Group of senators introduces bill to end military draft

A bipartisan group of senators has introduced legislation to end the military draft, calling it an “outdated” government program that no longer serves a purpose.  

The bill, introduced Thursday by Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), would repeal the Military Selective Service Act, commonly known as the draft. First passed in 1917 to fill the ranks during World War I, the law requires all able-bodied men between the ages of 18 and 45 to register for possible military service, but it has not been used since the Vietnam War. 

“It has been over 50 years since the draft was last used,” Paul said in a statement on the bill. “I’ve long stated that if a war is worth fighting, Congress will vote to declare it and people will volunteer. This outdated government program no longer serves a purpose and should be eliminated permanently.”

The legislation comes as Congress once again debates the expansion of the draft given the Defense Department opened all combat roles to women in 2015. Senate Democrats this year added language to the annual defense authorization bill to require women to register for the draft, prompting a backlash from Republicans and social conservatives.

A measure to compel women to register for potential service has continuously been stripped out of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) year after year, most recently in 2021 and 2022.

What’s more, the annual cost of the program has steadily inched upward, jumping from a $26 million budget in 2021 to a $33.4 million request for 2025. 

“The Selective Service is a long-outdated program that eats up millions of taxpayer dollars and gives us nothing in return,” Wyden said in a statement. “This is a commonsense bill that brings our military into the twentieth century and keeps money in American wallets.”

Defenders of women included in the draft, meanwhile, argue that expansion makes it possible to draw on a wider range of talent should the worst happen. 

A commission created by the 2017 NDAA to study the issue recommended as much, when it released a report in 2020 that called the move “a necessary and fair step, making it possible to draw on the talent of a unified Nation in a time of national emergency.”

“Women are doing a remarkable job in our forces today, and if we were in a situation requiring a draft, I think we would need all able-bodied citizens 18 and above,” Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Jack Reed (D-R.I.) said in June. “If we go to a draft, that means we’re in a serious, serious situation.”