Congress is having a blast from the past right now as the U.S. military draft has suddenly emerged as a hot topic for lawmakers.
Earlier this month, the House Armed Services Committee passed an annual defense policy bill that included a provision that would require young women to register with Selective Service.
“Women make up over 50 percent of our population and not including them in the Selective Service is not only a disservice to these women but also to our nation as a whole,” Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.), an Air Force veteran, said during a hearing earlier this month, adding that it’s “past time” to make women register for the draft.
At least some Republicans are on board with the plan.
“If it’s so grave that we have to go to a draft, we need everybody,” said Rep. Michael Waltz (R-Fl.), a former Army Green Beret. “We need man, woman, gay, straight, any religion, Black, white, brown. We need everybody, all hands on deck.”
He noted that too many young people are unfit and out of shape – and if an emergency draft is ever needed, we may need to expand the pool of who’s eligible.
“We cannot fence off half of our population in a national emergency, particularly those that can be pilots, cyberwarriors … you name it, across the board,” he said, according to the Oklahoman newspaper.
But not everyone is on board.
“We don’t need to draft women in order for women to have equality in this nation,” Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-Mo.) said, according to Politico. “Women are of worth and of value right now and we are equal with men without having to pass a new law that would require 50 percent of this country — our daughters and our sisters and our wives — to have to be drafted.”
Rep. Stephanie Bice (R-Okla.) also voted against the amendment, saying in a statement: “I’m proud of the women who choose to serve in the military, but I do not believe they should be compelled to do so.”
The debate over the draft might seem like a relic from another time.
The last time it was used in the United States was Dec. 7, 1972, toward the end of the Vietnam War.
In January 1973 – the same day President Richard M. Nixon signed the Paris Peace Accords – Selective Service announced the end of the draft and the start of the all-volunteer military.
But the draft mechanisms remain on the books, ready to be used in an emergency… and to this day, men are required to register when they turn 18 and remain in the pool until they turn 26.
Some have called for doing away with the system.
Senators Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) have proposed eliminating Selective Service – and its $25 million annual cost – altogether.
Last year, however, a military commission studying the issue called for it to remain in place – and that’s led to proposed changes, including a push to draft women, who have been eligible for combat roles in the military since 2016.
One organization even sued over the issue.
A group calling itself the National Coalition for Men went to the Supreme Court with a demand that women be required to register for Selective Service.
Some high-profile names argued in support of that position.
A group of retired generals and admirals, including former CIA director Michael Hayden and Stanley McChrystal, former head of the U.S. Joint Special Operations Command, said the fact that women can now participate in combat makes it an easy call.
“Doubling the pool of potential draftees would do more than give the military an opportunity to draw on a larger pool of qualified candidates to meet its needs in the face of a large-scale conflict,” they argued in a brief filed with the court “It would also permit the military to select the most qualified civilian candidates available for any given role in the military — meaning, a more qualified woman could be chosen in the place of a less qualified man.”
The court passed on issuing a decision, deferring to Congress.
Given that the Senate Armed Services Committee has also backed the provision, women could be required to register for the draft as soon as next year.
The Horn editorial team