On the recordJuly 7, 2011
I rise to engage in a colloquy with the chairman and ranking member on recruitment and outreach at the military service academies. Mr. Chairman, some areas in the U.S. have been harder for the military academies to reach for recruitment purposes than others. To ease this problem, the Congress should work to ensure that the military academies have the ability to reach out to men and women from underrepresented rural and urban areas. Past outreach efforts have been effective at the military academies. For example, in the U.S. Naval Academy's increased outreach efforts, we have seen results that show that some 19,145 applicants have come out for the class of 2015, an increase of 25 percent over the past 2 years. The Navy has been able to conduct recruitment blitzes in parts of the country that were traditionally underrepresented. In my home State of California, the Navy increased their applicants by 25 percent, from some 2,400 for the class of 2013 to over 3,000 for the class of 2015. I believe it is important for the academies to have the resources to continue building upon this success. This critical investment would help America find the best and the brightest for our military and for America's future.
