Monday, 18 November 2024

Men 18 To 26 Automatically Registered For Selective Service In NDAA Passed By House

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The House of Representatives included a measure within this year's National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would automatically register men aged 18 to 26 for selective service.

“For the first time since 1972, the NDAA bill passed today by the House would automatically register all males age 18-26 for Selective Service in the Military. For the past 52 years, males were required to register on their own, but compliance had reportedly been lagging,” journalist Michael Tracey wrote.

The defense bill passed the House by a vote of 217 to 199.

The legislation now moves to the Senate.

Per Fox News:

While it hasn’t been invoked in over half a century, it’s mandatory for all male U.S. citizens to register for the selective service, also known as the military draft, when they turn 18. Failure to register is classified as a felony and comes with a host of legal challenges.

Supporters of the amendment argue that it would cut down on bureaucratic red tape and help U.S. citizens avoid unnecessary legal issues, as well as cutting down on the taxpayer dollars going toward prosecuting those cases.

It was led by Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa., and passed in the House Armed Services Committee’s version of the NDAA in May. The NDAA advanced through the committee in an overwhelming 57 to 1 vote.

“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,” Houlahan said during debate last month, according to Defense News.

“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.”

According to NBC News, the GOP-controlled House also included provisions targeting abortion and DEI initiatives at the Pentagon.

“This year’s NDAA will refocus our military on its core mission of defending America and its interests across the globe, fund the deployment of the National Guard to the southwest border, expedite innovation and reduce the acquisition timeline for new weaponry, support our allies, and strengthen our nuclear posture and missile defense programs,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said in a statement.

NBC News reports:

It includes a 19.5% pay raise for junior enlisted service members and bigger allowances for food and housing.

But the bill was also amended to include a provision that would “prohibit the Secretary of Defense from paying for or reimbursing expenses relating to abortion services” — undoing a policy the Biden administration put in place in 2022. It echoes last year’s widely condemned protest by Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., who blocked military promotions for months in a failed bid to pressure the Pentagon to revoke its policy of paying travel expenses related to abortions.

While the NDAA passed out of the Armed Services Committee on an overwhelmingly bipartisan 57-1 vote, House Republicans then added several conservative amendments along party lines over the last two days once the bill made it to the House floor, making it controversial. That includes an amendment that would permanently freeze hiring for diversity, equity and inclusion (or DEI) jobs within the Defense Department and eliminate the department’s position of chief diversity officer. It would also bar the Tricare health care program from providing gender transition surgeries.


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