Coast Guard Academy Nominations Act of 2016

Summary: Coast Guard Academy Nominations Act of 2016 This bill amends the laws that govern the U.S. Coast Guard Academy Corps of Cadets. The bill specifies the maximum number of cadets that can be enrolled in the academy in an academic program year. Additionally, the bill describes how individuals may be nominated for appointment in the Corps of Cadets and sets forth guidelines that the Coast Guard must follow when appointing cadets. The bill also sets forth the conditions that cadets must agree with prior to enrollment in the academy, including an obligation to serve in the Coast Guard upon graduation from the academy.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Coast Guard Academy Nominations Act 
of 2016''.

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

    (a) In General.--Chapter 9 of title 14, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) in section 182--
                    (A) by striking the section heading and inserting 
                the following:
``Sec. 182. Regulations governing cadets'';
                    (B) in subsection (a)--
                            (i) by striking so much as precedes the 
                        second sentence; and
                            (ii) by striking the last two sentences; 
                        and
                    (C) by striking subsections (b) through (g);
            (2) by inserting after section 182 the following:
``Sec. 182a. Corps of Cadets authorized strength
    ``The authorized strength of the Corps of Cadets at the Coast Guard 
Academy--
            ``(1) is 1,000, or a lower number prescribed by the 
        Secretary, excluding foreign nationals admitted for instruction 
        pursuant to section 182d; and
            ``(2) shall be determined for any academic program year as 
        of the first day of such academic program year.
``Sec. 182b. Nominations
    ``(a) Each Senator, each Member of the House of Representatives, 
each of the delegates to the House of Representatives from the District 
of Columbia, the Virgin Islands, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, 
and American Samoa, and the Resident Commissioner to the United States 
from Puerto Rico, may nominate to the Secretary each year for 
appointment as cadets in the Corps of Cadets at the Coast Guard Academy 
up to 10 individuals who are--
            ``(1) citizens or nationals of the United States; and
            ``(2) residents of the jurisdiction the nominator 
        represents in Congress.
    ``(b) A nominator under subsection (a) may submit such 
nominations--
            ``(1) without ranking; or
            ``(2) with specification of--
                    ``(A) a principal nominee; and
                    ``(B) up to 9 ranked or unranked alternates.
    ``(c) A nominee under this section who is not appointed under 
section 182c(a) shall, for purposes of section 182c(c), be considered 
an alternate referred to in section 182c(c)(1).
``Sec. 182c. Appointments
    ``(a) The Commandant shall appoint cadets to the Corps of Cadets at 
the Coast Guard Academy.
    ``(b) The Commandant may only appoint as cadets individuals who--
            ``(1) are citizens or nationals of the United States; and
            ``(2)(A) are nominated pursuant to section 182b;
            ``(B) apply directly for admission; or
            ``(C) are enlisted members of the Coast Guard or the Coast 
        Guard Reserve.
    ``(c) To the greatest extent practicable, when making appointments 
under subsection (a), the Commandant shall ensure the Corps of Cadets 
includes--
            ``(1) not fewer than one cadet nominated by each Senator 
        who nominated a cadet who was otherwise eligible for 
        appointment and accepted an appointment;
            ``(2) not fewer than one cadet nominated by each Member of 
        the House of Representatives who nominated a cadet who was 
        otherwise eligible for appointment and accepted an appointment; 
        and
            ``(3) not fewer than one cadet nominated by each of the 
        Delegate to the House of Representatives from the District of 
        Columbia, the Delegate in Congress from the United States 
        Virgin Islands, the Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico, the 
        Delegate in Congress from Guam, the Delegate in Congress from 
        American Samoa, or the Resident Representative from the 
        Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands who nominated a 
        cadet who was otherwise eligible for appointment and accepted 
        an appointment.'';
            (3) by redesignating section 195 as section 182d of such 
        chapter, and transferring such section so as to appear after 
        section 182c (as added by paragraph (1) of this subsection); 
        and
            (4) by inserting after section 182d (as redesignated and 
        transferred by paragraph (2) of this subsection) the following:
``Sec. 182e. Conduct
    ``(a) The Secretary may summarily dismiss from the Coast Guard any 
cadet at the Coast Guard Academy who, during his or her cadetship, is 
found unsatisfactory in either studies or conduct, or is considered by 
the Secretary to be not suitable for a career in the Coast Guard.
    ``(b) Cadets shall be subject to rules governing discipline and 
conduct that are prescribed by the Commandant.
``Sec. 182f. Agreement
    ``(a) As a condition for appointment as a cadet at the Coast Guard 
Academy, the Secretary shall require that each cadet shall sign an 
agreement with respect to the cadet's length of service in the Coast 
Guard. The agreement shall provide that the cadet agrees to the 
following:
            ``(1) The cadet will complete the course of instruction at 
        the Academy.
            ``(2) Upon graduation from the Academy the cadet--
                    ``(A) will accept an appointment, if tendered, as a 
                commissioned officer of the Coast Guard; and
                    ``(B) will serve on active duty for at least five 
                years immediately after such appointment.
            ``(3) If an appointment described in paragraph (2) is not 
        tendered or if the cadet is permitted to resign as a regular 
        officer before the completion of the commissioned service 
        obligation of the cadet, the cadet--
                    ``(A) will accept an appointment as a commissioned 
                officer in the Coast Guard Reserve; and
                    ``(B) will remain in that reserve component until 
                completion of the commissioned service obligation of 
                the cadet.
    ``(b)(1) The Secretary may transfer to the Coast Guard Reserve, and 
may order to active duty for such period of time as the Secretary 
prescribes (but not to exceed four years), a cadet who breaches an 
agreement under subsection (a). The period of time for which a cadet is 
ordered to active duty under this paragraph may be determined without 
regard to section 651(a) of title 10.
    ``(2) A cadet who is transferred to the Coast Guard Reserve under 
paragraph (1) shall be transferred in an appropriate enlisted grade or 
rating, as determined by the Secretary.
    ``(3) For purposes of paragraph (1), a cadet shall be considered to 
have breached an agreement under subsection (a) if the cadet is 
separated from the Academy under circumstances that the Secretary 
determines constitute a breach by the cadet of the cadet's agreement to 
complete the course of instruction at the Academy and accept an 
appointment as a commissioned officer upon graduation from the Academy.
    ``(c) The Secretary shall prescribe regulations to carry out this 
section. The regulations shall include--
            ``(1) standards for determining what constitutes, for the 
        purpose of subsection (b), a breach of an agreement under 
        subsection (a);
            ``(2) procedures for determining whether such a breach has 
        occurred; and
            ``(3) standards for determining the period of time for 
        which a person may be ordered to serve on active duty under 
        subsection (b).
    ``(d) In this section, the term `commissioned service obligation', 
with respect to an officer who is a graduate of the Academy, means the 
period beginning on the date of the officer's appointment as a 
commissioned officer and ending on the sixth anniversary of such 
appointment or, at the discretion of the Secretary, any later date up 
to the eighth anniversary of such appointment.
    ``(e)(1) This section does not apply to a foreign national 
receiving instruction at the Academy under section 182d.
    ``(2) In the case of a cadet who is a minor and who has parents or 
a guardian, the cadet may sign the agreement required by subsection (a) 
only with the consent of the parent or guardian.
    ``(f) For purposes of section 303a(e) of title 37, failure by a 
cadet or former cadet to fulfill the terms of the obligation to serve 
as specified under subsection (a), or an alternative obligation imposed 
under subsection (b), shall be treated as failure to fulfill an 
eligibility requirement.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The analysis at the beginning of such 
chapter is amended--
            (1) by striking the item relating to section 182 and 
        inserting the following:

``182. Regulations governing cadets.
``182a. Corps of Cadets authorized strength.
``182b. Nominations.
``182c. Appointments.
``182d. Admission of foreign nationals for instruction; restrictions; 
                            conditions.
``182e. Conduct.
``182f. Agreement.'';
        and
            (2) by striking the item relating to section 195.
    (c) Transition.--
            (1) In general.--Sections 182b and 182c of title 14, United 
        States Code, as amended by this section, shall apply only with 
        respect to individuals who will begin at the Coast Guard 
        Academy in academic program year 2017 or any such year 
        thereafter, except that--
                    (A) for academic program year 2017, no less than 18 
                percent of the individuals appointed to begin at the 
                Academy in such year shall be appointed from 
                individuals nominated in accordance with section 182b 
                of such title;
                    (B) for academic program year 2018, no less than 36 
                percent of the individuals appointed to begin at the 
                Academy in such year shall be appointed from 
                individuals nominated in accordance with such section; 
                and
                    (C) for academic program year 2019, no less than 54 
                percent of the individuals appointed to begin at the 
                Academy in such year shall be appointed from 
                individuals nominated in accordance with such section.
            (2) Additional actions.--The Secretary of the department in 
        which the Coast Guard is operating may take any additional 
        action the Secretary considers necessary and appropriate to 
        provide for the transition to the nomination, selection, and 
        appointment process provided under the amendments made by this 
        section.