U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy Thursday endorsed making a major financial investment to upgrade the “dilapidated” U.S. Merchant Marine Academy campus in Kings Point but stopped short of backing a bill, introduced last week by Long Island’s House delegation to spend $1 billion on school improvements over the next decade.
Following a tour of USMMA, one of five federal service academies, Duffy said it was unacceptable that midshipman can go months without hot water or that some aging buildings have mold.
“This is not partisan stuff,” Duffy told reporters. “This is investing in America. And I think when you get Republicans and Democrats who are willing to stand together and you look at the young graduates that come from the school and how important it is for national security, I think we’re going to get that investment in.”
A bipartisan bill, introduced last week by four Long Island House members — two Democrats and two Republicans — proposed a $1.02 billion, 10-year modernization plan to upgrade the 82-acre campus, which opened in 1943 and has seen its physical condition deteriorate in recent decades.
Duffy Thursday declined to put a dollar figure on the amount of money needed to modernize and overhaul the academic facilities, utilities and physical training center.
But he said a decade is too long to complete the project.
“We can’t wait 10 years,” he said. “We have to find a way to build faster … If we can build the Golden Gate Bridge in four years, we can rebuild this academy in far fewer years than 10.”
Rep. Thomas Suozzi (D-Glen Cove), one of the bill sponsors, who joined Duffy on part of the tour, called the Merchant Marine Academy a “national treasure that’s been completely underinvested in.”
USMMA, which is overseen by the DOT, trains men and women to be midshipman working on deep sea vessels and in the military.
Many of the buildings on the campus date back to the founding of the institution, which were quickly constructed during World War II and were meant to be temporary.
For example, modern information technology is nearly nonexistent in several buildings, according to the school’s Maritime Security Infrastructure Council, which developed the billion-dollar improvement plan.
Duffy Thursday also said the Academy had “gotten better” in addressing issues of sexual assault and harassment among cadets.
A report to Congress released last summer showed that USMMA cadets reported a dozen incidents of sexual assault during the 2022-23 academic year, double the number from one year earlier, despite widespread efforts by the school to combat allegations of sexual misconduct dating back more than a decade.
Merchant Marine Academy Superintendent Joanna Nunan said Thursday that improvements have been made to protect mariners at sea and on campus.
“In some ways, getting more reports, especially lower-level reports, on sexual harassment, is a very good thing,” Nunan said, “because it shows that people trust the system and that they’re going to get the support that they need.”
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy Thursday endorsed making a major financial investment to upgrade the “dilapidated” U.S. Merchant Marine Academy campus in Kings Point but stopped short of backing a bill, introduced last week by Long Island’s House delegation to spend $1 billion on school improvements over the next decade.
Following a tour of USMMA, one of five federal service academies, Duffy said it was unacceptable that midshipman can go months without hot water or that some aging buildings have mold.
“This is not partisan stuff,” Duffy told reporters. “This is investing in America. And I think when you get Republicans and Democrats who are willing to stand together and you look at the young graduates that come from the school and how important it is for national security, I think we’re going to get that investment in.”
A bipartisan bill, introduced last week by four Long Island House members — two Democrats and two Republicans — proposed a $1.02 billion, 10-year modernization plan to upgrade the 82-acre campus, which opened in 1943 and has seen its physical condition deteriorate in recent decades.
Duffy Thursday declined to put a dollar figure on the amount of money needed to modernize and overhaul the academic facilities, utilities and physical training center.
But he said a decade is too long to complete the project.
“We can’t wait 10 years,” he said. “We have to find a way to build faster … If we can build the Golden Gate Bridge in four years, we can rebuild this academy in far fewer years than 10.”
Rep. Thomas Suozzi (D-Glen Cove), one of the bill sponsors, who joined Duffy on part of the tour, called the Merchant Marine Academy a “national treasure that’s been completely underinvested in.”
USMMA, which is overseen by the DOT, trains men and women to be midshipman working on deep sea vessels and in the military.
Many of the buildings on the campus date back to the founding of the institution, which were quickly constructed during World War II and were meant to be temporary.
For example, modern information technology is nearly nonexistent in several buildings, according to the school’s Maritime Security Infrastructure Council, which developed the billion-dollar improvement plan.
Duffy Thursday also said the Academy had “gotten better” in addressing issues of sexual assault and harassment among cadets.
A report to Congress released last summer showed that USMMA cadets reported a dozen incidents of sexual assault during the 2022-23 academic year, double the number from one year earlier, despite widespread efforts by the school to combat allegations of sexual misconduct dating back more than a decade.
Merchant Marine Academy Superintendent Joanna Nunan said Thursday that improvements have been made to protect mariners at sea and on campus.
“In some ways, getting more reports, especially lower-level reports, on sexual harassment, is a very good thing,” Nunan said, “because it shows that people trust the system and that they’re going to get the support that they need.”
