The U.S. military hasn’t drafted the draft in more than 50 years, but Congress is considering proposals to update the mandatory draft, including expanding it to women for the first time and automatically registering those who can be called.
The proposals that are before the House and Senate are unlikely to become law, and none would immediately reinstate the mandatory service plan. But the debate over potential changes reflects how lawmakers are rethinking the plan at a time when readiness concerns have come to the forefront and the Pentagon faces recruiting challenges amid risks and conflicts across the world.
Last week, the House passed an annual defense policy bill that, in addition to authorizing $895 billion in military spending, including a 19.5 percent pay raise for soldiers, contained a bipartisan proposal that would make registration for the draft automatic. Meanwhile, a Senate committee last week approved a version of the Pentagon’s bill that would extend the registration requirement to women. Sen. Jack Reed, Democrat of Rhode Island and chairman of the panel, defended the proposed parity proposal.
Current law requires most men between the ages of 18 and 25 to register with the Selective Service, the agency that maintains a database of information on those who might be subject to the military draft, commonly known as the draft. The program is intended to allow military officials to determine who is eligible to be drafted in the event that Congress and the president activate the draft, which last happened in 1973, at the end of the Vietnam War.
Failure to register is considered an offense and may result in various penalties.
At least 46 states and territories have laws that automatically register men for Selective Service when they get a driver’s license or apply to college, which has helped the program generate a high compliance rate. In 2023, more than 15 million men have registered across the country, or about 84 percent of those eligible.
Defense Department officials say the number of young Americans volunteering for military service has declined, continuing a downward trend since the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. According to the last reportsLess than 1 percent of adults in the United States serve in active duty combat roles, a significant decline from the last draft period in the 1960s, when a much larger proportion of Americans served in the fight.
A group of military experts suggested to Congress in 2020 that including women in the draft would be “in the national security interests of the United States.” Since then, Congress has repeatedly considered proposals to make this change, but they were all abandoned before becoming law.
Since 2016, women have been allowed to serve in all roles in the military, including ground combat, and there is some degree of bipartisan support for the idea that they should also be subject to the draft. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska, noted that she championed a similar proposal when she was in the Alaska House of Representatives, and Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said the change “seems logical.” .
Even Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, has already expressed support for an expanded role for women in the military, including adding the same registration requirements that men face.
But the idea of adding women to the bill has faced a wall of opposition among conservative Republicans for years, and at least one Republican Senate candidate is seeking to use the issue to attack his Democratic opponent.
Shortly after the Senate committee approved the change, Sam Brown, a combat-wounded former Army captain who is challenging Sen. Jacky Rosen, Democrat of Nevada, in one of the nation’s most competitive races, condemned Ms. Rosen for supporting the proposal.
Mr Brown called the decision “absurd” and “unacceptable” in a video he posted on social media. “Our daughters will not be forced into the draft,” he said, pointing to Ms. Rosen, without any mention of the Republican senators who have publicly supported such a change.
Other right-wing Republicans have been quick to link the proposed addition of women to military draft registration to what they see as a progressive trend running amok within the U.S. military. Sen. Josh Hawley, Republican of Missouri, called the decision a “woke” one imposed on the nation’s armed forces.
“We need to take back control of reality here,” Mr. Hawley said on Fox News. “There should be no women in the draft. They should not be forced to serve if they do not want to.
The automatic registration proposal has generated less controversy. Supporters argue it would streamline and reduce expenses for an agency that spends millions of dollars a year reminding citizens and residents of a certain age that registration is required by law.
Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, a Pennsylvania Democrat and Air Force veteran who led the proposal, said it would “cut existing government red tape and allow an important government office to be more efficient and effective.” ‘saving money for more American taxpayers.’
Rep. Don Bacon, a Nebraska Republican who also served in the Air Force, called the proposed change “exceptional.”
Yet the measure is poorly understood, and congressional action in recent days has been misinterpreted in some quarters as a reinstatement of the project itself.
Cardi B, a famous rapper known for her tendency to occasionally weigh in on political topics, expressed skepticism that the current generation of young Americans was ready to be called into battle.
“These new children? You want to send these new kids to fight these wars? » Cardi B said in a since-expired video on social media.
“All I want to say to America is: good luck with this. »
