S.Amdt. 2821

SA 2821. Mr. CHAMBLISS submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill H.R. 1585, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2008 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the end of subtitle C of title IX, add the following:

SEC. 937. PHYSICIANS AND HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS COMPARABILITY ALLOWANCES.

(a) In General.--Chapter 81 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

“Sec. 1599. Physicians and health care professionals

comparability allowances

“(a) Authority To Provide Allowances.--(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, and in order to recruit and retain highly qualified Department of Defense physicians and Department of Defense health care professionals, the Secretary of Defense may, subject to the provisions of this section, enter into a service agreement with a Department of Defense physician or a Department of Defense health care professional which provides for such physician or health care professional to complete a specified period of service in the Department of Defense in return for an allowance for the duration of such agreement in an amount to be determined by the Secretary and specified in the agreement, but not to exceed--“(A) in the case of a Department of Defense physician--“(i) $25,000 per annum if, at the time the agreement is entered into, the Department of Defense physician has served as a Department of Defense physician for 24 months or less; or “(ii) $40,000 per annum if the Department of Defense physician has served as a Department of Defense physician for more than 24 months; and “(B) in the case of a Department of Defense health care professional--“(i) an amount up to $5,000 per annum if, at the time the agreement is entered into, the Department of Defense health care professional has served as a Department of Defense health care professional for less than 10 years; “(ii) an amount up to $10,000 per annum if, at the time the agreement is entered into, the Department of Defense health care professional has served as a Department of Defense health care professional for at least 10 years but less than 18 years; or “(iii) an amount up to $15,000 per annum if, at the time the agreement is entered into, the Department of Defense health care professional has served as a Department of Defense health care professional for 18 years or more. “(2)(A) For the purpose of determining length of service as a Department of Defense physician, service as a physician under section 4104 or 4114 of title 38 or active service as a medical officer in the commissioned corps of the Public Health Service under Title II of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 202 et seq.) shall be deemed service as a Department of Defense physician. “(B) For the purpose of determining length of service as a Department of Defense health care professional, service as a nonphysician health care provider, psychologist, or social worker while serving as an officer described under section 302c(d)(1) of title 37 shall be deemed service as a Department of Defense health care professional. “(b) Certain Physicians and Professionals Ineligible.--An allowance may not be paid under this section to any physician or health care professional who--“(1) is employed on less than a half-time or intermittent basis; “(2) occupies an internship or residency training position; or “(3) is fulfilling a scholarship obligation. “(c) Covered Categories of Positions.--The Secretary of Defense shall determine categories of positions applicable to physicians and health care professionals within the Department of Defense with respect to which there is a significant recruitment and retention problem for purposes of this section. Only physicians and health care professionals serving in such positions shall be eligible for an allowance under this section. The amounts of each such allowance shall be determined by the Secretary, and shall be the minimum amount necessary to deal with the recruitment and retention problem for each such category of physicians and health care professionals. “(d) Period of Service.--Any agreement entered into by a physician or health care professional under this section shall be for a period of one year of service in the Department of Defense unless the physician or health care professional requests an agreement for a longer period of service. “(e) Repayment.--Unless otherwise provided for in the agreement under subsection (f), an agreement under this section shall provide that the physician or health care professional, in the event that such physician or health care professional voluntarily, or because of misconduct, fails to complete at least one year of service under such agreement, shall be required to refund the total amount received under this section unless the Secretary of Defense determines that such failure is necessitated by circumstances beyond the control of the physician or health care professional. “(f) Termination of Agreement.--Any agreement under this section shall specify the terms under which the Secretary of Defense and the physician or health care professional may elect to terminate such agreement, and the amounts, if any, required to be refunded by the physician or health care professional for each reason for termination. “(g) Construction With Other Authorities.--(1) An allowance paid under this section shall not be considered as basic pay for the purposes of subchapter VI and section 5595 of chapter 55 of title 5, chapter 81 or 87 of title 5, or other benefits related to basic pay. “(2) Any allowance under this section for a Department of Defense physician or Department of Defense health care professional shall be paid in the same manner and at the same time as the basic pay of the physician or health care professional is paid. “(h) Annual Report.--Not later than June 30 each year, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to Congress a written report on the operation of this section during the preceding year. Each report shall include, with respect to the year covered by such report, information as to--“(1) the nature and extent of the recruitment or retention problems justifying the use by the Department of Defense of the authority under this section; “(2) the number of physicians and health care professionals with whom agreements were entered into by the Department of Defense; “(3) the size of the allowances and the duration of the agreements entered into; and “(4) the degree to which the recruitment or retention problems referred to in paragraph (1) were alleviated under this section. “(i) Definitions.--In this section: “(1) The term ‘Department of Defense health care professional' means any individual employed by the Department of Defense who is a qualified health care professional employed as a health care professional and paid under any provision of law specified in subparagraphs (A) through (G) of paragraph (2). “(2) The term ‘Department of Defense physician' means any individual employed by the Department of Defense as a physician or dentist who is paid under a provision or provisions of law as follows: “(A) Section 5332 of title 5, relating to the General Schedule.

“(B) Subchapter VIII of chapter 53 of title 5, relating to the Senior Executive Service. “(C) Section 5371 of title 5, relating to certain health care positions. “(D) Section 5376 of title 5, relating to certain senior-level positions. “(E) Section 5377 of title 5, relating to critical positions. “(F) Subchapter IX of chapter 53 of title 5, relating to special occupational pay systems. “(G) Section 9902 of title 5, relating to the National Security Personnel System. “(3) The term ‘qualified health care professional' means any individual who is--“(A) a psychologist who meets the Office of Personnel Management Qualification Standards for the Occupational Series of Psychologist as required by the position to be filled; “(B) a nurse who meets the applicable Office of Personnel Management Qualification Standards for the Occupational Series of Nurse as required by the position to be filled; “(C) a nurse anesthetist who meets the applicable Office of Personnel Management Qualification Standards for the Occupational Series of Nurse as required by the position to be filled; “(D) a physician assistant who meets the applicable Office of Personnel Management Qualification Standards for the Occupational Series of Physician Assistant as required by the position to be filled; “(E) a social worker who meets the applicable Office of Personnel Management Qualification Standards for the Occupational Series of Social Worker as required by the position to be filled; or “(F) any other health care professional designated by the Secretary of Defense for purposes of this section.”. (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 81 of such title is amended by adding at the end the following new item:

“1599e. Physicians and health care professionals comparability allowances.”.