H.R. 3913House111th Congress (2009-2011)Passed House

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.

Legislative Activity

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15 earlier actions

SenateCommittee Latest Action

Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs referred to Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia.

July 26, 2010

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HouseIntro Referral

Introduced in House

October 22, 2009

HouseIntro Referral

Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E2612-2613)

October 22, 2009

HouseIntro Referral

Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

Oversight and Government Reform Committee

October 22, 2009

HouseCommittee

Referred to the Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, Post Office, and the District of Columbia.

February 12, 2010

HouseCommittee

Subcommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.

March 24, 2010

HouseCommittee

Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee (Amended) by Voice Vote .

March 24, 2010

HouseCommittee

Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.

Oversight and Government Reform Committee

April 14, 2010

HouseCommittee

Ordered to be Reported by Voice Vote.

Oversight and Government Reform Committee

April 14, 2010

HouseFloor

Ms. Norton moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.

June 28, 2010 • 2:30 PM

HouseFloor

Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H4883-4885)

June 28, 2010 • 2:30 PM

HouseFloor

DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 3913.

June 28, 2010 • 2:30 PM

HouseFloor

Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote.(text: CR H4883-4884)

June 28, 2010 • 2:39 PM

HouseFloor

On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H4883-4884)

June 28, 2010 • 2:39 PM

HouseFloor

Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

June 28, 2010 • 2:39 PM

SenateIntro Referral

Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee

June 29, 2010

SenateCommittee

Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs referred to Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia.

July 26, 2010

Floor Debate

2 members

What members said about H.R. 3913 on the floor

1 Republican1 Democrat

Rep. Eleanor Holmes NortonD-DC · Jun 28, 2010

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3913) to direct the Mayor of the District of Columbia to establish a District of Columbia National Guard Educational Assistance…

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3913) 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, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, as amended, H.R. 3913 would require the Mayor of the District of Columbia to establish a program to provide financial assistance to members of the District of Columbia National Guard to assist in covering higher education expenses. The Mayor would establish this program in coordination with the commander of the District of Columbia National Guard. Assistance would be capped at $6,000 per year per National Guard member.

H.R. 3913, as amended, authorizes appropriations to the District of Columbia for the assistance program. The bill would also authorize the transfer of funds from Federal agencies for providing assistance under the program. The initial authorization for the program is $370,000 in FY 2011. The bill would permit annual adjustments in succeeding years based on the tuition inflation index used by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for educational benefits. As amended, H.R. 3913 complies with PAYGO requirements.

Mr. Speaker, in addition, the bill seeks to name the bill after former General David Wherley of the District of Columbia National Guard.

Mr. Speaker, I told the D.C. National Guard's 547th Transportation Company when they were deployed to Iraq about a year ago that I would introduce several D.C. National Guard bills concerning their service. Today, we consider the Major General David F.

Wherley, Jr. District of Columbia National Guard Retention and College Access Act to permanently authorize funding for a program to provide grants for secondary education tuition to the members of the D.C. National Guard.

The bill authorizes an education incentive program recommended by former Major General David Wherley and his successor, Major General Errol Schwartz, who suggested that education grants would be useful in stemming the troublesome loss of members of the D.C. Guard to units, in part, because surrounding States offer just such educational benefits.

I am grateful that the Appropriations Committee has allotted funds in some years, with smaller contributions from the District, in the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill. A permanent authorization is necessary, however, to ensure that D.C. National Guard members receive equal treatment and benefits with other National Guard members on a regular basis, especially with surrounding States that do, in fact, have the higher education benefits we seek for the D.C. National Guard. The Guard for the Nation's Capital is competing for members from the pool of regional residents who find membership in Maryland and Virginia Guards more financially beneficial.

Mr. Speaker, last week, on June 22, we marked the 1-year anniversary of the commemoration of the Metro collision here involving two Red Line trains that took the lives of nine area residents, seven from the District of Columbia, including a local hero, Major General David F. Wherley, Jr., and his wife Ann. This bill is named in honor of General Wherley, who not only served his country all his adult life and never forgot the men and women who served under him at home or at war, but also was particularly attentive to the residents of the District of Columbia, especially the city's most troubled youth. Thereafter, Congressman Jose Serrano, chair of the Committee on Appropriations Financial Services Subcommittee, was good enough to offer this renaming in his appropriations bill last year and to appropriate the funds without authorization this year or in prior years.

Under General Wherley's command, the D.C. National Guard deployed several of its units to the global war on terrorism. General Wherley himself served courageously in both Iraq and Afghanistan, but at home he spent hours with me figuring out ways to get funds for programs for the District's children. We were successful, because he would show up, not only in my office, but wherever he was needed to get the funds to do the service for his men and for the children of this city.

General Wherley was a full-service leader. He not only commanded the D.C. National Guard; he worked closely with me and with city officials on programs for our city and its disadvantaged youth and for keeping our Guard competitive as a premier force at home as well as abroad.

The education incentives in this bill serve not only to encourage high-quality recruits, but, when appropriated, have had the important benefit of helping the D.C. National Guard to maintain the force necessary to protect the Federal presence, because this funding helps equalize an important benefit compared with what is offered by Guard units in surrounding jurisdictions which also are open to D.C. National Guard members.

While the appropriators have been good enough to provide funding for the D.C. National Guard by considering it a programmatic request, it is imperative that this important educational initiative be authorized appropriately to ensure its permanent sustainability.

I urge my colleagues to support the bill.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Rep. Brian P. BilbrayR-CA-50 · Jun 28, 2010

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, it is a privilege to join with my colleague, the Delegate from Washington, D.C. This bill quite appropriately is named in honor of…

Bill Text

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Referred in SenateIssued June 29, 2010

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.

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:

Educational Assistance Program

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.

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, 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 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)).

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)

Amount of assistance

The amount of financial 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 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 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.

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

(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)

Limit

The aggregate amount authorized to be appropriated under paragraphs (1) and (2) for a fiscal year may not exceed—

(A)

for fiscal year 2011, $370,000; and

(B)

for each succeeding fiscal year, the limit applicable under this paragraph for the previous fiscal year, adjusted by the tuition inflation index used for the year by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for education benefits under section 3015(h)(1) of title 38, United States Code.

(c)

Acceptance of Donations

The Mayor may accept, use, and dispose of donations of services or property for purposes of providing assistance under the program.

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.

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, 2010.

PAYGO Compliance

The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall be determined by reference to the latest statement titled Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation for this Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, provided that such statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage.

Passed the House of Representatives June 28, 2010.

Lorraine C. Miller,

Clerk