PERMANENT EXTENSION OF SCIENCE, MATHEMATICS, AND RESEARCH FOR TRANSFORMATION (SMART) DEFENSE EDUCATION PROGRAM.

SEC. 1104. PERMANENT EXTENSION OF SCIENCE, MATHEMATICS, AND RESEARCH FOR TRANSFORMATION (SMART) DEFENSE EDUCATION PROGRAM.(a) Permanent Extension.—Section 1105 of the Ronald W. Reagan National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005 (Public Law 108–375; 118 Stat. 2074; 10 U.S.C. 2192 note) is amended—(1) by striking “pilot” each place it appears in the section and subsection headings and the text;(2) in subsection (a)—(A) by striking “(1)”; and(B) by striking paragraph (2); (3) in subsection (b)—(A) by striking “(b)” and all that follows through “a scholarship” and inserting “(b) Financial Assistance.—(1) Under the program under this section, the Secretary of Defense may award a scholarship or fellowship”;(B) in paragraph (1)(B)—(i) by striking “undergraduate” and inserting “associates degree, undergraduate degree,”; and(ii) by inserting “accredited” before “institution of higher education”; (C) in paragraph (2)—(i) by inserting “or fellowship” after “scholarship”;(ii) by inserting “equipment expenses,” after “laboratory expenses,”; and(iii) by striking the second sentence; and(D) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:“(3) Financial assistance provided under a scholarship or fellowship awarded under this section may be paid directly to the recipient of such scholarship or fellowship or to an administering entity for disbursement of the funds.”; and(4) in subsection (c)—(A) in the heading, by inserting “Financial” before “Assistance”(B) in paragraph (2)—(i) by striking “a scholarship” and inserting “financial assistance”;(ii) by striking “the financial assistance provided under the scholarship” and inserting “such financial assistance”; and(iii) by striking the second sentence and inserting the following: “Except as provided in subsection (d), the period of service required of a recipient may not be less than the total period of pursuit of a degree that is covered by such financial assistance.”.(b) Employment of Program Participants.—Such section is further amended—(1) by striking subsection (g);(2) by redesignating subsections (d), (e), and (f) as subsections (e), (f), and (g), respectively; and119 STAT. 3449(3) by inserting after subsection (c) the following new subsection (d):“(d) Employment of Program Participants.—(1) The Secretary of Defense may—“(A) appoint or retain a person participating in the program under this section in a position on an interim basis during the period of such person’s pursuit of a degree under the program and for a period not to exceed 2 years after completion of the degree, but only if, in the case of the period after completion of the degree—“(i) there is no readily available appropriate permanent position for such person; and“(ii) there is an active and ongoing effort to identify and assign such person to an appropriate permanent position as soon as practicable; and“(B) if there is no appropriate permanent position available after the end of the periods described in subparagraph (A), separate such person from employment with the Department without regard to any other provision of law, in which event the service agreement of such person under subsection (c) shall terminate.“(2) The period of service of a person covered by paragraph (1) in a position on an interim basis under that paragraph shall, after completion of the degree, be treated as a period of service for purposes of satisfying the obligated service requirements of the person under the service agreement of the person under subsection (c).”.(c) Refund for Period of Unserved Obligated Service.—Paragraph (1) of subsection (e) of such section, as redesignated by subsection (c)(1) of this section, is amended to read as follows:“(1)(A) A participant in the program under this section who is not an employee of the Department of Defense and who voluntarily fails to complete the educational program for which financial assistance has been provided under this section, or fails to maintain satisfactory academic progress as determined in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense, shall refund to the United States an appropriate amount, as determined by the Secretary.“(B) A participant in the program under this section who is an employee of the Department of Defense and who—“(i) voluntarily fails to complete the educational program for which financial assistance has been provided, or fails to maintain satisfactory academic progress as determined in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary; or“(ii) before completion of the period of obligated service required of such participant—“(I) voluntarily terminates such participant’s employment with the Department; or“(II) is removed from such participant’s employment with the Department on the basis of misconduct,shall refund the United States an appropriate amount, as determined by the Secretary.”.(d) Codification.—(1) Amendment to title 10.—Chapter 111 of title 10, United States Code, is amended—(A) by inserting after section 2192 the following:119 STAT. 3450 “§ 2192a. Science, Mathematics, and Research for Transformation (SMART) Defense Education Program” ;and(B) by transferring and inserting the text of section 1105 of the Ronald W. Reagan National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005 (Public Law 108–375; 118 Stat. 2074; 10 U.S.C. 2192 note), as amended by subsections (a), (b), and (c), so as to appear below the section heading for section 2192a, as added by subparagraph (A).(2) Clerical amendment.—The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 2192 the following new item: “2192a. Science, Mathematics, and Research for Transformation (SMART) Defense Education Program.”. (e) Conforming Amendments.—(1) Section 1105 of the Ronald W. Reagan National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005 (Public Law 108–375; 118 Stat. 2074; 10 U.S.C. 2192 note) is repealed. (2) Section 3304(a)(3)(B)(ii) of title 5, United States Code, is amended—(A) by striking “Scholarship Pilot Program” and inserting “Defense Education Program”; and(B) by striking “section 1105” and all that follows through the period and inserting “section 2192a of title 10, United States Code.”.(f) Effect on Current Participants in SMART Pilot Program.—Participation in the Science, Mathematics, and Research for Transformation (SMART) Defense Scholarship Pilot Program under section 1105 of Public Law 108–375 by an individual who has entered into an agreement under that pilot program before the date of the enactment of this Act shall be governed by the terms of such agreement without regard to the amendments made by this section.