course and the course completion date shall be considered to be the date on which the participant's failure becomes an established fact.
"(e) For the purposes of this section, the term 'course completion date' means the date on which a participant in the Tuition Reimbursement Program completes such participant's course of training under the program.
38 USC 4324. "§ 4324. Breach of agreement: liability
"(a) A participant in the Tuition Reimbursement Program who fails to maintain employment as a Veterans' Administration employee permanently assigned to a Veterans' Administration healthcare facility—
"(1) may not be provided reimbursement for tuition for the course or courses in which the participant is enrolled; and
"(2) in lieu of any service obligation arising from completion of a course or courses in a previous semester or quarter, shall be liable to the United States for the amount which has been paid to or on behalf of the participant under the agreement.
"(b)(1) If a participant in the Tuition Reimbursement Program breaches the agreement by failing (for any reason) to complete such participant's period of obligated service, the United States shall be entitled to recover from the participant an amount determined in accordance with the following formula:
In such formula:
"(A) '' is the amount the United States is entitled to recover.
"(B) '' is the sum of (i) the amounts paid under this subchapter to or on behalf of the participant, and (ii) the interest on such amounts which would be payable if at the time the amounts were paid they were loans bearing interest at the maximum legal prevailing rate, as determined by the Treasurer of the United States.
"(C) '' is the total number of months in the participant's period of obligated service.
"(D) '' is the number of months of such period served by the participant in accordance with section 4323 of this title.
"(2) Any amount of damages which the United States is entitled to recover under this section shall be paid to the United States within the one-year period beginning on the date of the breach of the agreement.
38 USC 4325. "§ 4325. Allocation and distribution of funding
"In determining the amount of funding to allocate to Veterans' Administration health-care facilities for any fiscal year in connection with the Tuition Reimbursement Program, the Administrator shall take into account (1) the personnel ceiling for that fiscal year for nursing personnel, and (2) the recruitment and retention needs of such facilities, as determined by the Administrator.
