§ 2130a — Financial Assistance: Nurse Officer Candidates

(1) A person described in subsection (b) who, during the period beginning on November 29, 1989, and ending on December 31, 2025, executes a written agreement in accordance with subsection (c) to accept an appointment as a nurse officer may, upon the acceptance of the agreement by the Secretary concerned, be paid an accession bonus of not more than $40,000. The bonus shall be paid in periodic installments, as determined by the Secretary concerned at the time the agreement is accepted, except that the first installment may not exceed $20,000. (2) In addition to the accession bonus payable under paragraph (1), a person selected under such paragraph shall be entitled to a monthly stipend in an amount not to exceed the stipend rate in effect under section 2121(d) of this title for each month the individual is enrolled as a full-time student in an accredited baccalaureate degree program in nursing at a civilian educational institution by the Secretary selecting the person. The continuation bonus may be paid for not more than 24 months. (b) A person eligible to enter into an agreement under subsection (a) is a person who— (1) is enrolled as a full-time student in an accredited baccalaureate degree program in nursing at a civilian educational institution that does not have a Senior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program established under section 2102 of this title by the Secretary selecting the person or that has a Senior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program for which the student is ineligible; (2) has completed the second year of an accredited baccalaureate degree program in nursing and has more than 6 months of academic work remaining before graduation; and (3) meets the qualifications for appointment as an officer of a reserve component of the Army, Navy, or Air Force as set forth in section 12201 of this title or, in the case of the Public Health Service, section 207 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 209) and the regulations of the Secretary concerned. (c) The agreement referred to in subsection (a) shall provide that the person executing the agreement agrees to the following: (1) That the person will complete the nursing degree program described in subsection (b)(1). (2) That, upon acceptance of the agreement by the Secretary concerned, the person will enlist in a reserve component of an armed force. (3) That the person will accept an appointment as an officer in the Nurse Corps of the Army or the Navy or as an officer designated as a nurse officer in the Air Force or commissioned corps of the Public Health Service, as the case may be, upon graduation from the nursing degree program. (4) That the person will serve on active duty as such an officer— (A) for a period of 4 years in the case of a person whose agreement was accepted by the Secretary concerned during that person’s fourth year of the nursing degree program; or (B) for a period of 5 years in the case of a person whose agreement was accepted by the Secretary concerned during that person’s third year of the nursing degree program. (d) A person who does not complete a nursing degree program in which the person is enrolled in accordance with the agreement entered into under subsection (a), or having completed the nursing degree program, does not become an officer in the Nurse Corps of the Army or the Navy or an officer designated as a nurse officer of the Air Force or commissioned corps of the Public Health Service or does not complete the period of obligated active service required under the agreement, shall be subject to the repayment provisions of section 303a(e) or 373 of title 37. (e) The Secretaries concerned shall prescribe regulations to carry out this section.