From Draft NOtices, July-September 2020
Attempt to Extend Draft Registration to Women Falls Short, for Now
— Rick Jahnkow
On July 1, a proposal was made, and then withdrawn without a vote, to add the entire “Inspire to Serve Act” to the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that is being formulated in the U.S. House of Representatives. It was proposed by Representative Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA) during the House Armed Services Committee’s consideration of amendments to the 2021 NDAA.
The Inspire to Serve Act, introduced in the House as H.R. 6415, was drafted by the National Commission on Military, National and Public Service (NCMNPS). It is a wide-ranging proposal that includes, among other things, language to require women to register with the Selective Service System for any future military draft. No committee hearings have been scheduled yet for H.R. 6415.
Edward Hasbrouck from Resist.info reviewed the discussion that occurred around Houlahan’s proposed NDAA amendment and reported the following:
Houlahan said that she supported all of the NCMNPS recommendations, but the only one she singled out as "especially" important to be enacted was expanding draft registration to women.
Rep. Houlahan said that she wanted to indicate support for the proposal, but realized that procedurally the proposal (including all of the NCMNPS recommendations) couldn't be considered at this stage in the NDAA process because some of the proposals would have budgetary implications that would require referral to other committees as well as Armed Services.
Also speaking in support of the proposal were Rep. Michael Waltz (R-FL, Co-Chair of the For Country Caucus), Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE), and Rep. Susan Davis (D-San Diego, CA).
The U.S. Senate produced its version of the 2021 NDAA earlier without any language relating to draft registration. (The Senate NDAA does, however, contain language that would require a plan to expand the number of high schools with JROTC from 3,400 to no less than 6,000 by 2031.)
A final unified version of the 2021 NDAA will need to be adopted by Congress soon. Though draft registration for women will not be addressed in it, the issue can still be taken up as a stand-alone bill, or if the entire Inspire to Serve Act is considered by Congress. An existing federal court ruling that male-only draft registration is unconstitutional is going to compel action of some sort by Congress, though it seems very unlikely it would happen before the November elections. A bill to completely eliminate Selective Service and draft registration, H.R. 5492, is also waiting for possible action.
This article is from Draft NOtices, the newsletter of the Committee Opposed to Militarism and the Draft (http://www.comdsd.org/index.php/draft-notices).
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