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Questions and Answers About Draft Registration
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 End of Draft Registration?
After years of work by the Center on Conscience and War (formerly NISBCO) and CCCO, the House of Representatives voted to end funding for draft registration and Selective Service in July. Unfortunately, this victory was short-lived as the Senate voted to restore funding to Selective Service in September by "borrowing" from Fiscal Year 2001. In conference, the House deferred to the Senate's vote and President Clinton signed funding for Selective Service into law on October 20.
The Center on Conscience and War continues to work for passage of the Selective Service Standby Act. The bill would end draft registration and put Selective Service on deep standby (as opposed to this summer's effort to simply cut off funding). The Center is currently seeking co-sponsors for the bill (HR 1812).
Read CCCO Communications Coordinator Chris Lombardi's response to calls for the revival of the draft.
Center on Conscience and War Alert, September 1999
The House of Representatives, through the VA-HUD Appropriations Bill (HR 2684), voted to eliminate funding for the Selective Service System, leaving that agency only enough money to terminate itself.
The Senate passed an appropriations bill that maintains funding for Selective Service.
The appropriations bills are now in a conference committee that will decide the fate of Selective Service. The conference committee, composed of members of the House and Senate, will decide whether the Senate or House version of the appropriations bill prevails.
If you feel strongly about the continued existence of draft registration, contact your Member of Congress and your Senator. You may also want to contact members of the conference committee.
How do I contact my Member of Congress?
Below is a sample letter to send to your Representatives and Senators.
Please send a copy of these letters to either Rep. Ron Paul's office (fax:
202-226-4871) or the Center on Conscience & War (fax: 202-483-1246) or mail
us a copy to 1830 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20009.
Sample Letters
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: You can send letters to your Representative to US
House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515. You can also call the
Congressional switchboard at (202)224-3121 for your Representative's phone
number.
(date)
Dear Congressperson ___:
I am writing to you in support of the complete elimination of the
Selective Service System Agency as voted by the House in the current VA-HUD Appropriations bill.
While there are numerous documents that show the military's declining
dependence on draft registration, the most damaging for the Selective
Service System was the 1994 Defense Department report entitled "A Review of
the Continued Requirement for Draft Registration". In this report, the
Defense Department stated that peace-time registration could be suspended
without irreparable damage to national security. According to this report,
with such a large volunteer army, as well as a large reserve, the
mobilization needs of the US military were no longer large enough to
require draft registration.
I would also like to point out that there is no provision in the current
registration process methods that provides for conscientious objectors to
war. Under the current registration process all men are required to
register 30 days before or after their 18th birthday. Since classification
would not occur until after a draft is held, no outlet legally exists for a
young man to express his conscientious objection to war. Many of these
young men believe registration incorrectly tells the world that they are
willing to kill for their country. Nonregistration is a felony punishable
by up to $250,000 and/or five years in prison, as well as denial of federal
student financial aid and employment, as well as some state financial aid,
employment and college entrance. Young conscientious objectors must once
again face the dilemma to either appease their conscience and break the law
or abide by the law and betray their conscience. As a country that prides
itself on the freedoms that it offers, our young men should not have to
choose between serving the laws of God or the laws of man.
In this day and age where we demand cost efficiency and fiscal
responsibility, we should do away with outdated agencies such as the
Selective Service System. We should strive to curtail unnecessary federal
expenditure, and restore our tradition of protecting our civil liberties.
Please vote to eliminate the Selective Service System. Thank you.
Sincerely,
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
FOR THE SENATE:You can send letters to your members to US Senate,
Washington, DC 20515. You can also call the Congressional switchboard at
(202)224-3121 for your Senators' phone numbers.
(date)
Dear Senator ___:
I am writing to you in support of the complete elimination of the Selective
Service System Agency in the current VA-HUD Appropriations bill.
While there are numerous documents that show the military's declining
dependence on draft registration, the most damaging for the Selective
Service System was the 1994 Defense Department report entitled "A Review of
the Continued Requirement for Draft Registration". In this report, the
Defense Department stated that peace-time registration could be suspended
without irreparable damage to national security. According to this report,
with such a large volunteer army, as well as a large reserve, the
mobilization needs of the US military were no longer large enough to
require draft registration.
I would also like to point out that there is no provision in the current
registration process methods that provides for conscientious objectors to
war. Under the current registration process all men are required to
register 30 days before or after their 18th birthday. Since classification
would not occur until after a draft is held, no outlet legally exists for a
young man to express his conscientious objection to war. Many of these
young men believe registration incorrectly tells the world that they are
willing to kill for their country. Nonregistration is a felony punishable
by up to $250,000 and/or five years in prison, as well as denial of federal
student financial aid and employment, as well as some state financial aid,
employment and college entrance. Young conscientious objectors must once
again face the dilemma to either appease their conscience and break the law
or abide by the law and betray their conscience. As a country that prides
itself on the freedoms that it offers, our young men should not have to
choose between serving the laws of God or the laws of man.
In this day and age where we demand cost efficiency and fiscal
responsibility, we should do away with outdated agencies such as the
Selective Service System. We should strive to curtail unnecessary federal
expenditure, and restore our tradition of protecting our civil liberties.
Please vote to eliminate the Selective Service System. Thank you.
Sincerely,
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Members of the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Republicans:
Ted Stevens, AK, Chairman
Thad Cochran, MS
Arlen Specter, PA
Pete Domenici, NM
Christopher Bond, MO*
Slade Gorton, WA
Mitch McConnell, KY
Conrad Burns, MT*
Richard Shelby, AL*
Judd Gregg, NH
Robert Bennett, UT
Ben Nighthorse Campbell, CO
Larry Craig, ID*
Kay Bailey Hutchison, TX*
Jon Kyl, AZ*
Democrats:
Robert Byrd, WV, Ranking Member*
Daniel Inouye, HI
Ernest Hollings, SC
Patrick Leahy, VT*
Frank Lautenberg, NJ*
Tom Harkin, IA*
Barbara Mikulski, MD*
Harry Reid, NV
Herb Kohl, WI
Patty Murray, WA
Byron Dorgan, ND
Dianne Feinstein, CA
Richard Durbin, IL
*denotes members of the VA-HUD Subcommittee
____________________________________________________________
Center on Conscience and War/NISBCO
1830 Connecticut Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20009
(202)483-2220
(800)379-2679
fax (202)483-1246
nisbco@igc.org
www.nisbco.org
_____________________________________________________
History of Struggle to Defund Selective Service
At CCCO, we field a steady stream of calls from parents concerned that Selective Service will sweep their sons into some foreign war. We get hundreds of calls every year from parents and young people about draft resistance, draft registration, conscientious objection, and the "Solomon amendments," that deny resisters access to crucial financial assistance from the government.
We answer their questions, but young men of conscience continue to face the often horrible choice: should I refuse to cooperate with a system designed to send us to kill and die but lose federal funds for college, or should I register for the draft and disobey my conscience?
In July 1995 Gerald Solomon (R-N.Y.) flexed his muscle as Chair of the House Rules Committee to block a uniquely bipartisan effort to shut down the Selective Service system. Fiscal conservatives, joining forces with anti-draft Democrats in an Appropriations subcommittee, had agreed to de-fund the system. However, backroom arm-twisting by Solomon restored $23 million in Selective Service appropriations. In late July, after a debate on the floor, the House voted 235 to 174 to defeat an amendment to de-fund Selective Service.
In 1994, we came even closer to shutting down draft registration, winning a vote in the House before losing in the Senate.
Unfortunately, in his first term, Clinton, despite his own history of draft resistance and avowed admiration for more overt resisters, publicly supported a continuation of draft registration. It is possible that he will either reverse this position in a second term, or at least be convinced to stay silent. |
