US Women May be Forced to Register for Military Draft by 2018 / Sputnik International
The proposal, called the Draft America’s Daughters Act (DADA), was rolled out on Thursday by the Senate Armed Services Committee. It followed the approval of a similar draft by the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee last month.
“Because the Department of Defense has lifted the ban on women serving in ground combat units, the committee believes there is no further justification in limiting the duty to register under the Military Selective Service Act to men,” the proposal reads.
© AP Photo/ Mindaugas Kulbis
The United States has had a volunteer military since the 1970s, but it reserves the right to reinstate conscription. For that purpose, all American men are obliged by law to register with Selective Service shortly after they turn 18.
American women have never been subject to registration for the draft or military conscription.
US Representative Duncan Hunter (R-CA), who introduced DADA, said his aim was to raise debate on the issue. He suggested that women don’t want to be drafted, adding that it is “irresponsible” to make such a decision “without the American people having a say.”
“If this Administration wants to send 18 to 20-year-old women into combat, to serve and fight on the front lines, then the American people deserve to have this discussion through their elected representatives.”
US Representative Pete Sessions (R-TX), the chairman of the powerful House Rules Committee, said he would oppose DADA, and would submit an amendment to eliminate the proposal.
To be shaped as law, DADA must be approved by the full House and Senate, as well as by the President, who puts laws into force. Under the quickest scenario, women could become subject to draft registration by 2018.
http://sputniknews.com/us/20160514/1039597019/us-women-military-draft.html/
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govtrack.us
Summary of H.R. 4478: Draft America’s Daughters Act of 2016
Under current law, male citizens age 18 to 25 are required to register with the Selective Service, so that they may be called up in the event of a military draft. Women are not required to register, a position long upheld -- including in the 1981 Supreme Court decision Rostker v. Goldberg -- on the basis that women were not allowed to serve in combat positions.
But that may change now that all combat jobs have been open to women since December. A new bill would require women to register for the draft as well.
H.R. 4478, the Draft America’s Daughters Act, was introduced earlier this month by Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA50), a Marine Corps veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The bill was introduced two days after Marine Corps commandant Gen. Robert Neller and Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley said they believe women should be required to enter the draft.
“It’s wrong and irresponsible to make wholesale changes to the way America fights its wars without the American people having a say on whether their daughters and sisters will be on the front lines of combat,” Hunter said. “If this Administration wants to send 18-20 year old women into combat, to serve and fight on the front lines, then the American people deserve to have this discussion through their elected representatives.”
The bill has been referred to the House Armed Services Committee.
Hunter warned that he could potentially vote against his own legislation, if it was folded into the annual defense appropriations bill rather than voted on as standalone legislation.
The issue has divided the leading presidential candidates. Marco Rubio supports it, Ted Cruz opposes it, Hillary Clinton said she’s not sure, and Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders have yet to weigh in on the issue. (Making this perhaps the only issue Trump has yet to weigh in on.)
Hillary Clinton, who would become the first female president if elected, said she’d “have to think about it” when asked about the issue earlier this month, though she supported women registering when asked in 2007. Rubio said, “I have no problem whatsoever with people of either gender serving in combat so long as the minimum requirements necessary to do the job are not compromised. Now that that is the case, I do believe Selective Service should be opened up for both men and women." Cruz has charged that the policy’s proponents are "so addled by political correctness that they think we should put our little girls on the front line. That's crazy."
Rep. Mike Coffman (R-CO6) has a different idea for achieving equality between the genders on this issue. His bill H.R. 4523, rather than having both men and women register, would have neither register -- by abolishing the Selective Service Act altogether.
A poll from Rasmussen Reports found that women oppose being required to register for the draft, with 52 percent opposed to only 38 percent in favor. Men hold the opposite view, favoring the move by 61 percent.
The summary below was written by the Congressional Research Service, which is a nonpartisan division of the Library of Congress.
2/4/2016--Introduced. Draft America's Daughters Act of 2016
This bill amends the Military Selective Service Act to extend the registration and conscription requirements of the Selective Service System to all U.S. citizens and residents between the ages of 18 and 26. (Currently such provisions apply only to men.)
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/114/hr4478/summary/
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US Women May be Forced to Register for Military Draft by 2018
Congress Bills H.R. 4478
H.R. 4478: Draft America’s Daughters Act of 2016
Introduced:
Feb 4, 2016
Status:
Referred to Committee on Feb 4, 2016
This bill was assigned to a congressional committee on February 4, 2016, which will consider it before possibly sending it on to the House or Senate as a whole.
About the bill
Full Title
To amend the Military Selective Service Act to extend the registration and conscription requirements of the Selective Service System, currently applicable only to men between the ages of 18 and 26, to women between those ages to reflect the opening of Combat Arms Military Occupational Specialties to women.
The bill’s title was written by its sponsor.
Summary
Under current law, male citizens age 18 to 25 are required to register with the Selective Service, so that they may be called up in the event of a military draft. Women are not required to register, a position long upheld -- including in the 1981 Supreme Court decision Rostker v. Goldberg
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/114/hr4478/summary/
http://www.trunews.com/draft-americans-daughters-act-discussed-on-trunews/
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