Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 92 Part 3.djvu/386

 92 STAT. 3018

PUBLIC LAW 95-603—NOV. 6, 1978

Public Law 95-603 95th Congress An Act Nov. 6, 1978 [S. 990]

Federal Physicians Comparability Allowance Act of 1978. 5 USC 5948 note. 5 USC 5948.

To amend title 5, United States Code, to provide special allowances to certain physicians employed by the United States in order to enhance the recruitment and retention of such physicians.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act may be cited as the "Federal Physicians Comparability Allowance Act of 1978". SEC. 2. (a) Subchapter IV of chapter 59 of title 5, United States Code, relating to allowances, is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new section: "§ 5948. Physicians comparability allowances "(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, and in order to recruit and retain highly qualified Government physicians, the head of an agency, subject to the provisions of this section and such regulations as the President or his designee may prescribe, may enter into a service agreement with a Government physician which provides for such physician to complete a specified period of service in such agency in return for an allowance for the duration of such agreement in an amount to be determined by the agency head and specified in the agreement, but not to exceed— "(1) $7,000 per annum if, at the time the agreement is entered into, the Government physician has served as a Government physician for twenty-four months or less, or "(2) $10,000 per annum if the Government physician has served as a Government physician for more than twenty-four months. "(b) An allowance may not be paid pursuant to this section to any physician who— "(1) is employed on less than a half-time or intermittent basis, "(2) occupies an internship or residency training position, " (3) is a reemployed annuitant, or "(4) is fulfilling a scholarship obligation. "(c) The head of an agency, pursuant to such regulations, criteria, and conditions as the President or his designee may prescribe, shall determine categories of positions applicable to physicians in such agency with respect to which there is a significant recruitment and retention problem. Only physicians serving in such positions shall be eligible for an allowance pursuant to this section. The amounts of each such allowance shall be determined by the agency head, subject to such regulations, criteria, and conditions as the President or his designee may prescribe, and shall be the minimum amount necessary to deal with the recruitment and retention problem for each such category of physicians. "(d) Any agreement entered into by a physician under this section shall be for a period of one year of service in the agency involved unless the physician requests an agreement for a longer period of service. No agreement shall be entered into under this section later than September 30, 1979, nor shall any agreement cover a period of service extending beyond September 30, 1981.

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