IIB 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3913 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 29, 2010 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and 

Governmental Affairs 

AN ACT 

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. 


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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA NATIONAL GUARD 

4 EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 

5 The Act entitled ‘‘An Act to provide for the organiza6 tion of the militia of the District of Columbia’’, approved 

7 March 1, 1889 (sec. 49–101 et seq., D.C. Official Code) 

8 is amended by adding at the end the following new title: 

9 ‘‘TITLE II—EDUCATIONAL 

10 ASSISTANCE PROGRAM 

11 ‘‘SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS. 

12 ‘‘(a) SHORT TITLE.—This title may be cited as the 

13 ‘Major General David F. Wherley, Jr. District of Colum14 bia National Guard Retention and College Access Act’. 

15 ‘‘(b) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find16 ings: 

17 ‘‘(1) The District of Columbia National Guard 

18 is under the exclusive jurisdiction of the President of 

19 the United States as Commander-in-Chief and, un20 like other National Guards, is permanently federal21 ized. 

22 ‘‘(2) The District of Columbia National Guard 

23 is unique and differs from the National Guards of 

24 the several States in that the District of Columbia 

25 National Guard is responsible, not only for residents 


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1 of the District of Columbia, but also for a special 

2 and unique mission and obligation as a result of the 

3 extensive presence of the Federal Government in the 

4 District of Columbia. 

5 ‘‘(3) Consequently, the President of the United 

6 States, rather than the chief executive of the Dis7 trict of Columbia, is in command of the District of 

8 Columbia National Guard, and only the President 

9 can call up the District of Columbia National Guard 

10 even for local emergencies. 

11 ‘‘(4) The District of Columbia National Guard 

12 has been specifically trained to address the unique 

13 emergencies that may occur regarding the presence 

14 of the Federal Government in the District of Colum15 bia. 

16 ‘‘(5) The great majority of the members of the 

17 District of Columbia National Guard actually live in 

18 Maryland or Virginia, rather than in the District of 

19 Columbia. 

20 ‘‘(6) The District of Columbia National Guard 

21 has been experiencing a disproportionate decline in 

22 force in comparison to the National Guards of Mary23 land and Virginia. 

24 ‘‘(7) The States of Maryland and Virginia pro25 vide additional recruiting and retention incentives, 


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1 such as educational benefits, in order to maintain 

2 their force, and their National Guards have drawn 

3 recruits from the District of Columbia at a rate that 

4 puts at risk the maintenance of the necessary force 

5 levels for the District of Columbia National Guard. 

6 ‘‘(8) Funds for an educational benefit for mem7 bers of the District of Columbia National Guard 

8 would provide an incentive to help reverse the loss 

9 of members to nearby National Guards and allow for 

10 maintenance and increase of necessary District of 

11 Columbia National Guard personnel. 

12 ‘‘(9) The loss of members of the District of Co13 lumbia National Guard could adversely affect the 

14 readiness of the District of Columbia National 

15 Guard to respond in the event of a terrorist attack 

16 on the capital of the United States. 

17 ‘‘SEC. 202. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA NATIONAL GUARD EDU18 CATIONAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 

19 ‘‘(a) EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM AUTHOR20 IZED.—The Mayor of the District of Columbia, in coordi21 nation with the commanding general of the District of Co22 lumbia National Guard, shall establish a program under 

23 which the Mayor may provide financial assistance to an 

24 eligible member of the District of Columbia National 

25 Guard to assist the member in covering expenses incurred 


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1 by the member while enrolled in an approved institution 

2 of higher education to pursue the member’s first under3 graduate, masters, vocational, or technical degree or cer4 tification. 

5 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.— 

6 ‘‘(1) CRITERIA.—A member of the District of 

7 Columbia National Guard is eligible to receive assist8 ance under the program established under this title 

9 if the commanding general of the District of Colum10 bia National Guard certifies to the Mayor the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘(A) The member has satisfactorily com13 pleted required initial active duty service. 

14 ‘‘(B) The member has executed a written 

15 agreement to serve in the District of Columbia 

16 National Guard for a period of not less than 6 

17 years. 

18 ‘‘(C) The member is not receiving a Re19 serve Officer Training Corps scholarship. 

20 ‘‘(2) MAINTENANCE OF ELIGIBILITY.—To con21 tinue to be eligible for financial assistance under the 

22 program, a member of the District of Columbia Na23 tional Guard must— 

24 ‘‘(A) be satisfactorily performing duty in 

25 the District of Columbia National Guard in acVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:35 Jun 30, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3913.RFS H3913

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1 cordance with regulations of the National 

2 Guard (as certified to the Mayor by the com3 manding general of the District of Columbia 

4 National Guard); 

5 ‘‘(B) be enrolled on a full-time or part-time 

6 basis in an approved institution of higher edu7 cation; and 

8 ‘‘(C) maintain satisfactory progress in the 

9 course of study the member is pursuing, deter10 mined in accordance with section 484(c) of the 

11 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

12 1091(c)). 

13 ‘‘SEC. 203. TREATMENT OF ASSISTANCE PROVIDED. 

14 ‘‘(a) PERMITTED USE OF FUNDS.—Financial assist15 ance received by a member of the District of Columbia 

16 National Guard under the program under this title may 

17 be used to cover— 

18 ‘‘(1) tuition and fees charged by an approved 

19 institution of higher education involved; 

20 ‘‘(2) the cost of books; and 

21 ‘‘(3) laboratory expenses. 

22 ‘‘(b) AMOUNT OF ASSISTANCE.—The amount of fi23 nancial assistance provided to a member of the District 

24 of Columbia National Guard under the program may be 

25 up to $400 per credit hour, but not to exceed $6,000 per 


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1 year. If the Mayor determines that the amount available 

2 to provide assistance under this title in any year will be 

3 insufficient, the Mayor may reduce the maximum amount 

4 of the assistance authorized, or set a limit on the number 

5 of participants, to ensure that amounts expended do not 

6 exceed available amounts. 

7 ‘‘(c) RELATION TO OTHER ASSISTANCE.—Except as 

8 provided in section 202(b)(1)(C), a member of the District 

9 of Columbia National Guard may receive financial assist10 ance under the program in addition to educational assist11 ance provided under any other provision of law. 

12 ‘‘(d) REPAYMENT.—A member of the District of Co13 lumbia National Guard who receives assistance under the 

14 program and who, voluntarily or because of misconduct, 

15 fails to serve for the period covered by the agreement re16 quired by section 202(b)(1) or fails to comply with the 

17 eligibility conditions specified in section 202(b)(2) shall be 

18 subject to the repayment provisions of section 373 of title 

19 37, United States Code. 

20 ‘‘SEC. 204. ADMINISTRATION AND FUNDING OF PROGRAM. 

21 ‘‘(a) ADMINISTRATION.—The Mayor, in coordination 

22 with the commanding general of the District of Columbia 

23 National Guard and in consultation with approved institu24 tions of higher education, shall develop policies and proce25 dures for the administration of the program under this 


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1 title. Nothing in this title shall be construed to require 

2 an institution of higher education to alter the institution’s 

3 admissions policies or standards in any manner to enable 

4 a member of the District of Columbia National Guard to 

5 enroll in the institution. 

6 ‘‘(b) FUNDING.— 

7 ‘‘(1) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

8 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Dis9 trict of Columbia such sums as may be necessary to 

10 enable the Mayor to provide financial assistance 

11 under the program. Funds appropriated pursuant to 

12 this authorization of appropriations shall remain 

13 available until expended. 

14 ‘‘(2) TRANSFER OF FUNDS.—The Mayor may 

15 accept the transfer of funds from Federal agencies 

16 and use any funds so transferred for purposes of 

17 providing assistance under the program. There is 

18 authorized to be appropriated to the head of any ex19 ecutive branch agency such sums as may be nec20 essary to permit the transfer of funds to the Mayor 

21 to provide financial assistance under this section. 

22 ‘‘(3) LIMIT.—The aggregate amount authorized 

23 to be appropriated under paragraphs (1) and (2) for 

24 a fiscal year may not exceed— 

25 ‘‘(A) for fiscal year 2011, $370,000; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) for each succeeding fiscal year, the 

2 limit applicable under this paragraph for the 

3 previous fiscal year, adjusted by the tuition in4 flation index used for the year by the Secretary 

5 of Veterans Affairs for education benefits under 

6 section 3015(h)(1) of title 38, United States 

7 Code. 

8 ‘‘(c) ACCEPTANCE OF DONATIONS.—The Mayor may 

9 accept, use, and dispose of donations of services or prop10 erty for purposes of providing assistance under the pro11 gram. 

12 ‘‘SEC. 205. DEFINITION. 

13 ‘‘In this title, the term ‘approved institution of higher 

14 education’ means an institution of higher education (as 

15 defined in section 102 of the Higher Education Act of 

16 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002)) that— 

17 ‘‘(1) is eligible to participate in the student fi18 nancial assistance programs under title IV of the 

19 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et 

20 seq.); and 

21 ‘‘(2) has entered into an agreement with the 

22 Mayor containing an assurance that funds made 

23 available under this title are used to supplement and 

24 not supplant other assistance that may be available 


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1 for members of the District of Columbia National 

2 Guard. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 206. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

4 ‘‘Financial assistance may be provided under the pro5 gram under this title to eligible members of the District 

6 of Columbia National Guard for periods of instruction 

7 that begin on or after January 1, 2010.’’. 

8 SEC. 2. PAYGO COMPLIANCE. 

9 The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 

10 complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, 

11 shall be determined by reference to the latest statement 

12 titled ‘‘Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation’’ for this 

13 Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record 

14 by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, pro15 vided that such statement has been submitted prior to the 

16 vote on passage. 

Passed the House of Representatives June 28, 2010. 

Attest: LORRAINE C. MILLER, 

Clerk. 


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