SECTION 1. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA NATIONAL GUARD 
EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 
The Act entitled ‘‘An Act to provide for the organiza-
tion 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 Colum-
bia National Guard Retention and College Access Act’. 
‘‘(b) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find-
ings: 
‘‘(1) The District of Columbia National Guard 
is under the exclusive jurisdiction of the President of 
the United States as Commander-in-Chief and, un-
like other National Guards, is permanently federal-
ized. 
‘‘(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 
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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 Dis-
trict 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 Colum-
bia. 
‘‘(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 Mary-
land and Virginia. 
‘‘(7) The States of Maryland and Virginia pro-
vide additional recruiting and retention incentives, 
such as educational benefits, in order to maintain 
their force, and their National Guards have drawn 
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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 mem-
bers 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 Co-
lumbia 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 EDU-
CATIONAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 
‘‘(a) EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM AUTHOR-
IZED.—The Mayor of the District of Columbia, in coordi-
nation with the commanding general of the District of Co-
lumbia 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 under-
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graduate, masters, vocational, or technical degree or cer-
tification. 
‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.— 
‘‘(1) CRITERIA.—A member of the District of 
Columbia National Guard is eligible to receive assist-
ance under the program established under this title 
if the commanding general of the District of Colum-
bia National Guard certifies to the Mayor the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(A) The member has satisfactorily com-
pleted 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 Re-
serve Officer Training Corps scholarship. 
‘‘(2) MAINTENANCE OF ELIGIBILITY.—To con-
tinue to be eligible for financial assistance under the 
program, a member of the District of Columbia Na-
tional Guard must— 
‘‘(A) be satisfactorily performing duty in 
the District of Columbia National Guard in ac-
cordance with regulations of the National 
Guard (as certified to the Mayor by the com-
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manding general of the District of Columbia 
National Guard); 
‘‘(B) be enrolled on a full-time or part-time 
basis (seeking to earn at least three, but less 
than 12 credit hours per semester) in an ap-
proved institution of higher education; and 
‘‘(C) maintain satisfactory progress in the 
course of study the member is pursuing, deter-
mined 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 assist-
ance 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) AMOUNT OF ASSISTANCE.—The amount of fi-
nancial assistance provided to a member of the District 
of Columbia National Guard under the program may be 
up to $400 per credit hour, but not to exceed $6,000 per 
year. If the Mayor determines that the amount available 
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to provide assistance under this title in any year will be 
insufficient, the Mayor may reduce the maximum amount 
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 assist-
ance under the program in addition to educational assist-
ance provided under any other provision of law. 
‘‘(d) REPAYMENT.—A member of the District of Co-
lumbia 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 re-
quired 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 institu-
tions of higher education, shall develop policies and proce-
dures for the administration of the program under this 
title. Nothing in this title shall be construed to require 
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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 Dis-
trict 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 ex-
ecutive branch agency such sums as may be nec-
essary 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. 
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‘‘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 fi-
nancial 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 pro-
gram under this title to eligible members of the District 
of Columbia National Guard for periods of instruction 
that begin on or after January 1, 2017.’’. 
Æ 
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