Women in the U.S. could be required to sign up for the draft if language in the draft National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2022 ends up in the final version of the bill.
According to The Hill, a version of the act that includes draft requirements for women was approved behind closed doors Wednesday by the Senate Armed Services Committee. Before it could become law, this language would have to remain in after the act passes the Senate and the House of Representatives. It would also need to be signed by President Joe Biden.
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If passed, women in the country would have to sign up for Selective Service – as all men do between age 18 and 25 – for the first time in the nation’s history, according to Roll Call. Though men are required to sign up, no American has been drafted since the Vietnam War more than four decades ago.
When combat roles in the U.S. armed forces were opened up to women in 2015 debate about requiring conscription for women heated up, Roll Call said. Although armed services panels in both the House and the Senate approved a change that would require women to sign up for selective service in 2016, it did not end up in the final version of the act in 2017.
At that time, Republicans worked to remove the provision. Instead, a mandated study of the issue was required by the 2017 bill. While there has been bipartisan support for including women in the draft, some, including Trump administration official Russ Vought, are still opposed to the measure.
Last year, a committee created by Congress recommended that women be included in the draft and in 2019 a federal Texas judge ruled that the all-male draft is unconstitutional. The Supreme Court passed on a case questioning whether the draft is constitutional last month on the grounds that the issue would soon be addressed by Congress.
“I actually think if we want equality in this country, if we want women to be treated precisely like men are treated and that they should not be discriminated against, we should be willing to support a universal conscription,” said Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.), chair of the House Armed Services Military Personnel Subcommittee. Speier tried to persuade the House to include the provision in 2017.
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Analysis published by the Pew Research Center in 2019 shows than fewer than one-third of the world’s countries draft people into militaries. Of 60 countries found with active conscription programs, only 11 were confirmed to draft men and women.
The Senate’s draft bill also includes another history-making addition, said Roll Call – the creation of special military justice offices that would decide whether to prosecute allegations of sexual assault and most other felonies. This job now performed by senior officers in the chain of command of the accused.
According to the outlet, the House plans to mark up its version of the National Defense Authorization Act, including the provision to include women in the draft, next week.
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