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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The District of Columbia National Guard has been experiencing a disproportionate decline in force in comparison to the National Guards of Maryland and Virginia.

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.

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.

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.

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:

Maintenance of eligibility

To continue to be eligible for financial assistance under the program, a member of the District of Columbia National Guard must—

tuition and fees charged by an approved institution of higher education involved;

the cost of books; and

laboratory expenses.

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.

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.

Limit

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