§ 481l. Travel and transportation allowances: attendance of members and other persons at Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program events

(a) Allowances Authorized.—

(1) Under uniform regulations prescribed by the Secretaries concerned, a member of the uniformed services authorized to attend a Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program event may be provided travel and transportation allowances in order that the member may attend a Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program event.

(2) Under uniform regulations prescribed by the Secretaries concerned, travel and transportation allowances may be provided for a person designated pursuant to subsection (b) in order for the person to accompany a member in attending a Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program event if the Secretary concerned determines that the presence of the person at the event may contribute to the purposes of the event for the member.

(b) Designation of Persons Eligible for Allowance.— A member of the uniformed services who is eligible to attend a Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program event may designate one or more persons, including another member of the uniformed services, for purposes of receiving travel and transportation allowances described in subsection (c) to attend a Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program event. The designation of a person for purposes of this section shall be made in writing and may be changed at any time.

(c) Authorized Travel and Transportation.—

(1) The transportation authorized by subsection (a) is round-trip transportation between the home or place of business of the authorized person and the location of the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program event.

(2) In addition to transportation under paragraph (1), the Secretary concerned may provide a per diem allowance or reimbursement for the actual and necessary expenses of the travel, or a combination thereof, but not to exceed the rates established under section 474(d) of this title.

(3) The transportation authorized by paragraph (1) may be provided by any of the following means:

(A) Transportation in-kind.

(B) A monetary allowance in place of transportation in-kind at a rate to be prescribed by the Secretaries concerned.

(C) Reimbursement for the commercial cost of transportation.

(4) An allowance payable under this subsection may be paid in advance.

(5) Reimbursement payable under this subsection may not exceed the cost of Government-procured commercial round-trip air travel.

(d) Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program Event Defined.— In this section, the term “Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program event” means an event authorized under section 582 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 (Public Law 110–181; 10 U.S.C. 10101 note).

(e) Termination.— No transportation, allowance, reimbursement, or per diem may be provided under this section for travel that begins after the travel authorities transition expiration date.

(Added Pub. L. 111–383, div. A, title VI, § 622(a)(1), Jan. 7, 2011, 124 Stat. 4238, § 411l; renumbered § 481l and amended Pub. L. 112–81, div. A, title VI, § 631(d)(2), (e)(25), (f)(4)(A), Dec. 31, 2011, 125 Stat. 1460, 1464, 1465; Pub. L. 112–239, div. A, title X, § 1076(a)(9), Jan. 2, 2013, 126 Stat. 1948.)

Amendments

Amendments

2013—Subsec. (c)(2). Pub. L. 112–239, § 1076(a)(9), made technical amendment to directory language of Pub. L. 112–81, § 631(f)(4)(A). See 2011 Amendment note below.

2011—Pub. L. 112–81, § 631(d)(2), renumbered section 411l of this title as this section.

Subsec. (c)(2). Pub. L. 112–81, § 631(f)(4)(A), as amended by Pub. L. 112–239, § 1076(a)(9), substituted “474” for “404”.

Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 112–81, § 631(e)(25), added subsec. (e).

Effective Date Of Amendment

Effective Date of 2013 Amendment

Pub. L. 112–239, div. A, title X, § 1076(a), Jan. 2, 2013, 126 Stat. 1947, provided that the amendment made by section 1076(a)(9) is effective Dec. 31, 2011, and as if included in Pub. L. 112–81 as enacted.

Effective Date

Effective Date

Pub. L. 111–383, div. A, title VI, § 622(b), Jan. 7, 2011, 124 Stat. 4239, as amended by Pub. L. 112–81, div. A, title VI, § 631(f)(4)(B), Dec. 31, 2011, 125 Stat. 1465; Pub. L. 112–239, div. A, title X, § 1076(a)(9), Jan. 2, 2013, 126 Stat. 1948, provided that: “No reimbursement may be provided under section 481l of title 37, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), for travel and transportation costs incurred before September 30, 2010.”