Senators James Lankford (R-OK) and Jim Inhofe (R-OK) today asked Congressional leaders of the Senate and House Armed Services Committees to remove a National Defense Authorization Act provision that would require women to register for military Selective Service.
A version of the annual National Defense Authorization Act passed the Senate on July 7 and the House on May 18. The final conference report is currently being negotiated this week.
Lankford and Inhofe were joined on the letter by Senators Ben Sasse (R-NE), Orrin Hatch (R-UT), John Thune (R-SD), Pat Roberts (R-KS), Johnny Isakson (R-GA), John Boozman (R-AR), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Steve Daines (R-MT), John Hoeven (R-ND), Steve Daines (R-MT), Mike Lee (R-UT), Jerry Moran (R-KS), David Perdue (R-GA), James Risch (R-ID), Tim Scott (R-SC), and Roger Wicker (R-MS).
The full text of the letter is below:
The Honorable John McCain
Chairman, Senate Armed Services Committee
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Jack Reed
Ranking Member, Senate Armed Services Committee
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Mac Thornberry
Chairman, House Armed Services Committee
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Adam Smith
Ranking Member, House Armed Services Committee
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Chairman McCain, Ranking Member Reed, Chairman Thornberry, and Ranking Member Smith,
We, the undersigned, request your consideration on a matter of great importance as you prepare for conference negotiations on the FY17 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
As you know, the Senate-passed bill includes language that would, for the first time, require women to register for the Selective Service. We believe it is better to refrain from this expansion and to instead, task an independent commission to study the purpose and utility of the Selective Service System, specifically determining whether the current system is unneeded, if it is sufficient, or if it needs an expanded pool of potential draftees.
We should not hinder the brave men and women of our armed forces by entrapping them in unnecessary cultural issues. Our all-volunteer military is the best military the world has ever seen, and women who wish to serve in this military are free to do so. The provision of the FY17 NDAA requiring women to register for the Selective Service should be removed.
We respectfully ask that you remain mindful of our opposition as you negotiate the final conference product. Specifically, we urge you to adopt the House position.
Are you kidding me!! If women want in to the combat arms then standards must be the same for men and women, including having to register for selective service! Unbelievable…
It is incredible—on a mind-boggling level–that we have reached the point in all of this gender-bending social experimentation and discounting of gender that we’d even CONSIDER drafting girls into the military. We have reached a new low in our society when we stop protecting women and girls and instead demand that they go out and become soldiers. The fact that this is happening while the Republicans have a majority in both houses is appalling—why is such a travesty and such an atrocity even a consideration?