"As I say, in all the years that I've been involved, one way or another -- as a member of Congress, SECDEF, the Vice President now -- I have yet to encounter anybody in the uniformed military or in a position of responsibility who thinks we ought to go back to the old days, where we operated based on a draft, instead of an all-volunteer force. It works. It works extraordinary well. It's the best military I think the world has ever seen. And I don't know anybody in their right mind who would want to go back and do that. And the notion that somebody is peddling out there, that there's a secret plan to reinstate the draft -- hogwash, not true." ~ VP Dick Cheney
"Laws are like sausages. It is better not to see them being made." ~ Prussian Prime Minister Otto Von Bismarck {1815-1898}
US Selective Service ended the draft in 1973. The last man inducted entered the US Army on June 30, 1973. In 1980, President Jimmy Carter re-instated mandatory registration of US male citizens with US Selective Service to maintain an updated list of available candidates in case there is a need to re-instate the draft. According to law, a man must register with Selective Service within 30 days of his 18th birthday. Selective Service will accept late registrations but not after a man has reached age 26. Some men may have failed to register during the time they were eligible to do so and may now find they are ineligible for certain benefits. Men cannot register after age 26.
January 2003, Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y. introduced HR163, {aka The Universal National Service Act of 2003}, "to provide for the common defense by requiring that all young persons in the United States, including women, perform a period of military service or a period of civilian service in furtherance of the national defense and homeland security, and for other purposes." HR163 had 14 co-sponsors {all Dems}. 218 votes are needed for the House to pass a bill. Senator Ernest 'Fritz' Hollings, D-SC {retiring at the end of his current term} sponsored an identical bill in the Senate {SB89}, but had no co-sponsors. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, sponsored bill HR487, which proposes to eliminate the Selective Service system. Rep. Paul's bill was co-sponsored by 5 Democratic and 2 Republican representatives.
It takes a bit of drilling, but it's worth it {Bismarck's caveat not withstanding} if you'd like to see a blow by blow, and subsequent defeat of HR163 {402-2}. Go to the Library of Congress' Thomas page Under the heading "Congressional Record" click the "This Congress by Date" link. Next click the "House" link for October 5, 2004. Scroll down to #47 to find the Universal National Service Act of 2003 and click the "House of Representatives October 05, 2003" link. Click the "Page:H8117" link. From that point on continue to click the "Forward on this document link" until you reach the page with the Yea vs Nay info.
"This bill is a fraud, and so is the pernicious campaign of deception that has brought it to the floor today. I urge all my colleagues to vote no, and expose to the light of truth the craven, partisan whisper campaign now poisoning the national debate." ~ House Majority Leader Tom DeLay
"My office is getting calls all the time about it. Anybody who has an 18-year-old son is calling to say what's the reality when the president says no, John Kerry says maybe?" ~ Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash.
related:
- The House Dodges Draft Bill - House Republicans Tuesday shot down a bill introduced by Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) that could have restored the military draft. It required 18- to 26-year-olds to sign up for two years of military service. But Democrats accused the Republican-controlled House of scheduling the vote at a time it would face certain defeat, during a close presidential race rife with rumors that a draft was eminent if President Bush were to be reelected. The vote tally was an overwhelming 402-2.
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