Mississippi Lawmaker Pushing Coast Guard Academy to Use Congressional Nominations

A proposal in Congress would require 50 percent of each incoming class at the Coast Guard Academy to come from a pool of congressionally nominated candidates.

The proposal is part of The Coast Guard Academy Improvement Act introduced by U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, a Democrat representing Mississippi’s 2nd congressional district, on Sept. 26.

Thompson, ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee, which has oversight of the Department of Homeland Security, including the Coast Guard, has for many years pushed for congressional appointments to the academy as a way to increase diversity. Unlike the other military service academies, the Coast Guard Academy has never had congressional nominations or appointments.

Read more at The Day

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