Under the ``Coast Guard Academy Opportunity Act,'' starting in
academic year 2014, each Member of Congress could nominate up to three
qualified candidates to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. In turn, the
Coast Guard would be required to fill a quarter of slots for the
incoming class from this pool of congressional nominations comprised of
qualified, geographically diverse applicants. Then, in each subsequent
academic year, half of the slots in each incoming class would have to
be filled through the congressional nominations process.
This legislation would not require the Coast Guard to lower its
student selection criteria or increase the size of the student
population. To the contrary, it anticipates that the Coast Guard will
continue to use its criteria to select the best candidates from the
pool of Member-nominated candidates for half of the slots in the
incoming class, just as it will do to fill the slots in the other half
of the incoming class. The ``Coast Guard Academy Opportunity Act''
simply seeks to make Congress a partner in helping to put talented
young people--from every corner of the country--on the path to a
rewarding career in the U.S. Coast Guard.
