Service Academy Parity Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5068 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 5068

 To amend title 14, United States Code, to provide for the nomination
         and appointment of cadets to the Coast Guard Academy.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 22, 2026

  Mr. Scott of Florida introduced the following bill; which was read
     twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
                             Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 To amend title 14, United States Code, to provide for the nomination
         and appointment of cadets to the Coast Guard Academy.

    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 ``Service Academy Parity Act''.

SEC. 2. NOMINATION AND APPOINTMENT OF CADETS TO THE COAST GUARD
              ACADEMY.

    (a) In General.--Section 1922 of title 14, United States Code, is
amended--
            (1) in the section heading by striking ``Appointments'' and
        inserting ``Nominations and appointments'';
            (2) by striking ``Appointments'' and inserting the
        following:
    ``(a) In General.--Appointments''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(b) Requirements.--An individual may be nominated for a
competitive appointment as a cadet at the Coast Guard Academy only if
the individual--
            ``(1) is a citizen or national of the United States; and
            ``(2) meets such minimum requirements as the Secretary
        shall establish.
    ``(c) Nominators.--Nominations for competitive appointments for the
positions allocated under subsection (d) may be made as follows:
            ``(1) The Vice President or, if there is no Vice President,
        the President pro tempore of the Senate, may nominate
        individuals at large.
            ``(2) A Senator may nominate residents of the State
        represented by that Senator.
            ``(3) A Member of the House of Representatives may nominate
        residents of the State in which the congressional district
        represented by that Member is located.
            ``(4) 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.
            ``(5) The Resident Commissioner to the United States from
        Puerto Rico may nominate residents of Puerto Rico.
            ``(6) The Commandant may nominate enlisted members of the
        Coast Guard or the Coast Guard Reserve.
    ``(d) Allocation of Positions.--Subject to the authorized strength
determined by the Secretary and the numerical limitation under section
1921, beginning in the 2029 academic year, positions for competitive
appointments of cadets at the Coast Guard Academy shall be allocated
each year as follows:
            ``(1) 3 individuals selected in order of merit, as
        established by competitive examination, from among the children
        of members of the Armed Forces who were killed in action or
        died of, or have a service-connected disability rated at not
        less than 100 per centum resulting from, wounds or injuries
        received or diseases contracted in, or preexisting injury or
        disease aggravated by, active service, the children of members
        of the Armed Forces who are in missing status (as defined in
        section 551 of title 37), and the children of civilian Federal
        employees who are in missing status (as defined in section 5561
        of title 5). The determination of the Department of Veterans
        Affairs as to service connection of the cause of death or
        disability, and the percentage at which the disability is
        rated, is binding upon the Secretary.
            ``(2) 1 individual nominated at large by the Vice President
        or, if there is no Vice President, by the President pro tempore
        of the Senate.
            ``(3) 230 positions shall be allocated for residents of
        each State nominated by Members of Congress from that State in
        proportion to representation in Congress from that State.
            ``(4) 1 individual nominated by the Delegate to the House
        of Representatives from the District of Columbia from among
        residents of the District of Columbia.
            ``(5) 1 individual nominated by the Delegate to the House
        of Representatives from the Virgin Islands from among residents
        of the Virgin Islands.
            ``(6) 1 individual nominated by the Delegate to the House
        of Representatives from Guam from among residents of Guam.
            ``(7) 1 individual nominated by the Delegate to the House
        of Representatives from the Commonwealth of the Northern
        Mariana Islands from among residents of the Commonwealth of the
        Northern Mariana Islands.
            ``(8) 1 individual nominated by the Delegate to the House
        of Representatives from American Samoa from among residents
        American Samoa.
            ``(9) 2 individuals from Puerto Rico nominated by the
        Resident Commissioner to the United States from Puerto Rico
        from among residents of Puerto Rico.
            ``(10) 20 individuals nominated by the Commandant from
        among enlisted members of the Coast Guard or the Coast Guard
        Reserve.
    ``(e) Congressional Nomination Process.--Beginning in the 2029
academic year, the Secretary, in collaboration with the Commandant,
shall initiate the process by which Members of Congress may nominate
cadets to the Coast Guard Academy for the subsequent academic year.
    ``(f) Competitive System for Appointment.--
            ``(1) Establishment.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall establish a
                competitive system for selecting individuals nominated
                under subsection (d) to fill the positions allocated
                under subsection (d).
                    ``(B) Considerations.--The system established under
                subparagraph (A) shall be capable of determining the
                relative merit of each individual based--
                            ``(i) on competitive examinations;
                            ``(ii) an assessment of the academic
                        background of the individual; and
                            ``(iii) any other effective indicator of
                        motivation and probability of successful
                        completion of training at the Coast Guard
                        Academy.
            ``(2) Appointments by jurisdiction.--The Secretary shall
        appoint individuals to fill the positions allocated under
        subsection (d) for each jurisdiction in the order of merit of
        the individuals nominated from that jurisdiction.
            ``(3) Remaining unfilled positions.--If 1 or more 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.
    ``(g) Congressional Notification in Advance of Appointments.--
            ``(1) Timing.--In the case of a nominee of a Senator,
        Representative, or Delegate who is selected for appointment as
        a cadet, the applicable Senator, Representative, or Delegate
        shall be notified not less than 48 hours before the official
        notification or announcement of the appointment is made.
            ``(2) Transparency.--On written request by a Member of
        Congress, the Superintendent of the Coast Guard Academy shall
        furnish to the Member of Congress, the name of the nominating
        authority responsible for the nomination of any named or
        identified individual for appointment to the Coast Guard
        Academy.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The analysis for chapter 19 of title 14,
United States Code, is amended by striking the item relating to section
1922 and inserting the following:

``1922. Nominations and appointments.''.
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