United States Merchant Marine Academy

(a) Sense of Congress It is the sense of Congress that— (1) the United States Merchant Marine Academy, one of our Nation’s 5 Federal service academies, is vital to our national security, and modernizing the Academy's aging infrastructure and investing in faculty and students must be congressional priorities; (2) sufficient funding must be provided to enable the maximum student enrollment that the campus infrastructure of the United States Merchant Marine Academy can support; and (3) considering the Academy’s role as a co-equal military service academy, the United States Merchant Marine Academy should be included in the rotation of presidential attendance at graduations. (b) Authorization of appropriations Section 51301 of title 46, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: (d) Authorization of appropriations There are authorized to be appropriated to the Department of Transportation out of the Maritime Security Trust Fund established under section 50301(b) of this title, $125,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2035 for Academy operations.. (c) Report on enrollment Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Maritime Administrator shall submit a report to the appropriate committees of Congress identifying the additional resources needed to increase enrollment at the United States Merchant Marine Academy.