[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4554 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4554

To establish a program under which employees of the legislative branch 
 may be reimbursed for the costs of graduate school tuition and fees, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 23, 2002

Mr. Meeks of New York introduced the following bill; which was referred 
                to the Committee on House Administration

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To establish a program under which employees of the legislative branch 
 may be reimbursed for the costs of graduate school tuition and fees, 
                        and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Dual Incentive Education Act of 
2002''.

SEC. 2. GRADUATE STUDY REIMBURSEMENTS FOR CERTAIN LEGISLATIVE BRANCH 
              EMPLOYEES.

    (a) In General.--The head of each employing office in the 
legislative branch may make payments to an eligible employee of the 
office to reimburse the employee for tuition and fees paid by the 
employee to an institution of higher education during a semester for 
enrollment in a program of post-baccalaureate study leading to a 
graduate degree.
    (b) Amount of Payment.--The amount of a payment made to an eligible 
employee under this Act shall be equal to the amount of tuition and 
fees paid by the employee to the institution of higher education for 
the semester (excluding any portion of such tuition and fees covered by 
a scholarship or other type of financial assistance which does not 
consist of a student loan), except that such amount may not exceed 
$3,000.

SEC. 3. ELIGIBILITY OF EMPLOYEES.

    (a) In General.--For purposes of this section, an employee is 
eligible to receive a payment under this Act if--
            (1) at the time the first payment is made to the employee 
        under this Act, the employee has been continuously employed on 
        a full-time basis by an employing office for not fewer than 12 
        consecutive months;
            (2) with respect to the semester for which the payment is 
        made, the employee meets the student assistance eligibility 
        requirements of section 484(a) of the Higher Education 
        Assistance Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1091(a));
            (3) with respect to the semester for which the payment is 
        made, the employee provides the head of the employing office 
        with a certification from the institution of higher education 
        in which the employee is enrolled of the employee's enrollment 
        in a graduate program and of the amount of tuition and fees 
        paid by the employee to the institution;
            (4) the employee has not received a payment under this Act 
        for enrollment in another program of post-baccalaureate study, 
        except that nothing in this paragraph may be construed to 
        prohibit an employee from receiving a payment for enrollment in 
        a program leading to more than one graduate degree; and
            (5) the employee provides the office with such other 
        information and assurances as the head of the office may 
        require.
    (b) Treatment of Payments as Addition to Basic Pay.--Any payment 
made to an eligible employee under this Act shall be in addition to 
basic pay and any other form of compensation otherwise payable to the 
employee involved.

SEC. 4. PERMITTING PAYMENTS FOR PREVIOUS ENROLLMENT.

    An employing office which makes a payment under this Act to an 
eligible employee with respect to a semester may make a payment under 
this Act with respect to any semester occurring during the 12-month 
period which ends on the first day of the first semester for which a 
payment is made to the employee by such office under this Act if--
            (1) the payment is made with respect to the same program of 
        post-baccalaureate study for which the first payment is made to 
        the employee by such office under this Act; and
            (2) the employee meets the eligibility requirements of 
        section 3 with respect to such semester.

SEC. 5. ASSISTANCE OF SECRETARY OF EDUCATION.

    The Secretary of Education shall assist employing offices in the 
legislative branch in carrying out this Act.

SEC. 6. EMPLOYING OFFICE DEFINED.

    The term ``employing office in the legislative branch'' means any 
of the following:
            (1) The personal office of a Member of the House of 
        Representatives (including a Delegate or Resident Commissioner 
        to the Congress).
            (2) A committee of the House of Representatives or a joint 
        committee, except that the majority and minority office of such 
        a committee shall each be considered as a separate employing 
        office in the legislative branch.
            (3) Any other office headed by a person with the final 
        authority to appoint, hire, discharge, and set the terms, 
        conditions, or privileges of the employment of an employee of 
        the House of Representatives.
            (4) The Office of the Architect of the Capitol.
            (5) The Capitol Police Board.
            (6) The Congressional Budget Office.
            (7) The General Accounting Office.
            (8) The Government Printing Office.
            (9) The Library of Congress (including the Congressional 
        Research Service).

SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to each employing office 
such sums as may be necessary for making graduate study payments under 
this Act in fiscal year 2003 and each succeeding fiscal year.
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