USMMA Athletics Act of 2026
Summary
What This Bill Does
The bill lets the Secretary of Transportation create a nonprofit support entity under New York law for United States Merchant Marine Academy athletics. The entity would give the Academy a dedicated structure for athletic-program fundraising, support, and administration while remaining tied to federal oversight.
Who Benefits and How
United States Merchant Marine Academy athletes benefit from a dedicated support structure for athletic programs. Academy coaches benefit if fundraising and program support become easier to administer. Academy alumni donors benefit from a clearer entity for supporting athletics. The Academy benefits from a lawful structure tailored to athletic-program support.
Who Bears the Burden and How
The Transportation Secretary must decide whether and how to establish the support entity. Academy administrators must coordinate athletics support with the new entity. Support entity directors must comply with nonprofit governance and federal oversight expectations. Federal oversight staff must monitor the relationship between the Academy and the support entity.
Key Provisions
- Authorizes creation of a New York nonprofit support entity.
- Limits the entity's purpose to supporting Merchant Marine Academy athletic programs.
- Gives the Transportation Secretary discretion to establish the entity.
- Creates a governance channel for donations, support, and program administration.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Authorizes the Transportation Secretary to establish a New York nonprofit entity to support athletic programs at the United States Merchant Marine Academy.
Key Policy Areas
Maritime, Education, Sports
Primary Purpose
Authorizes the Transportation Secretary to establish a New York nonprofit entity to support athletic programs at the United States Merchant Marine Academy.
Policy Domains
Bill provisions
Identified Gains
- United States Merchant Marine Academy athletes
- Academy coaches
- Academy alumni donors
- United States Merchant Marine Academy
Identified Costs
- Transportation Secretary
- Academy administrators
- Support entity directors
- Federal oversight staff
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
ReportedCommittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Reported by Senator Cruz …
Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. …
Reported by Mr. Cruz, with an amendment
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Ordered to be reported …
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, …
Mr. Wicker (for himself and Mr. Kelly) introduced the following …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Academy administrators, Academy coaches, United States Merchant Marine Academy
Positive-direction: Academy coaches, United States Merchant Marine Academy, United States Merchant Marine Academy athletes
Negative-direction: Academy administrators
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "secretary"
- → Secretary of Transportation
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology