Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 56 Part 1.djvu/173

 56 STAT.] 77TrH CONG., 2D SESS.-CH. 106- -MAR. 7, 1942 such person. Except as provided in section 6 of this Act, in the case of a person in the hands of an enemy or interned in a neutral country, payment of allotments may not continue beyond the twelve months' period following the officially reported date of commencement of absence from his post of duty. SEC. 5. Upon the expiration of twelve months from the date the person is reported as missing, or missing in action, in the absence of an official report of death of the missing person, the head of the department concerned is authorized to make a finding of death of such person. Following a finding of death, the six months' death gratuity provided by law is authorized to be paid. In the event of the later return of such missing person to the controllable jurisdiction of the head of the department concerned, the pay account of such person shall be reopened and charged with the amount of the six months' death gratuity which may have been paid: Provided, That the head of the department concerned in his discretion shall determine a monthly basis for liquidation of the amount of the death gratuity so charged in a reopened pay account. SEC. 6. When it is officially reported by the head of the department concerned that a person missing under the conditions specified in section 2 of this Act is alive and in the hands of an enemy or is interned in a neutral country, the payments authorized by section 3 of this Act are, subject to the provisions of section 2 of this Act, authorized to be made for a period not to extend beyond the date of the receipt by the head of the department concerned of evidence that the missing person is dead or has returned to the controllable juris- diction of the department concerned. SEC. 7. The head of the department concerned is hereby authorized to direct the payment of new allotments from the pay of persons in active service (other than persons entitled under section 2 or section 14 of this Act to receive pay and allowances) to increase or decrease the amount of any allotment heretofore or hereafter made by such persons and to continue payment of any allotments of such person which may have expired in November 1941 and any month subsequent thereto, with or without the consent of such person, subject in all cases to termination by specific request of such persons, whenever in the judgment of the head of the department such action is considered essential for the well-being and protection of dependents of persons in active service. SEc. 8. Whoever shall obtain or receive any money, check, or allot- ment under this Act, without being entitled thereto, with intent to defraud shall be punished by a fine of not more than $2,000 or by imprisonment for not more than one year, or both. SEC. 9. Within the scope of the authority granted by this Act, the determination by the head of the department concerned, or by such person as he may designate, of the status of a person in the military or naval forces, the Coast Guard, the Coast and Geodetic Survey, the Public Health Service, or civilian officers or employees as defined in paragraph (a) (3) of section 1 of this Act, or his direction relative to continuance, temporary suspension, or resumption of payment of pay and allowances, or finding of death, shall be conclusive. SEC. 10. The determination of the fact of dependency under the provisions of this Act, and the determination of the fact of depend- ency under the provisions of any and all other laws providing for the payment of pay, allowances, or other emoluments to enlisted men of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard of the United States where such payments are contingent upon dependency, shall be made by the head of the department concerned, or by such subor- dinate as he may designate, and such determination so made shall 65714°--43 -T. --- 10 145 Post, p. 1093. Finding of death at expiration of period. Post, p. 1093. Death gratuity. Action in event of later return. Proviso. When person re- ported in enemy hands or interned. Post, p. 1093. New allotments. Increases or de- creases. Expired allotments. Fraud. Determination of status of person; di- rection relative to pay- ments. Determination of dependency.

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