Racial Disparities in Congressional Nominations to the Military Service Academies TABLE of CONTENTS
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
GATEKEEPERS TO OPPORTUNITY Racial Disparities in Congressional Nominations to the Military Service Academies TABLE OF CONTENTS ABOUT CVLC AND THE VETERANS INCLUSION PROJECT _________________________________ 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ______________________________________________________ 3 Key Findings _________________________________________________________________ 5 Key Recommendations ___________________________________________________________ 6 RACE IN THE ACADEMIES ____________________________________________________ 8 The Struggle for Integration ________________________________________________________ 8 Race in the Academies Today ______________________________________________________ 10 ACADEMY NOMINATIONS PROCESS ______________________________________________ 12 Students Apply to a Member of Congress ______________________________________________ 13 Members of Congress Select Candidates for a Nomination ____________________________________ 13 Members of Congress Submit Nominees to the Service Academies ______________________________ 14 New Requirements Under the PANORAMA Act ____________________________________________ 15 DATA ANALYSIS __________________________________________________________ 17 Overview __________________________________________________________________ 17 Nominations in the House and Senate ________________________________________________ 19 Nominations by Party __________________________________________________________ 21 Systemic Inequities ___________________________________________________________ 22 Individual Congressional Nominators _________________________________________________ 22 I. Nominations Relative to District Demographics _______________________________________ 22 II. Nominations to Students of Color _______________________________________________ 25 III. Nominations to Students of Color by Urban and Rural Nominators __________________________ 28 RECOMMENDATIONS ______________________________________________________ 30 1 DATA METHODOLOGY ______________________________________________________ 38 Sources of Nominations Data ______________________________________________________ 38 Coding of Race and Ethnicity Data ___________________________________________________ 39 Coding of Nominators and Nominations _______________________________________________ 39 Ranking Members of Congress _____________________________________________________ 39 Suggested Data Reforms ________________________________________________________ 40 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ______________________________________________________ 41 APPENDICES ____________________________________________________________42 Appendix A: Nominations Relative to District Demographics, Full List _____________________________ 42 Appendix B: Nominations to Students of Color, Full List ______________________________________ 47 Appendix C: Urban and Rural Nominations to Students of Color, Full List ___________________________ 52 Appendix D: Methodology and Data Sources ____________________________________________ 58 REFERENCES ____________________________________________________________ 61 ABOUT CVLC AND THE VETERANS INCLUSION PROJECT The Connecticut Veterans Legal Center (CVLC) is dedicated to removing the legal barriers to housing, health- care, and income for veterans recovering from homelessness and mental illness. Its vision is for all military veterans to live with adequate means, affordable healthcare, safe and secure housing, and peace of mind. CVLC provides free legal services to low-income veterans and veterans recovering from homelessness and mental illness. As the first medical-legal partnership co-located at a VA facility, CVLC is a national leader in medical-legal partnerships and veterans’ legal services. Through its national policy arm, the Veterans Inclu- sion Project, CVLC uses impact litigation, reports on key issues, practice manuals for veterans and advocates, and national media outreach to advance veterans law. 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA), United from a Member of Congress or another official States Naval Academy (USNA), and United States Mil- nominating source. Congressional nominations itary Academy at West Point (USMA) are the nation’s have not previously been closely studied, but they three largest military service academies.1 These are vitally important to creating opportunities for publicly funded and highly selective institutions diversity in the academies. Students who receive a prepare students to serve at the highest ranks of the nomination from their Senator or Representative armed forces. The academies contribute significant- make up 60-70% of the student body at each acade- ly to senior military leadership, my, outnumbering those who and therefore have substantial receive nominations from all 2 influence on military culture. THE EXISTING DISTRIBUTION other sources, including the While every congressional OF NOMINATIONS ALLOWS President, the Vice President, district is represented at the LONGSTANDING RACIAL the Secretaries of each mili- service academies, the student INEQUITIES TO PERSIST— tary service, and the academy body fails to reflect the demo- INEQUITIES THAT WOULD REMAIN Superintendents.6 This report graphic diversity of our na- EVEN IF MEMBERS OF CONGRESS' finds that Members of Con- tion.3 A 2019 report published NOMINATIONS BETTER MATCHED gress have nominated dis- by CVLC showed that Members THEIR DISTRICT DEMOGRAPHICS. proportionately more white of Congress have nominated students than Black, Hispanic, more than three times as many or Asian and Pacific Islander male as female students.4 This new report illustrates students.7 While some of these inequities may be that congressional nominations have also contribut- attributed to the demographic characteristics of ed to significant racial and ethnic disparities in the Members’ districts, this report demonstrates that student bodies of the academies, and therefore, the Congressional nominations frequently overrepre- leadership of the nation’s military.5 sent white students and underrepresent students To be considered for admission, all service of color. Further, the existing distribution of nom- academy applicants must secure a nomination inations allows longstanding racial inequities to 3 Parade of cadets on the Plain at the United States Military Academy at West Point Dave Lowe persist—inequities that would remain even if Mem- To evaluate congressional nominations, the bers of Congress’ nominations better matched Connecticut Veterans Legal Center (CVLC) request- their district demographics. ed records from USAFA, USNA, and USMA in 2018 and As a result, underrepresented students across 2019 under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). the nation do not have equitable access to the ser- CVLC combined those records with data obtained in vice academies, and are denied the lifelong opportu- earlier FOIA requests to create a dataset of congres- nities that an appointment can provide. Moreover, sional nominations from the 1994-1995 admissions the underrepresented students who do secure ad- cycle to the 2019-2020 cycle. The analysis in this mission to the academies often face discriminatory report is based on Department of Defense records treatment during their service.8 Further, the lack obtained by CVLC and provides an overview of the of diversity in nominations deprives the military stark racial disparities in congressional nomina- service academies of a diverse pool of qualified can- tions to the service academies. didates—and divests our military of a diverse cohort The data in this report are based on each current of future leaders. Congress and the Department of Member of the 117th Congress with more than 10 Defense must implement broad and comprehensive nominations in the academies’ datasets from 1994 to policies to address the structural shortcomings of early 2019. Of the 117th Congress, 81 Senators, 285 Rep- the current nominations system. resentatives, and 5 Delegates have submitted over 10 nominations and are included in the analysis.9 4 KEY FINDINGS MEMBERS OF CONGRESS HAVE AWARDED 219 of the 371 Members of Congress included in ONLY 6% OF THEIR TOTAL NOMINATIONS this report’s analysis granted less than 5% of their TO BLACK STUDENTS. nominations to Black students and 49 Members did not nominate a single Black student. MEMBERS OF CONGRESS HAVE AWARDED 182 Members of Congress nominated less than 5% ONLY 8% OF THEIR NOMINATIONS TO Hispanic nominees, and 31 did not nominate a single HISPANIC STUDENTS. Hispanic student. WHITE STUDENTS ARE DISTINCTLY White students received 74% of nominations despite OVERREPRESENTED IN CONGRESSIONAL comprising 54% of the U.S. population aged 18 to 24. NOMINATIONS. MEMBERS OF BOTH PARTIES IN THE Democrats have nominated a higher ratio of students of HOUSE AND SENATE HAVE UNDER- color. In 2009-2019, House Democrats nominated 32% NOMINATED YOUNG PEOPLE OF COLOR compared to Republicans’ 15%, while Senate Democrats RELATIVE TO THEIR DISTRICT OR STATE nominated 20% to Republicans’ 13%. POPULATIONS. 5 KEY RECOMMENDATIONS The Department of Defense, Congress, and individual Members should each take action to ensure that qualified students have equitable access to the military service academies. THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE SHOULD: • Publish annual data showing, for each individual Member of Congress, how many candidates— by race, ethnicity, and gender—the Member has nominated to each military service academy each year. • Consider the race, ethnicity, and gender of potential nominees and appointees when