A bipartisan group of senators introduced legislation Thursday to abolish the government agency that keeps a list of men eligible for the military draft. (Stars and Stripes)
WASHINGTON — A bipartisan group of senators introduced legislation Thursday to abolish the government agency that keeps a list of men eligible for the military draft.
The senators say the agency, known as the Selective Service System, is costly and a relic of the past, operating with a budget of $31 million per year to prepare for a draft that has not occurred since 1973.
“Our volunteer military forces are the strongest in the world, and there is no need to replicate the same draft that sent 2 million unwilling young men to war 50 years ago,” said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.
Wyden cosponsored the bill alongside Republicans Rand Paul of Kentucky and Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming. Paul, a vocal advocate for congressional war powers, said Congress will declare war if it is worth fighting, and people will volunteer to fight it.
“This outdated government program no longer serves a purpose and should be eliminated permanently,” he said.
The bill comes as the Selective Service will begin automating the registration of men ages 18 to 25 for a potential draft, removing a decades-old requirement that male U.S. citizens and most male residents register themselves.
News that the agency was moving forward with the automation, which will pull information from various federal government databases and is expected to be completed by December, sparked fears of a potential draft stemming from the current war against Iran.
But lawmakers say the days of calling up young men to fight are over.
Americans “don’t want or need” the draft, Wyden said. Enacting one would require a president to get approval from Congress, and the last time a president sought one was during the Vietnam War. The military became an all-volunteer force in 1973.
Lummis said the Selective Service System has long outlived its purpose and contributes “nothing to our national defense.” The proposed bill will both save taxpayer money and restore “a little more freedom,” she added.
The legislation’s prospects are dim. Lawmakers have tried and failed for decades to repeal the Military Selective Service Act, the 1948 law that authorized the government to maintain a standby system for drafting men into the armed forces.
