Norton Bill to Provide Ed. Benefits, Halt Risks & Decline in D.C. Guard -June 8, 2006
June 8, 2006
Goal of Norton Bill to Provide Education Benefits is to
Halt Risks & Decline in D.C. National Guard Members
June 8, 2006
Washington, DC—Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today introduced the District of Columbia National Guard Retention and College Access Act, a bill to authorize funding for secondary education grants to the members of the District of Columbia National Guard (DCNG), to help stem the troublesome loss of members of the DCNG to Guard units in surrounding states that offer such benefits. National Guard members may join the Guard of any state. The DCNG program is similar to Norton’s D.C. College Access Act, which has sent more than 6,000 D.C. students to U.S. public colleges at low in-state tuition rates and provided tuition assistance for private colleges in the region and nationwide since it was passed in 1999. An education benefit of $400 per credit hour, up to $5,500 a year, will be established and used in combination with current Department of Defense education assistance programs.
“The 40 percent increase since passage of the D.C. College Access Act is doing its job in creating greater equality with the states for higher education for our residents,” Norton said. “The D.C. National Guard Retention and College Access Act is urgently needed to bring about similar equality with the states for the military.”
The DCNG Retention and College Access Act is among the eight bills introduced so far in Norton’s “Free and Equal D.C.” series that seeks to eliminate anti-Home Rule and redundant bills that deprive the city of equal treatment and recognition as an independent, self-governing jurisdiction. The series also includes the D.C. National Guard Homeland Security Act to give the District’s Mayor the same authority over the deployment of the DCNG as the governors of all 50 states have over their Guard units. Currently, only the President has the authority to call up the D.C. National Guard for any purpose, local or national, and therefore these education benefits are the responsibility of the federal government.
Norton decided on this education incentive bill after meeting with Major General David Wherley, the Commanding General of the D.C. National Guard, about disproportionate losses in recruitment and retention of DCNG members as compared to surrounding states, particularly Maryland and Virginia, where benefits such as education grants are offered. The disproportionate decline in forces poses a risk to the twin missions of the DCNG to protect the federal presence and D.C. residents, Norton said. Although National Guards throughout the United States have had difficulty maintaining and increasing their numbers, the decline of the D.C. National Guard has been precipitous. Since 1994, even before the war on terror, statistics show that the D.C. Army Guard has declined 34%, as compared to a 26% decline for Maryland and Virginia’s 16% decline. Between 2002 and 2005, the D.C. Air Guard experienced a 6% decline, as compared to Maryland’s 5% decline and Virginia’s 2% increase.
Norton said the declining enrollment of the DCNG is especially serious given the unique mission of the D.C. National Guard to protect the federal presence, a responsibility for which they are uniquely trained that distinguishes the D.C. National Guard from any other National Guard. “The D.C. National Guard, a federal instrument, is losing personnel to other Guards because it is not able to offer the same level of benefits that adjacent National Guards provide,” Norton said in her introductory statement. “A competitive tuition assistance program for the D.C. National Guard will provide a significant incentive and leverage to help counteract declining enrollment and will help level the field of competition.”
During the last Congress, Norton worked with Rep. David Hobson (R-OH) to include a D.C. National Guard educational grant program in the House version of the Defense Authorization bill. Unfortunately, the program was dropped in conference. This year, Norton got the figures on DCNG enrollment and decided it was important to try again.
The Congresswoman said, “The small education incentives would not only encourage high quality recruits; this benefit has the important goal of helping the DCNG to maintain the force necessary to protect not only our residents, but also the federal presence and employees, including Members of Congress, the Supreme Court, and visitors, if an attack on the nation’s capital should occur. These hard-pressed men and women have been abruptly torn from their families and jobs to serve without a vote. Many have been called to serve in Iraq and Afghanistan two or three times. At the very least, they deserve every opportunity available to other members of the armed forces at a time when they face financial hardship arising from war.”
Halt Risks & Decline in D.C. National Guard Members
June 8, 2006
Washington, DC—Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today introduced the District of Columbia National Guard Retention and College Access Act, a bill to authorize funding for secondary education grants to the members of the District of Columbia National Guard (DCNG), to help stem the troublesome loss of members of the DCNG to Guard units in surrounding states that offer such benefits. National Guard members may join the Guard of any state. The DCNG program is similar to Norton’s D.C. College Access Act, which has sent more than 6,000 D.C. students to U.S. public colleges at low in-state tuition rates and provided tuition assistance for private colleges in the region and nationwide since it was passed in 1999. An education benefit of $400 per credit hour, up to $5,500 a year, will be established and used in combination with current Department of Defense education assistance programs.
“The 40 percent increase since passage of the D.C. College Access Act is doing its job in creating greater equality with the states for higher education for our residents,” Norton said. “The D.C. National Guard Retention and College Access Act is urgently needed to bring about similar equality with the states for the military.”
The DCNG Retention and College Access Act is among the eight bills introduced so far in Norton’s “Free and Equal D.C.” series that seeks to eliminate anti-Home Rule and redundant bills that deprive the city of equal treatment and recognition as an independent, self-governing jurisdiction. The series also includes the D.C. National Guard Homeland Security Act to give the District’s Mayor the same authority over the deployment of the DCNG as the governors of all 50 states have over their Guard units. Currently, only the President has the authority to call up the D.C. National Guard for any purpose, local or national, and therefore these education benefits are the responsibility of the federal government.
Norton decided on this education incentive bill after meeting with Major General David Wherley, the Commanding General of the D.C. National Guard, about disproportionate losses in recruitment and retention of DCNG members as compared to surrounding states, particularly Maryland and Virginia, where benefits such as education grants are offered. The disproportionate decline in forces poses a risk to the twin missions of the DCNG to protect the federal presence and D.C. residents, Norton said. Although National Guards throughout the United States have had difficulty maintaining and increasing their numbers, the decline of the D.C. National Guard has been precipitous. Since 1994, even before the war on terror, statistics show that the D.C. Army Guard has declined 34%, as compared to a 26% decline for Maryland and Virginia’s 16% decline. Between 2002 and 2005, the D.C. Air Guard experienced a 6% decline, as compared to Maryland’s 5% decline and Virginia’s 2% increase.
Norton said the declining enrollment of the DCNG is especially serious given the unique mission of the D.C. National Guard to protect the federal presence, a responsibility for which they are uniquely trained that distinguishes the D.C. National Guard from any other National Guard. “The D.C. National Guard, a federal instrument, is losing personnel to other Guards because it is not able to offer the same level of benefits that adjacent National Guards provide,” Norton said in her introductory statement. “A competitive tuition assistance program for the D.C. National Guard will provide a significant incentive and leverage to help counteract declining enrollment and will help level the field of competition.”
During the last Congress, Norton worked with Rep. David Hobson (R-OH) to include a D.C. National Guard educational grant program in the House version of the Defense Authorization bill. Unfortunately, the program was dropped in conference. This year, Norton got the figures on DCNG enrollment and decided it was important to try again.
The Congresswoman said, “The small education incentives would not only encourage high quality recruits; this benefit has the important goal of helping the DCNG to maintain the force necessary to protect not only our residents, but also the federal presence and employees, including Members of Congress, the Supreme Court, and visitors, if an attack on the nation’s capital should occur. These hard-pressed men and women have been abruptly torn from their families and jobs to serve without a vote. Many have been called to serve in Iraq and Afghanistan two or three times. At the very least, they deserve every opportunity available to other members of the armed forces at a time when they face financial hardship arising from war.”