37 U.S.C. § 1007 Deductions From Pay

• Library: United States Statutes
• Edition: 2023
• Currency: Current through P.L. 118-34 (published on www.congress.gov on 12/26/2023), except for [P. L. 118-31]
• Year: 2023
• Citation: 37 U.S.C. § 1007

(a) The pay of an officer of an armed force may be withheld, under section 5512 of title 5, only for an indebtedness to the United States admitted by the officer or shown by the judgment of a court, or upon a special order issued in the discretion of the Secretary of Defense (or the Secretary of Homeland Security, in the case of an officer of the Coast Guard when the Coast Guard is not operating as a service in the Navy), or upon the denial of relief of an officer pursuant to section 3527 of title 31.

(b) An amount due to the United States from an enlisted member of the Army, the Air Force, or the Space Force for articles sold to the member on credit under section 4621(a)(1) or 9621(a)(1) of title 10, as the case may be, shall be deducted from the next pay due the member after the sale is reported.

(c)

(1) Under regulations prescribed by the Secretary concerned, an amount that a member of the uniformed services is administratively determined to owe the United States or any of its instrumentalities may be deducted from the member's pay in monthly installments.

(2) After the deduction of pay forfeited by the sentence of a court-martial, if any, or otherwise authorized by law to be withheld, the deductions authorized by this section may not reduce the pay actually received by a member of the uniformed services for any month to less than one-third of the member's pay for that month.

(3)

(A) If the indebtedness of a member of the uniformed services to the United States is due to the overpayment of pay or allowances to the member through no fault of the member, the amount of the overpayment shall be recovered in monthly installments. The amount deducted from the pay of the member for a month to recover the overpayment amount may not exceed 15 percent of the member's pay for that month unless the member requests or consents to collection of the overpayment at an accelerated rate.

(B) In all cases described in subparagraph (A), the Secretary concerned shall provide a reasonable opportunity for the member to request a delay in the imposition of the repayment requirement to recover the indebtedness. Before beginning collection efforts, the Secretary concerned shall consider the reasons provided by the member for the requested delay, including the financial ability of the member to repay the indebtedness, and the hardship that immediate collection would impose on the member and the member's dependents.

(C)

(i) In accordance with clause (ii), if the indebtedness of a member of the uniformed services to the United States occurs, through no fault of the member, as a result of the overpayment of pay or allowances to the member or upon the settlement of the member's accounts, the Secretary concerned may not recover the indebtedness from the member, including a retired or former member, using deductions from the pay of the member, deductions from retired or separation pay, or any other collection method unless recovery of the indebtedness commences before the end of the 10-year period beginning on the date on which the indebtedness was incurred.

(ii) Clause (i) applies with respect to indebtedness incurred on or after the date of the enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017.

(D)

(i) Not later than January 1 of each of 2017 through 2027, the Director of the Defense Finance and Accounting Service shall review all cases occurring during the 10-year period prior to the date of the review of indebtedness of a member of the uniformed services, including a retired or former member, to the United States in which-

(I) the recovery of the indebtedness commenced after the end of the 10-year period beginning on the date on which the indebtedness was incurred; or

(II) the Director did not otherwise notify the member of such indebtedness during such 10-year period.

(ii) The Director shall submit to the congressional defense committees and the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Senate each review conducted under clause (i), including the amounts owed to the United States by the members included in such review.

(4)

(A) If a member of the uniformed services, through no fault of the member, incurs a wound, injury, or illness while in the line of duty in a combat operation or combat zone designated by the President or the Secretary of Defense, any overpayment of pay or allowances made to the member while the member recovers from the wound, injury, or illness may not be deducted from the member's pay until-