Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 117.djvu/1518

 PUBLIC LAW 108–136—NOV. 24, 2003

117 STAT. 1499

‘‘(A) The term ‘ECI’ means the Employment Cost Index (wages and salaries, private industry workers) published quarterly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. ‘‘(B) The term ‘base quarter’ for any year is the threemonth period ending on September 30 of such year.’’; and (4) by adding at the end the following new subsection: ‘‘(e) PRESIDENTIAL DETERMINATION OF NEED FOR ALTERNATIVE PAY ADJUSTMENT.—(1) If, because of national emergency or serious economic conditions affecting the general welfare, the President considers the pay adjustment which would otherwise be required by this section in any year to be inappropriate, the President shall prepare and transmit to Congress before September 1 of the preceding year a plan for such alternative pay adjustments as the President considers appropriate, together with the reasons therefor. ‘‘(2) In evaluating an economic condition affecting the general welfare under this subsection, the President shall consider pertinent economic measures including the Indexes of Leading Economic Indicators, the Gross Domestic Product, the unemployment rate, the budget deficit, the Consumer Price Index, the Producer Price Index, the Employment Cost Index, and the Implicit Price Deflator for Personal Consumption Expenditures. ‘‘(3) The President shall include in the plan submitted to Congress under paragraph (1) an assessment of the impact that the alternative pay adjustments proposed in the plan would have on the Government’s ability to recruit and retain well-qualified persons for the uniformed services.’’. SEC. 603. COMPUTATION OF BASIC PAY RATE FOR COMMISSIONED OFFICERS WITH PRIOR ENLISTED OR WARRANT OFFICER SERVICE.

Section 203(d)(2) of title 37, United States Code, is amended— (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘enlisted member,’’ and all that follows through the period and inserting ‘‘enlisted member.’’; and (2) by striking subparagraph (B) and inserting the following new subparagraph: ‘‘(B) Service as a warrant officer, as an enlisted member, or as a warrant officer and an enlisted member, for which at least 1,460 points have been credited to the officer for the purposes of section 12732(a)(2) of title 10.’’. SEC. 604. SPECIAL SUBSISTENCE ALLOWANCE AUTHORITIES FOR MEMBERS ASSIGNED TO HIGH-COST DUTY LOCATION OR UNDER OTHER UNIQUE AND UNUSUAL CIRCUMSTANCES.

Section 402 of title 37, United States Code, is amended— (1) by redesignating subsections (f) and (g) as subsections (g) and (h), respectively; and (2) by inserting after subsection (e) the following new subsection: ‘‘(f) SPECIAL RULE FOR HIGH-COST DUTY LOCATIONS AND OTHER UNIQUE AND UNUSUAL CIRCUMSTANCES.—The Secretary of Defense may authorize a member of the armed forces who is not entitled to the meals portion of the per diem in connection with an assignment in a high-cost duty location or under other unique and unusual circumstances, as determined by the Secretary, to receive any or all of the following:

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