Federal Law Enforcement Dependents Assistance Act of 1996

Summary: Federal Law Enforcement Dependents Assistance Act of 1996 - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to provide educational assistance to the dependents of civilian Federal law enforcement officers who are killed or are permanently and totally disabled in the line of duty. 
Authorizes the Attorney General to discontinue such assistance upon finding that the recipient fails to maintain satisfactory progress. 
Authorizes retroactive assistance to each eligible dependent of a Federal law enforcement officer killed in the line of duty on or after May 1, 1992. 
Authorizes appropriations.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Law Enforcement Dependents 
Assistance Act of 1996''.

SEC. 2. EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE TO DEPENDENTS OF SLAIN FEDERAL LAW 
              ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS.

    Part L of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act 
of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796 et seq.) is amended by--
            (1) inserting after the heading the following:

                   ``Subpart 1--Death Benefits''; and

            (2) adding at the end the following:

 ``Subpart 2--Educational Assistance to Dependents of Civilian Federal 
    Law Enforcement Officers Killed or Disabled in the Line of Duty

``SEC. 1211. PURPOSES.

    ``The purposes of this subpart are--
            ``(1) to enhance the appeal of service in civilian Federal 
        law enforcement agencies;
            ``(2) to extend the benefits of higher education to 
        qualified and deserving persons who, by virtue of the death of 
        or total disability of an eligible officer, may not be able to 
        afford it otherwise; and
            ``(3) to allow the family members of eligible officers to 
        attain the vocational and educational status which they would 
        have attained had a parent or spouse not been killed or 
        disabled in the line of duty.

``SEC. 1212. BASIC ELIGIBILITY.

    ``(a) Benefits.--(1) The Attorney General shall provide financial 
assistance to a dependent who attends a program of education and is--
            ``(A) the child of any eligible Federal law enforcement 
        officer under subpart 1; or
            ``(B) the spouse of an officer described in subparagraph 
        (A) at the time of the officer's death or on the date of a 
        totally and permanently disabling injury.
    ``(2) Financial assistance under this subpart shall consist of 
direct payments to an eligible dependent and shall be computed on the 
basis set forth in section 3532 of title 38, United States Code.
    ``(b) Duration of Benefits.--No dependent shall receive assistance 
under this subpart for a period in excess of forty-five months of full-
time education or training or a proportional period of time for a part-
time program.
    ``(c) Age Limitation for Dependent Children.--No dependent child 
shall be eligible for assistance under this subpart after the child's 
27th birthday absent a finding by the Attorney General of extraordinary 
circumstances precluding the child from pursuing a program of 
education.

``SEC. 1213. APPLICATIONS; APPROVAL.

    ``(a) Application.--A person seeking assistance under this subpart 
shall submit an application to the Attorney General in such form and 
containing such information as the Attorney General reasonably may 
require.
    ``(b) Approval.--The Attorney General shall approve an application 
for assistance under this subpart unless the Attorney General finds 
that--
            ``(1) the dependent is not eligible for, is no longer 
        eligible for, or is not entitled to the assistance for which 
        application is made;
            ``(2) the dependent's selected educational institution 
        fails to meet a requirement under this subpart for eligibility;
            ``(3) the dependent's enrollment in or pursuit of the 
        educational program selected would fail to meet the criteria 
        established in this subpart for programs; or
            ``(4) the dependent already is qualified by previous 
        education or training for the educational, professional, or 
        vocational objective for which the educational program is 
        offered.
    ``(c) Notification.--The Attorney General shall notify a dependent 
applying for assistance under this subpart of approval or disapproval 
of the application in writing.

``SEC. 1214. REGULATIONS.

    The Attorney General may promulgate reasonable and necessary 
regulations to implement this subpart.

``SEC. 1215. DISCONTINUATION FOR UNSATISFACTORY CONDUCT OR PROGRESS.

    ``The Attorney General may discontinue assistance under this 
subpart when the Attorney General finds that, according to the 
regularly prescribed standards and practices of the educational 
institution, the recipient fails to maintain satisfactory progress as 
described in section 484(c) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 1091(c)).

``SEC. 1216. SPECIAL RULE.

    ``(a) Retroactive Eligibility.--Notwithstanding any other provision 
of law, each dependent of a Federal law enforcement officer killed in 
the line of duty on or after May 1, 1992, shall be eligible for 
assistance under this subpart, subject to the other limitations of this 
subpart.
    ``(b) Retroactive Assistance.--The Attorney General may provide 
retroactive assistance to dependents eligible under this section for 
each month in which the dependent pursued a program of education at an 
eligible educational institution. The Attorney General shall apply the 
limitations contained in this subpart to retroactive assistance.
    ``(c) Prospective Assistance.--The Attorney General may provide 
prospective assistance to dependents eligible under this section on the 
same basis as assistance to dependents otherwise eligible. In applying 
the limitations on assistance under this subpart, the Attorney General 
shall include assistance provided retroactively. A dependent eligible 
under this section may waive retroactive assistance and apply only for 
prospective assistance on the same basis as dependents otherwise 
eligible.

``SEC. 1217. DEFINITIONS.

    ``For purposes of this subpart:
            ``(1) The term `Attorney General' means the Attorney 
        General of the United States.
            ``(2) The term `Federal law enforcement officer' has the 
        same meaning as under subpart 1.
            ``(3) The term `program of education' means any curriculum 
        or any combination of unit courses or subjects pursued at an 
        eligible educational institution, which generally is accepted 
        as necessary to fulfill requirements for the attainment of a 
        predetermined and identified educational, professional, or 
        vocational objective. It includes coursework for the attainment 
        of more than one objective if in addition to the previous 
        requirements, all the objectives generally are recognized as 
        reasonably related to a single career field.
            ``(4) The term `eligible educational institution' means an 
        institution which--
                    ``(A) is described in section 481 of the Higher 
                Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1088), as in effect on 
                the date of the enactment of this section; and
                    ``(B) is eligible to participate in programs under 
                title IV of such Act.

``SEC. 1218. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    ``There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subpart 
such sums as may be necessary.''.