2006 US Code
Title 37 - PAY AND ALLOWANCES OF THE UNIFORMED SERVICES
CHAPTER 7 - ALLOWANCES
Sec. 411h - Travel and transportation allowances: transportation of family members incident to illness or injury of members

View Metadata

§411h. Travel and transportation allowances: transportation of family members incident to illness or injury of members

(a)(1) Under uniform regulations prescribed by the Secretaries concerned, travel and transportation described in subsection (c) may be provided for not more than three family members of a member described in paragraph (2) if the attending physician or surgeon and the commander or head of the military medical facility exercising control over the member determine that the presence of the family member may contribute to the member's health and welfare. In circumstances determined to be appropriate by the Secretary concerned, the Secretary may waive the limitation on the number of family members provided travel and transportation under this section.

(2) A member referred to in paragraph (1) is a member of the uniformed services who—

(A) is serving on active duty, is entitled to pay and allowances under section 204(g) of this title (or would be so entitled were it not for offsetting earned income described in that section), or is retired for the illness or injury referred to in subparagraph (B); and

(B) either—

(i) is seriously ill, seriously injured, or in a situation of imminent death (whether or not electrical brain activity still exists or brain death is declared), and is hospitalized in a medical facility in or outside the United States; or

(ii) is not described in clause (i), but has an injury incurred in an operation or area designated as a combat operation or combat zone, respectively, by the Secretary of Defense and is hospitalized in a medical facility in the United States for treatment of that injury.

(3) Not more than one roundtrip may be provided to a family member under paragraph (1) on the basis of clause (ii) of paragraph (2)(B).

(b)(1) In this section, the term “family member”, with respect to a member, means—

(A) the member's spouse;

(B) children of the member (including stepchildren, adopted children, and illegitimate children);

(C) parents of the member or persons in loco parentis to the member, as provided in paragraph (2);

(D) siblings of the member; and

(E) a person related to the member as described in subparagraph (A), (B), (C), or (D) who is also a member of the uniformed services.

(2) Parents of a member or persons in loco parentis to a member include fathers and mothers through adoption and persons who stood in loco parentis to the member for a period not less than one year immediately before the member entered the uniformed service. However, only one father and one mother or their counterparts in loco parentis may be recognized in any one case.

(3) In this section, the term “health and welfare”, with respect to a member, includes a situation in which a decision must be made by family members regarding the termination of artificial life support being provided to the member.

(c)(1) The transportation authorized by subsection (a) is round-trip transportation between the home of the family member and the location of the medical facility in which the member is hospitalized.

(2) In addition to the transportation authorized by subsection (a), the Secretary concerned may provide a per diem allowance or reimbursement for the actual and necessary expenses of the travel, or a combination thereof, but not to exceed the rates established under section 404(d) of this title.

(d)(1) The transportation authorized by subsection (a) may be provided by any of the following means:

(A) Transportation in-kind.

(B) A monetary allowance in place of transportation in-kind at a rate to be prescribed by the Secretaries concerned.

(C) Reimbursement for the commercial cost of transportation.

(2) An allowance payable under this subsection may be paid in advance.

(3) Reimbursement payable under this subsection may not exceed the cost of government-procured commercial round-trip air travel.

(Added Pub. L. 100–180, div. A, title VI, §615(a)(1), Dec. 4, 1987, 101 Stat. 1095; amended Pub. L. 100–456, div. A, title VI, §632(a), Sept. 29, 1988, 102 Stat. 1985; Pub. L. 103–337, div. A, title VI, §624, Oct. 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 2785; Pub. L. 108–136, div. A, title VI, §632, Nov. 24, 2003, 117 Stat. 1508; Pub. L. 108–375, div. A, title VI, §632(a), (b), Oct. 28, 2004, 118 Stat. 1956; Pub. L. 109–13, div. A, title I, §1026(a), (b)(1), May 11, 2005, 119 Stat. 254; Pub. L. 109–163, div. A, title VI, §655(b), Jan. 6, 2006, 119 Stat. 3314; Pub. L. 109–364, div. A, title VI, §631, Oct. 17, 2006, 120 Stat. 2258.)

Amendments

2006—Subsec. (a)(2)(B)(ii). Pub. L. 109–163 struck out “under section 1967(e)(1)(A) of title 38” after “Secretary of Defense”.

Subsec. (b)(1)(E). Pub. L. 109–364 added subpar. (E).

2005—Pub. L. 109–13, §1026(b)(1), amended section catchline generally. Prior to amendment, catchline read as follows: “Travel and transportation allowances: transportation of family members incident to the serious illness or injury of members”.

Subsec. (a)(2)(B), (C). Pub. L. 109–13, §1026(a)(1)(B), added subpar. (B) and struck out former subpars. (B) and (C) which read as follows:

“(B) is seriously ill, seriously injured, or in a situation of imminent death, whether or not electrical brain activity still exists or brain death is declared; and

“(C) is hospitalized in a medical facility in or outside the United States.”

Subsec. (a)(3). Pub. L. 109–13, §1026(a)(2), added par. (3).

2004—Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 108–375, §632(a), (b)(1), inserted “travel and” before “transportation”, substituted “three family members” for “two family members”, and inserted second sentence.

Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 108–375, §632(b)(2), designated existing provisions as par. (1) and added par. (2).

2003—Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 108–136, §632(1), substituted “control” for “military control”.

Subsec. (a)(2)(A). Pub. L. 108–136, §632(2), substituted “, is entitled” for “or is entitled” and inserted before semicolon at end “, or is retired for the illness or injury referred to in subparagraph (B)”.

1994—Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 103–337, §624(a)(1), substituted “may contribute to” for “is necessary for”.

Subsec. (a)(2)(B). Pub. L. 103–337, §624(a)(2), added subpar. (B) and struck out former subpar. (B) which read as follows: “is seriously ill or seriously injured; and”.

Subsec. (b)(3). Pub. L. 103–337, §624(b), added par. (3).

1988—Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 100–456 amended par. (2) generally, inserting “or is entitled to pay and allowances under section 204(g) of this title (or would be so entitled were it not for offsetting earned income described in that section)” in subpar. (A).

Effective Date of 2006 Amendment

Pub. L. 109–163, div. A, title VI, §655(c), Jan. 6, 2006, 119 Stat. 3314, provided that: “The amendments made by this section [amending this section and repealing provisions set out as notes under this section] shall take effect on the earlier of the following:

“(1) The date of the enactment of this Act [Jan. 6, 2006].

“(2) The date specified in section 106(3) of Public Law 109–77 (119 Stat. 2039) [Dec. 31, 2005].”

Effective and Termination Dates of 2005 Amendments

Pub. L. 109–77, §115, Sept. 30, 2005, 119 Stat. 2040, provided that: “The provisions of, and amendments made by, sections 1011, 1012, 1013, 1023, and 1026 of Public Law 109–13 [amending this section, section 1478 of Title 10, Armed Forces, and sections 1967, 1969, 1970, and 1977 of Title 38, Veterans’ Benefits, and enacting provisions set out as notes under this section, section 1478 of Title 10, and section 1967 of Title 38] shall continue in effect, notwithstanding the fiscal year limitation in section 1011 [119 Stat. 244] and the provisions of sections 1012(i), 1013(e), 1023(c), and 1026(e) of that Public Law [enacting provisions set out as notes under this section, section 1478 of Title 10, and section 1967 of Title 38], through the earlier of: (1) the date specified in section 106(3) of this joint resolution [Dec. 31, 2005]; or (2) with respect to any such section of Public Law 109–13, the date of the enactment into law of legislation that supersedes the provisions of, or the amendments made by, that section.”

Pub. L. 109–13, div. A, title I, §1026(e), May 11, 2005, 119 Stat. 255, which provided that the amendments made by section 1026 of Pub. L. 109–13 (amending this section) were to terminate Sept. 30, 2005, and that effective Oct. 1, 2005, the provisions of section 411h of title 37 as in effect on the date before the date of the enactment of this Act (May 11, 2005) were to be revived, was repealed by Pub. L. 109–163, div. A, title VI, §655(a), Jan. 6, 2006, 119 Stat. 3314. See Effective Date of 2006 Amendment note and section 115 of Pub. L. 109–77 set out above.

Effective Date of 2004 Amendment

Pub. L. 108–375, div. A, title VI, §632(c), Oct. 28, 2004, 118 Stat. 1956, provided that: “Section 411h of title 37, United States Code, as amended by this section, shall apply to travel and transportation authorized under such section that is provided on or after October 1, 2004, to family members of a member of the Armed Forces who is ill or injured as described in such section.”

Effective Date of 1988 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 100–456 effective Oct. 1, 1988, see section 632(c) of Pub. L. 100–456, set out as a note under section 411f of this title.

Effective Date

Section 615(b) of Pub. L. 100–180 provided that: “The authority to provide transportation or to pay transportation expenses under section 411h of title 37, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall be effective only with respect to travel that occurs on or after the effective date of regulations prescribed under such section.”

Report on Travel in Excess of Certain Limit

Pub. L. 109–13, div. A, title I, §1026(d), May 11, 2005, 119 Stat. 255, which provided that if in any fiscal year the amount of travel provided in such fiscal year under this section by reason of the amendments made by section 1026 of Pub. L. 109–13 exceeded ,000,000, the Secretary of Defense was to submit to the congressional defense committees a report on that fact, was repealed by Pub. L. 109–163, div. A, title VI, §655(a), Jan. 6, 2006, 119 Stat. 3314.