text: 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.
target: Dual Incentive Education Act of 2002 - Permits the heads of legislative branch employing offices to make payments to employees of up to $3,000 for reimbursement of tuition and fees for a semester of graduate study. Requires beneficiaries to have been employed full-time for at least 12 consecutive months and to meet the student assistance eligibility requirements of the Higher Education Assistance Act of 1965. Excludes payments for any portion of tuition and fees covered by a scholarship or other type of financial assistance that does not consist of a student loan.
feat_title: 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.