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.

I 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 encour- age 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 under- graduate, 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 As- sistance Program to encourage the enlistment and reten- tion of persons in the District of Columbia National Guard by providing financial assistance to enable mem- bers 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 Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 Mar 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6255.IH H6255 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 6255 IH SECTION 1. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA NATIONAL GUARD 1 EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 2 The Act entitled ‘‘An Act to provide for the organiza- 3 tion of the militia of the District of Columbia’’, approved 4 March 1, 1889 (sec. 49–101 et seq., D.C. Official Code) 5 is amended by adding at the end the following new title: 6 ‘‘TITLE II—EDUCATIONAL 7 ASSISTANCE PROGRAM 8 ‘‘SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS. 9 ‘‘(a) SHORT TITLE.—This title may be cited as the 10 ‘Major General David F. Wherley, Jr. District of Colum- 11 bia National Guard Retention and College Access Act’. 12 ‘‘(b) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find- 13 ings: 14 ‘‘(1) The District of Columbia National Guard 15 is under the exclusive jurisdiction of the President of 16 the United States as Commander-in-Chief and, un- 17 like other National Guards, is permanently federal- 18 ized. 19 ‘‘(2) The District of Columbia National Guard 20 is unique and differs from the National Guards of 21 the several States in that the District of Columbia 22 National Guard is responsible, not only for residents 23 of the District of Columbia, but also for a special 24 and unique mission and obligation as a result of the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 Mar 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6255.IH H6255 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 6255 IH extensive presence of the Federal Government in the 1 District of Columbia. 2 ‘‘(3) Consequently, the President of the United 3 States, rather than the chief executive of the Dis- 4 trict of Columbia, is in command of the District of 5 Columbia National Guard, and only the President 6 can call up the District of Columbia National Guard 7 even for local emergencies. 8 ‘‘(4) The District of Columbia National Guard 9 has been specifically trained to address the unique 10 emergencies that may occur regarding the presence 11 of the Federal Government in the District of Colum- 12 bia. 13 ‘‘(5) The great majority of the members of the 14 District of Columbia National Guard actually live in 15 Maryland or Virginia, rather than in the District of 16 Columbia. 17 ‘‘(6) The District of Columbia National Guard 18 has been experiencing a disproportionate decline in 19 force in comparison to the National Guards of Mary- 20 land and Virginia. 21 ‘‘(7) The States of Maryland and Virginia pro- 22 vide additional recruiting and retention incentives, 23 such as educational benefits, in order to maintain 24 their force, and their National Guards have drawn 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 Mar 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6255.IH H6255 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 6255 IH recruits from the District of Columbia at a rate that 1 puts at risk the maintenance of the necessary force 2 levels for the District of Columbia National Guard. 3 ‘‘(8) Funds for an educational benefit for mem- 4 bers of the District of Columbia National Guard 5 would provide an incentive to help reverse the loss 6 of members to nearby National Guards and allow for 7 maintenance and increase of necessary District of 8 Columbia National Guard personnel. 9 ‘‘(9) The loss of members of the District of Co- 10 lumbia National Guard could adversely affect the 11 readiness of the District of Columbia National 12 Guard to respond in the event of a terrorist attack 13 on the capital of the United States. 14 ‘‘SEC. 202. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA NATIONAL GUARD EDU- 15 CATIONAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 16 ‘‘(a) EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM AUTHOR- 17 IZED.—The Mayor of the District of Columbia, in coordi- 18 nation with the commanding general of the District of Co- 19 lumbia National Guard, shall establish a program under 20 which the Mayor may provide financial assistance to an 21 eligible member of the District of Columbia National 22 Guard to assist the member in covering expenses incurred 23 by the member while enrolled in an approved institution 24 of higher education to pursue the member’s first under- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 Mar 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6255.IH H6255 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 6255 IH graduate, masters, doctoral, vocational, or technical de- 1 gree or certification. 2 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.— 3 ‘‘(1) CRITERIA.—A member of the District of 4 Columbia National Guard is eligible to receive assist- 5 ance under the program established under this title 6 if the commanding general of the District of Colum- 7 bia National Guard certifies to the Mayor the fol- 8 lowing: 9 ‘‘(A) The member has satisfactorily com- 10 pleted required initial active duty service. 11 ‘‘(B) The member has executed a written 12 agreement to serve in the District of Columbia 13 National Guard for a period of not less than 6 14 years. 15 ‘‘(C) The member is not receiving a Re- 16 serve Officer Training Corps scholarship. 17 ‘‘(2) MAINTENANCE OF ELIGIBILITY.—To con- 18 tinue to be eligible for financial assistance under the 19 program, a member of the District of Columbia Na- 20 tional Guard must— 21 ‘‘(A) be satisfactorily performing duty in 22 the District of Columbia National Guard in ac- 23 cordance with regulations of the National 24 Guard (as certified to the Mayor by the com- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 Mar 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6255.IH H6255 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 6255 IH manding general of the District of Columbia 1 National Guard); 2 ‘‘(B) be enrolled on a full-time or part-time 3 basis (seeking to earn at least 3, but less than 4 12 credit hours per semester) in an approved 5 institution of higher education; and 6 ‘‘(C) maintain satisfactory progress in the 7 course of study the member is pursuing, deter- 8 mined in accordance with section 484(c) of the 9 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 10 1091(c)). 11 ‘‘SEC. 203. TREATMENT OF ASSISTANCE PROVIDED. 12 ‘‘(a) PERMITTED USE OF FUNDS.—Financial assist- 13 ance received by a member of the District of Columbia 14 National Guard under the program under this title may 15 be used to cover— 16 ‘‘(1) tuition and fees charged by an approved 17 institution of higher education involved; 18 ‘‘(2) the cost of books; and 19 ‘‘(3) laboratory expenses. 20 ‘‘(b) CAP ON AMOUNT OF ASSISTANCE.— 21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The amount of financial 22 assistance provided to a member of the District of 23 Columbia National Guard under the program may 24 not exceed the following: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 Mar 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6255.IH H6255 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 6255 IH ‘‘(A) In the case of fees and laboratory ex- 1 penses, $500 per year. 2 ‘‘(B) In the case of books, $500 per year. 3 ‘‘(C) In the case of tuition, $10,000 per 4 year. 5 ‘‘(2) ADJUSTMENTS IN CASE OF INSUFFICIENT 6 FUNDING.—If the Mayor determines that the 7 amount available to provide assistance under this 8 title in any year will be insufficient, the Mayor may 9 reduce the maximum amounts of the assistance au- 10 thorized, or set a limit on the number of partici- 11 pants, to ensure that amounts expended do not ex- 12 ceed available amounts. 13 ‘‘(c) RELATION TO OTHER ASSISTANCE.—Except as 14 provided in section 202(b)(1)(C), a member of the District 15 of Columbia National Guard may receive financial assist- 16 ance under the program in addition to educational assist- 17 ance provided under any other provision of law. 18 ‘‘(d) REPAYMENT.—A member of the District of Co- 19 lumbia National Guard who receives assistance under the 20 program and who, voluntarily or because of misconduct, 21 fails to serve for the period covered by the agreement re- 22 quired by section 202(b)(1) or fails to comply with the 23 eligibility conditions specified in section 202(b)(2) shall be 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 Mar 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6255.IH H6255 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 6255 IH subject to the repayment provisions of section 373 of title 1 37, United States Code. 2 ‘‘SEC. 204. ADMINISTRATION AND FUNDING OF PROGRAM. 3 ‘‘(a) ADMINISTRATION.—The Mayor, in coordination 4 with the commanding general of the District of Columbia 5 National Guard and in consultation with approved institu- 6 tions of higher education, shall develop policies and proce- 7 dures for the administration of the program under this 8 title. Nothing in this title shall be construed to require 9 an institution of higher education to alter the institution’s 10 admissions policies or standards in any manner to enable 11 a member of the District of Columbia National Guard to 12 enroll in the institution. 13 ‘‘(b) FUNDING SOURCES AND GIFTS.— 14 ‘‘(1) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 15 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Dis- 16 trict of Columbia such sums as may be necessary to 17 enable the Mayor to provide financial assistance 18 under the program. Funds appropriated pursuant to 19 this authorization of appropriations shall remain 20 available until expended. 21 ‘‘(2) TRANSFER OF FUNDS.—The Mayor may 22 accept the transfer of funds from Federal agencies 23 and use any funds so transferred for purposes of 24 providing assistance under the program. There is 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 Mar 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6255.IH H6255 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 6255 IH authorized to be appropriated to the head of any ex- 1 ecutive branch agency such sums as may be nec- 2 essary to permit the transfer of funds to the Mayor 3 to provide financial assistance under this section. 4 ‘‘(3) DONATIONS.—The Mayor may accept, use, 5 and dispose of donations of services or property for 6 purposes of providing assistance under the program. 7 ‘‘SEC. 205. DEFINITION. 8 ‘‘In this title, the term ‘approved institution of higher 9 education’ means an institution of higher education (as 10 defined in section 102 of the Higher Education Act of 11 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002)) that— 12 ‘‘(1) is eligible to participate in the student fi- 13 nancial assistance programs under title IV of the 14 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et 15 seq.); and 16 ‘‘(2) has entered into an agreement with the 17 Mayor containing an assurance that funds made 18 available under this title are used to supplement and 19 not supplant other assistance that may be available 20 for members of the District of Columbia National 21 Guard. 22 ‘‘SEC. 206. EFFECTIVE DATE. 23 ‘‘Financial assistance may be provided under the pro- 24 gram under this title to eligible members of the District 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 Mar 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6255.IH H6255 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 6255 IH of Columbia National Guard for periods of instruction 1 that begin on or after January 1, 2020.’’. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 Mar 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H6255.IH H6255 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS