10 U.S.C. § 7442 — Cadets: appointment; numbers, territorial distribution

(a) The authorized size of the Corps of Cadets is 4,400, or a lower number the Secretary of the Army^* sets under (j). Cadets are selected by these routes: (1) 65 cadets chosen by merit through competitive exams, from children of members of the armed forces^* who were killed in action or died from, or have a service-connected disability rated at not less than 100 percent resulting from, wounds or injuries received or diseases contracted in, or a preexisting injury or disease aggravated by, active service^*, children of members who are in "missing status," and children of civilian employees in missing status. The Department of Veterans Affairs' determination about the cause and rating^* of a disability is binding on the Secretary of the Army. (2) Five cadets nominated by the Vice President at large, or by the President pro tempore of the Senate if there's no Vice President. (3) Ten cadets from each state, five nominated by each of that state's two Senators. (4) Five cadets from each congressional district, nominated by that district's Representative. (5) Five cadets from the District of Columbia, nominated by its Delegate. (6) Four cadets from the Virgin Islands, nominated by its Delegate. (7) Six cadets from Puerto Rico — five nominated by the Resident Commissioner, and one native of Puerto Rico nominated by its Governor. (8) Five cadets from Guam, nominated by its Delegate. (9) Three cadets from American Samoa, nominated by its Delegate. (10) Three cadets from the Northern Mariana Islands, nominated by its Delegate. Each Senator, Representative, and Delegate — including Puerto Rico's Resident Commissioner — can nominate up to 15 people per open slot, either unranked or with one main candidate and up to 14 ranked or unranked backups. Qualified nominees who are not chosen still count as qualified alternates for selection under other parts of this law. When someone's nominee is chosen as a cadet, the nominating Senator, Representative, or Delegate must be told at least 48 hours before the appointment is officially announced.

(b) The Academy may also appoint each year: (1) 100 cadets picked by the President from children of members of the armed forces who (A) are on active duty^*, not training, and have served continuously for at least eight years, (B) are retired with pay^* or getting retired or retainer pay, or died while eligible for it, (C) are in reserve components with at least eight years of credited service, or (D) would qualify for retired pay under a specific chapter except for not yet turning 60, or died while they would have qualified — except that a person already eligible under (a)(1) cannot also be picked this way. (2) 85 cadets nominated by the Secretary of the Army from enlisted Regular Army members. (3) 85 cadets nominated by the Secretary of the Army from enlisted reserve component members. (4) 20 cadets nominated by the Secretary of the Army, under the Secretary's own rules, from honor graduates of schools the Army, Navy, or Air Force designate as honor schools, and from ROTC members. (5) 200 cadets chosen by the Secretary of the Army, in order of merit under section 7443, from qualified alternates nominated under (a)(3) through (a)(10).

(c) The President may also appoint as cadets the children of people awarded the Medal of Honor for acts performed in the armed forces.

(d) The Superintendent may nominate 50 people each year from the country at large. These nominations cannot bump any appointment authorized under (a)(2) through (a)(10), and cannot push the Corps of Cadets over its authorized total size.

(e) If the yearly quota under (b)(1), (b)(2), or (b)(3) isn't filled, the Secretary may fill the empty slots with other qualified candidates from those same sources who scored well on the admissions exam but weren't otherwise nominated.

(f) Every candidate nominated under (a)(3) through (a)(9) must actually live in the state, congressional district, or territory — the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, or the Virgin Islands — they're nominated from.

(g) The Secretary of the Army may cap how many cadets get appointed under this section, based on what the Academy can properly handle, after consulting the Senate and House Armed Services Committees, subject to: (1) cadets counted toward each nominating authority under (a)(3) or (a)(4) can't be capped below four; (2) if the Secretary caps appointments under (a)(3) or (a)(4), then appointments under (b)(1) through (b)(4) are capped at (A) 27 under (b)(1), (B) 27 under (b)(2), (C) 27 under (b)(3), and (D) 13 under (b)(4); (3) if the Secretary caps appointments under (b)(5), then appointments under (b)(2) through (b)(4) are capped at (A) 27 under (b)(2), (B) 27 under (b)(3), and (C) 13 under (b)(4); and (4) none of these caps change how (e) works.

(h) The Superintendent must tell any Member of Congress, if asked in writing, which Representative or other nominating authority nominated a specific named person for the Academy.

(i) When counting toward the Corps of Cadets size limit in (a), the Secretary of the Army may allow the actual number to vary by up to one percent for any year. For this rule, the last day of the academic year counts as graduation day.

(j) (1) Starting with the 2003–2004 academic year, the Secretary of the Army may raise the cadet strength limit each year, by no more than 100 cadets, or a smaller number set by (3), until it reaches 4,400. (2) Any increase must be set no later than when the President submits the federal budget for the fiscal year that starts in the same year the academic year begins. The Secretary must send Congress written notice of the increase stating the amount of the increase in the cadet strength limit, the new cadet strength limit after the increase, and the amount of the increase in Senior Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps enrollment under sections 2104 and 2107. (3) The size of any one year's increase cannot be bigger than the previous year's increase in the total number of cadets enrolled in the Army Senior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program who entered into an agreement under section 2104 or 2107. (4) In this part, "cadet strength limit" means the Academy's authorized maximum Corps of Cadets size.