Is this simply more political correctness?
Senate Armed Services Committee approved language in its annual defense bill that would require women registration for the draft.
According to a Thursday summary, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which was approved Wednesday by the committee behind closed doors, “amends the Military Selective Service Act to require the registration of women for Selective Service,” according a release.
Since the Vietnam War, the United States has not established a draft. Pentagon officials repeatedly stated that they plan to keep the force all volunteer.
Men between the ages of 18 and 25 must still register with what is officially called the Selective Service System. If they don’t, they could lose access to federal financial aid.
Congress has been debating whether to expand the registration requirement to women since all combat jobs were opened to female service members in 2016.
That year, both the House and Senate Armed Services committees included a requirement for women to register in their initial versions of the NDAA.
The language was dropped by the House version of the bill before it reached the floor. The House version of the NDAA became law after conservatives tried to remove the language from negotiations between the Senate and the House. Instead, it created a commission to examine the draft registration requirements.
Last year, that commission recommended draft registration be expanded to include women, calling it a “necessary and fair step.”
Senator Armed Services Chairman Jack Reed (D.I.), hinted earlier this year that the changes to his draft would be made into his committee’s NDAA. He stated that he hoped to incorporate “in large part” the recommendations of the commission.
In June, the Supreme Court declined to take up a case challenging the constitutionality of the all-male draft, citing the expectation that Congress would soon act on the issue.
“It remains to be seen, of course, whether Congress will end gender-based registration under the Military Selective Service Act,” wrote Justice Sonia Sotomayor in an opinion, joined by Justices Stephen Breyer and Brett Kavanaugh. “But at least for now, the Court’s longstanding deference to Congress on matters of national defense and military affairs cautions against granting review while Congress actively weighs the issue.”
