(a) In General.—(1) The Secretary may authorize the Under Secretary for Health to pay advance payments, recruitment or relocation bonuses, and retention allowances to personnel appointed under section 7306 of this title or section 7401(4) of this title, or personnel described in section 7401(1) of this title,,¹ or interview expenses to candidates for appointment as such personnel, in a manner consistent with the authority provided under sections 5524a, 5706b, 5753, and 5754 of title 5.

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(2) Payments under paragraph (1) shall not be considered in calculating the limitation under section 7431(e)(4) of this title.

(b) Special Incentive Pay for Department Pharmacist Executives.—(1) In order to recruit and retain highly qualified Department pharmacist executives, the Secretary may authorize the Under Secretary for Health to pay special incentive pay of not more than $40,000 per year to an individual of the Veterans Health Administration who is a pharmacist executive.

(2) In determining whether and how much special pay to provide to such individual, the Under Secretary shall consider the following:

(A) The grade and step of the position of the individual.

(B) The scope and complexity of the position of the individual.

(C) The personal qualifications of the individual.

(D) The characteristics of the labor market concerned.

(E) Such other factors as the Secretary considers appropriate.

(3) Special incentive pay under paragraph (1) for an individual is in addition to all other pay (including basic pay) and allowances to which the individual is entitled.

(4) Except as provided in paragraph (5), special incentive pay under paragraph (1) for an individual shall be considered basic pay for all purposes, including retirement benefits under chapters 83 and 84 of title 5, and other benefits.

(5) Special incentive pay under paragraph (1) for an individual shall not be considered basic pay for purposes of adverse actions under subchapter V of this chapter.

(6) Special incentive pay under paragraph (1) may not be awarded to an individual in an amount that would result in an aggregate amount of pay (including bonuses and awards) received by such individual in a year under this title that is greater than the annual pay of the President.