PRIA, Government Policy, Made Personal

Summary

Only U.S. citizens or nationals who meet minimum standards set by the Secretary of Transportation can be nominated for a competitive cadet appointment to the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. Senators may nominate people who live in their state. Members of the House may nominate people who live in their congressional district. Delegates may nominate residents of DC, the Virgin Islands, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa. The Resident Commissioner may nominate people from Puerto Rico. The Panama Canal Commission may nominate certain residents or children of residents of areas in Panama covered by treaty, and children of U.S. government and Commission staff living in Panama. Each year slots are assigned: states get slots based on their number of members in Congress; DC gets 4; the Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa get 1 each; Puerto Rico gets 1; the Northern Mariana Islands gets 1 (nominated by its Governor); and the Panama Canal Commission gets 2. The Secretary of Transportation must run a competitive selection system that ranks nominees using exams, school records, and other signs of likely success. Appointments fill each area’s slots by rank, and any leftover slots are filled from the remaining nominees by rank across all areas. If a Senator, Representative, or Delegate’s nominee is chosen, that lawmaker must be told at least 48 hours before the appointment is announced.

Title 46, §51302

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(a)Requirements.—

An individual may be nominated for a competitive appointment as a cadet at the United States Merchant Marine Academy only if the individual—

(1)is a citizen or national of the United States; and

(2)meets the minimum requirements that the Secretary of Transportation shall establish.

(b)Nominators.—

Nominations for competitive appointments for the positions allocated under subsection (c) may be made as follows:

(1)A Senator may nominate residents of the State represented by that Senator.

(2)A Member of the House of Representatives may nominate residents of the State in which the congressional district represented by that Member is located.

(3)A Delegate to the House of Representatives from the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, or American Samoa may nominate residents of the jurisdiction represented by that Delegate.

(4)The Resident Commissioner to the United States from Puerto Rico may nominate residents of Puerto Rico.

(5)The Panama Canal Commission may nominate—

(A)residents, or sons or daughters of residents, of an area or installation in Panama and made available to the United States under the Panama Canal Treaty of 1977, the agreements relating to and implementing that Treaty, signed September 7, 1977, and the Agreement Between the United States of America and the Republic of Panama Concerning Air Traffic Control and Related Services, concluded January 8, 1979; and

(B)sons or daughters of personnel of the United States Government and the Panama Canal Commission residing in Panama.

(c)Allocation of Positions.—

Positions for competitive appointments shall be allocated each year as follows:

(1)Positions shall be allocated for residents of each State nominated by the Members of Congress from that State in proportion to the representation in Congress from that State.

(2)Four positions shall be allocated for residents of the District of Columbia nominated by the Delegate to the House of Representatives from the District of Columbia.

(3)One position each shall be allocated for residents of the Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa nominated by the Delegates to the House of Representatives from the Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa, respectively.

(4)One position shall be allocated for a resident of Puerto Rico nominated by the Resident Commissioner to the United States from Puerto Rico.

(5)One position shall be allocated for a resident of the Northern Mariana Islands nominated by the Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands.

(6)Two positions shall be allocated for individuals nominated by the Panama Canal Commission.

(d)Competitive System for Appointment.—

(1)Establishment of system.—

The Secretary shall establish a competitive system for selecting individuals nominated under subsection (b) to fill the positions allocated under subsection (c). The system must determine the relative merit of each individual based on competitive examinations, an assessment of the individual’s academic background, and other effective indicators of motivation and probability of successful completion of training at the Academy.

(2)Appointments by jurisdiction.—

The Secretary shall appoint individuals to fill the positions allocated under subsection (c) for each jurisdiction in the order of merit of the individuals nominated from that jurisdiction.

(3)Remaining unfilled positions.—

If positions remain unfilled after the appointments are made under paragraph (2), the Secretary shall appoint individuals to fill the positions in the order of merit of the remaining individuals nominated from all jurisdictions.

(e)Congressional Notification in Advance of Appointments.—

When a nominee of a Senator, Representative, or Delegate is selected for appointment as a cadet, the Senator, Representative, or Delegate shall be notified at least 48 hours before the official notification or announcement of the appointment is made.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 51302(a)46 App.:1295b(b) (1)(A).June 29, 1936, ch. 858, title XIII, § 1303(b)(1)–(3)(A), as added Pub. L. 96–453, § 2, Oct. 15, 1980, 94 Stat. 1998; Pub. L. 101–595, title VII, § 708(1), (2), Nov. 16, 1990, 104 Stat. 2995. 46 App.:1295b(b)(2) (A) (related to nominations). 51302(b)46 App.:1295b(b)(1) (less cl. (A)). 46 App.:1295b(b)(3) (A)(ii) (related to who may be nominated). 51302(c)46 App.:1295b(b)(3) (A) (less (ii) (related to who may be nominated)). 51302(d)46 App.:1295b(b)(2) (A) (related to selection), (B), (3)(B), (C). In subsection (b)(6)(A), the words “residents, or sons or daughters of residents, of an area or installation” are substituted for “a resident of the area or installation” in 46 App. U.S.C. 1295b(b)(1)(B) and “sons or daughters of residents of any area or installation” in 46 App. U.S.C. 1295b(b)(3)(A)(ii) to resolve an inconsistency in the source law and to conform to the probable intent of Congress. Although 46 App. U.S.C. 1295b(b)(1)(B) provides that a nominee must be a resident, 46 App. U.S.C. 1295b(b)(3)(A)(ii) allocates positions only for sons or daughters of residents.

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2016—Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 114–328 added subsec. (e). 2011—Subsec. (b)(3). Pub. L. 111–383, § 3503(1), inserted “the Northern Mariana Islands,” after “Guam,”. Subsec. (b)(5), (6). Pub. L. 111–383, § 3503(2), redesignated par. (6) as (5) and struck out former par. (5) which read as follows: “The Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands may nominate residents of the Northern Mariana Islands.”

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 2016 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 114–328 applicable with respect to the appointment of cadets and midshipmen to the United States Military Academy, the United States Naval Academy, the United States Air Force Academy, and the United States Merchant Marine Academy for classes entering these service academies after Jan. 1, 2018, see section 566(e) of Pub. L. 114–328, set out as a note under section 7442 of Title 10, Armed Forces.

§51302 Nomination and Competitive Appointment of Cadets