In 1981, the Supreme Court ruled that women did not have to register for the draft because they did not participate in the front lines of combat. The debate resumed, however, when Defense Secretary Ashton Carter announced in December 2015 that the Pentagon was opening all combat roles to women.
In late April 2016, the House Armed Services Committee, by a vote of 32 to 30, approved an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to require women to register for the draft when they turn 18. Representative Duncan Hunter (CA-R), an opponent of the change, offered the amendment only to spur discussion and then voted against it. The House Rules Committee later removed the language before the bill went to the floor.
The version of the NDAA passed by the full Senate on June 14, 85 to 13, did contain a provision expanding the draft to women, however. Under that bill, women who failed to register could lose some forms of Federal aid, including Pell grants, a penalty now faced by men. Meanwhile, the Congressional Budget Office released a report showing how such a policy would actually save the government money, based on estimates of the number of students who would no longer be eligible for benefits.
Senator John McCain, who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, supported the draft provision, stating:
“The fact is, every single leader in this country, both men and women, members of the military leadership, believe that it’s fair since we opened up all aspects of the military that they would also be registering for Selective Services.”
He added, however, that the provision was “kind of a straw man in that everybody knows we are not going back to the draft.” The United States has not used the draft since 1973 during the Vietnam War.
Senator Ted Cruz (TX-R), one of three Republicans in the Armed Services Committee to oppose the provision, said, “I cannot in good conscience vote to draft our daughters in to the military, sending them off to war and forcing them into combat.”
The House and Senate will have to reconcile their two bills in a conference committee before a final bill goes to President Obama.
