 2006.” .(b) Repeal of Superseded Affiliation Bonus Authority.—Section 308e of such title is repealed.(c) Clerical Amendments.—The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 5 of such title is amended—(1) by striking the item relating to section 308c and inserting the following new item: “308c. Special pay: bonus for affiliation or enlistment in the Selected Reserve.”; and(2) by striking the item relating to section 308e.