[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6255 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6255
To direct the Mayor of the District of Columbia to establish a District
of Columbia National Guard Educational Assistance Program to encourage
the enlistment and retention of persons in the District of Columbia
National Guard by providing financial assistance to enable members of
the National Guard of the District of Columbia to attend undergraduate,
vocational, or technical courses.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 12, 2020
Ms. Norton introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Oversight and Reform
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Mayor of the District of Columbia to establish a District
of Columbia National Guard Educational Assistance Program to encourage
the enlistment and retention of persons in the District of Columbia
National Guard by providing financial assistance to enable members of
the National Guard of the District of Columbia to attend undergraduate,
vocational, or technical courses.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA NATIONAL GUARD EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE
PROGRAM.
The Act entitled ``An Act to provide for the organization of the
militia of the District of Columbia'', approved March 1, 1889 (sec. 49-
101 et seq., D.C. Official Code) is amended by adding at the end the
following new title:
``TITLE II--EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
``SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS.
``(a) Short Title.--This title may be cited as the `Major General
David F. Wherley, Jr. District of Columbia National Guard Retention and
College Access Act'.
``(b) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
``(1) The District of Columbia National Guard is under the
exclusive jurisdiction of the President of the United States as
Commander-in-Chief and, unlike other National Guards, is
permanently federalized.
``(2) The District of Columbia National Guard is unique and
differs from the National Guards of the several States in that
the District of Columbia National Guard is responsible, not
only for residents of the District of Columbia, but also for a
special and unique mission and obligation as a result of the
extensive presence of the Federal Government in the District of
Columbia.
``(3) Consequently, the President of the United States,
rather than the chief executive of the District of Columbia, is
in command of the District of Columbia National Guard, and only
the President can call up the District of Columbia National
Guard even for local emergencies.
``(4) The District of Columbia National Guard has been
specifically trained to address the unique emergencies that may
occur regarding the presence of the Federal Government in the
District of Columbia.
``(5) The great majority of the members of the District of
Columbia National Guard actually live in Maryland or Virginia,
rather than in the District of Columbia.
``(6) The District of Columbia National Guard has been
experiencing a disproportionate decline in force in comparison
to the National Guards of Maryland and Virginia.
``(7) The States of Maryland and Virginia provide
additional recruiting and retention incentives, such as
educational benefits, in order to maintain their force, and
their National Guards have drawn recruits from the District of
Columbia at a rate that puts at risk the maintenance of the
necessary force levels for the District of Columbia National
Guard.
``(8) Funds for an educational benefit for members of the
District of Columbia National Guard would provide an incentive
to help reverse the loss of members to nearby National Guards
and allow for maintenance and increase of necessary District of
Columbia National Guard personnel.
``(9) The loss of members of the District of Columbia
National Guard could adversely affect the readiness of the
District of Columbia National Guard to respond in the event of
a terrorist attack on the capital of the United States.
``SEC. 202. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA NATIONAL GUARD EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE
PROGRAM.
``(a) Educational Assistance Program Authorized.--The Mayor of the
District of Columbia, in coordination with the commanding general of
the District of Columbia National Guard, shall establish a program
under which the Mayor may provide financial assistance to an eligible
member of the District of Columbia National Guard to assist the member
in covering expenses incurred by the member while enrolled in an
approved institution of higher education to pursue the member's first
undergraduate, masters, doctoral, vocational, or technical degree or
certification.
``(b) Eligibility.--
``(1) Criteria.--A member of the District of Columbia
National Guard is eligible to receive assistance under the
program established under this title if the commanding general
of the District of Columbia National Guard certifies to the
Mayor the following:
``(A) The member has satisfactorily completed
required initial active duty service.
``(B) The member has executed a written agreement
to serve in the District of Columbia National Guard for
a period of not less than 6 years.
``(C) The member is not receiving a Reserve Officer
Training Corps scholarship.
``(2) Maintenance of eligibility.--To continue to be
eligible for financial assistance under the program, a member
of the District of Columbia National Guard must--
``(A) be satisfactorily performing duty in the
District of Columbia National Guard in accordance with
regulations of the National Guard (as certified to the
Mayor by the commanding general of the District of
Columbia National Guard);
``(B) be enrolled on a full-time or part-time basis
(seeking to earn at least 3, but less than 12 credit
hours per semester) in an approved institution of
higher education; and
``(C) maintain satisfactory progress in the course
of study the member is pursuing, determined in
accordance with section 484(c) of the Higher Education
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1091(c)).
``SEC. 203. TREATMENT OF ASSISTANCE PROVIDED.
``(a) Permitted Use of Funds.--Financial assistance received by a
member of the District of Columbia National Guard under the program
under this title may be used to cover--
``(1) tuition and fees charged by an approved institution
of higher education involved;
``(2) the cost of books; and
``(3) laboratory expenses.
``(b) Cap on Amount of Assistance.--
``(1) In general.--The amount of financial assistance
provided to a member of the District of Columbia National Guard
under the program may not exceed the following:
``(A) In the case of fees and laboratory expenses,
$500 per year.
``(B) In the case of books, $500 per year.
``(C) In the case of tuition, $10,000 per year.
``(2) Adjustments in case of insufficient funding.--If the
Mayor determines that the amount available to provide
assistance under this title in any year will be insufficient,
the Mayor may reduce the maximum amounts of the assistance
authorized, or set a limit on the number of participants, to
ensure that amounts expended do not exceed available amounts.
``(c) Relation to Other Assistance.--Except as provided in section
202(b)(1)(C), a member of the District of Columbia National Guard may
receive financial assistance under the program in addition to
educational assistance provided under any other provision of law.
``(d) Repayment.--A member of the District of Columbia National
Guard who receives assistance under the program and who, voluntarily or
because of misconduct, fails to serve for the period covered by the
agreement required by section 202(b)(1) or fails to comply with the
eligibility conditions specified in section 202(b)(2) shall be subject
to the repayment provisions of section 373 of title 37, United States
Code.
``SEC. 204. ADMINISTRATION AND FUNDING OF PROGRAM.
``(a) Administration.--The Mayor, in coordination with the
commanding general of the District of Columbia National Guard and in
consultation with approved institutions of higher education, shall
develop policies and procedures for the administration of the program
under this title. Nothing in this title shall be construed to require
an institution of higher education to alter the institution's
admissions policies or standards in any manner to enable a member of
the District of Columbia National Guard to enroll in the institution.
``(b) Funding Sources and Gifts.--
``(1) Authorization of appropriations.--There are
authorized to be appropriated to the District of Columbia such
sums as may be necessary to enable the Mayor to provide
financial assistance under the program. Funds appropriated
pursuant to this authorization of appropriations shall remain
available until expended.
``(2) Transfer of funds.--The Mayor may accept the transfer
of funds from Federal agencies and use any funds so transferred
for purposes of providing assistance under the program. There
is authorized to be appropriated to the head of any executive
branch agency such sums as may be necessary to permit the
transfer of funds to the Mayor to provide financial assistance
under this section.
``(3) Donations.--The Mayor may accept, use, and dispose of
donations of services or property for purposes of providing
assistance under the program.
``SEC. 205. DEFINITION.
``In this title, the term `approved institution of higher
education' means an institution of higher education (as defined in
section 102 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002))
that--
``(1) is eligible to participate in the student financial
assistance programs under title IV of the Higher Education Act
of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.); and
``(2) has entered into an agreement with the Mayor
containing an assurance that funds made available under this
title are used to supplement and not supplant other assistance
that may be available for members of the District of Columbia
National Guard.
``SEC. 206. EFFECTIVE DATE.
``Financial assistance may be provided under the program under this
title to eligible members of the District of Columbia National Guard
for periods of instruction that begin on or after January 1, 2020.''.
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