In a significant legislative move, the House of Representatives passed a substantial defense bill on Friday evening, which includes a provision to automatically register young men for the Selective Service.
The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), authorizing $895 billion in military spending, passed with a narrow vote of 217-199. However, it faces an uncertain future in the Democrat-controlled Senate due to numerous contentious amendments related to abortion, diversity efforts, and transgender medical treatments.
The provision for automatic registration is part of a longstanding bipartisan effort to maintain the framework for military conscription, even though the draft officially ended in 1975. Under this new measure, young men aged 18 to 26 would be automatically enrolled using federal databases, replacing the traditional process where 18-year-old male U.S. citizens receive a registration card from Selective Service.
Proponents of the legislation argue that this method is more efficient and cost-effective. Representative Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.), an advocate for the bill and an Air Force veteran, stated on the House floor, “By using available federal databases, the [Selective Service] agency will be able to register all of the individuals required and thus help ensure that any future military draft is fair and equitable.
This will also allow us to rededicate resources—basically that means money—towards reading readiness and towards mobilization…rather than towards education and advertising campaigns driven to register people.”
Also, read; Former Flight Attendant Becomes First Black Female Pilot for a Commercial Airline in Ivory Coast
Despite its intended efficiency, the automatic registration provision has sparked debate about the removal of young men’s choice to engage in civil disobedience. Houlahan, who also led a 2021 House bill requiring women to register with the Selective Service, emphasized the need to expand the draft pool, which aligns with a growing centrist consensus among liberals and hawkish conservatives.
Organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) support the inclusion of women in the Selective Service, viewing it as a matter of gender equality. However, critics argue that conscription, regardless of gender inclusion, infringes on individual liberties.
Fred Etcheverry, writing in Reason in 1972, stated, “Conscription of any kind contravenes any constitution that professes to guarantee individual liberties. Otherwise, what is to prevent conscription from being the twelve months Senator Taft feared or the two years we now have, the four years of the National Service Act Bill, or forever?”
The debate over mandatory national service resurfaces periodically, often advocated by nationalists and technocrats who argue for its potential to promote unity.
However, many believe that America’s all-volunteer military is a sign of strength, reflecting a free citizenry’s confidence in discerning when to engage in conflict. They argue that the Selective Service, a vestige of a bygone era of fear, should be abolished rather than made more equitable and efficient.
As the bill moves to the Senate, the future of automatic registration for the draft remains uncertain, continuing a long-standing discussion about the role of conscription in modern America.
