46 U.S.C. § 51302 — Nomination and competitive appointment of cadets

submitted 20 years ago by Pub. L. 109-304 to r/title-46-SHIPPING · 609 words · no verdicts yet

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Members of Congress and certain officials nominate residents for competitive cadet appointments at the Merchant Marine Academy, with positions allocated by state population and set numbers for territories. The Secretary runs a merit-based selection system and must notify nominating lawmakers before announcing appointments.

(a) Requirements. Someone can be nominated for a competitive cadet appointment at the Academy only if they are a U.S. citizen or national and meet the minimum requirements the Secretary of Transportation sets. (b) Nominators. Different officials can nominate people for the positions set out in subsection (c): a Senator can nominate residents of their own state; a House Member can nominate residents of their own congressional district's state; a Delegate from D.C., the Virgin Islands, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, or American Samoa can nominate residents of that jurisdiction; the Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico can nominate Puerto Rico residents; and the Panama Canal Commission can nominate residents (or their children) of certain areas in Panama covered by the 1977 Panama Canal Treaty and related agreements, plus children of U.S. government and Panama Canal Commission staff living in Panama. (c) Allocation of Positions. Each year, positions are handed out this way: positions for each state are split among that state's members of Congress in proportion to how many members it has; 4 positions go to D.C., nominated by its Delegate; 1 position each goes to the Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa, nominated by their Delegates; 1 position goes to Puerto Rico, nominated by its Resident Commissioner; 1 position goes to the Northern Mariana Islands, nominated by its Governor; and 2 positions go to people nominated by the Panama Canal Commission. (d) Competitive System for Appointment. The Secretary must set up a merit-based system to pick among nominees for these positions, judging them by competitive exams, academic background, and other signs of motivation and likely success at the Academy. The Secretary appoints people for each jurisdiction's positions in order of merit among that jurisdiction's nominees. If positions are still open after that, the Secretary fills them in order of merit among all remaining nominees from every jurisdiction. (e) Congressional Notification in Advance of Appointments. When a Senator's, Representative's, or Delegate's nominee is chosen as a cadet, that Senator, Representative, or Delegate must be told at least 48 hours before the appointment is officially announced.

the actual law source: uscode.house.gov ↗public domain

(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.

Source credit: (Pub. L. 109–304, § 8(b), Oct. 6, 2006, 120 Stat. 1570; Pub. L. 111–383, div. C, title XXXV, § 3503, Jan. 7, 2011, 124 Stat. 4518; Pub. L. 114–328, div. A, title V, § 566(d), Dec. 23, 2016, 130 Stat. 2139.)

history & why it existsrecord from the source credit

2006Enacted · Pub. L. 109-304 · 120 Stat. 1570
2011Amended · Pub. L. 111-383 · 124 Stat. 4518
2016Amended · Pub. L. 114-328 · 130 Stat. 2139

A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by Pub. L. 109-304 on 2006-10-06.

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