§ 478a. Travel and transportation allowances: inactive duty training outside of normal commuting distances

• (a) The Secretary concerned may reimburse an eligible member of the Selected Reserve of the Ready Reserve for travel expenses for travel to an inactive duty training location to perform inactive duty training when the member is required to commute a distance from the member’s permanent residence to the inactive duty training location that is outside the normal commuting distance (as determined under the regulations prescribed under subsection (d)) for that commute.
• (b) To be eligible for reimbursement under subsection (a), a member of the Selected Reserve of the Ready Reserve must be—
  • (1) qualified in a skill designated as critically short by the Secretary concerned;
  • (2) assigned to a unit of the Selected Reserve with a critical manpower shortage or in a pay grade in the member’s reserve component with a critical manpower shortage; or
  • (3) assigned to a unit or position that is disestablished or relocated as a result of defense base closure or realignment or another force structure reallocation.
• (c)
  • (1) Except as provided by paragraph (2), the amount of reimbursement provided a member under subsection (a) for each round trip to a training location may not exceed $300.
  • (2) The Secretary concerned may authorize, on a case-by-case basis, a higher reimbursement amount for a member under subsection (a) when the member—
    • (A) resides—
      • (i) in the same State as the training location; and
      • (ii) outside of an urbanized area with a population of 50,000 or more, as determined by the Bureau of the Census; and
    • (B) is required to commute to a training location—
      • (i) using an aircraft or boat on account of limited or nonexistent vehicular routes to the training location or other geographical challenges; or
      • (ii) from a permanent residence located more than 75 miles from the training location.
• (d) The Secretary concerned shall prescribe regulations to carry out this section. Regulations prescribed by the Secretary of a military department shall be subject to the approval of the Secretary of Defense.
• (e) No reimbursement may be provided under this section for travel that occurs after December 31, 2018 .