Military Draft Registration: Lawmakers Push to End Secret Service?

Two representatives from opposite parties, Peter DeFazio, a Democrat from Oregon, and Mike Coffman, a Republican from Colorado, are on a campaign to abolish the Secret Service System.

DeFazio and Coffman said the Pentagon has no interest in returning to conscription due to the success of the all-volunteer force. The Selective Service has a budget of $24 million and a full-time staff of 130, according to reports.

The Selective Service maintains a database of about 17 million potential male draftees. In the event of a draft, the agency would mobilize as many as 11,000 volunteers to serve on local draft boards that would decide if exemptions or deferments to military service were warranted.

The agency's director Lawrence Romo said the Selective Service is "an "inexpensive insurance policy." We are the true backup for the true emergency."

Men between the ages of 18 and 25 are required to register, either online or by mail. Those who fail to register can be charged with a felony, even though the Justice Department hasn't prosecuted anyone for that offense since 1986.

Failing to register can also mean the loss of financial aid for college, or being refused employment with the federal government, and denied U.S. citizenship.

"There is no one who wants this except 'chicken hawk' members of Congress," DeFazio said, using a term to describe a person who pushes for the use of military power but never served in the armed forces.

Selective Service head Lawrence Romo described the agency as an "inexpensive insurance policy," and claimed "we are the true backup for the true emergency."

Women are not required to sign up for the draft, but some experts say with the lifting of the ban on women in combat, there might be a change in the law.

"With regards to Selective Service, you know, that's not our operation," current Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said. "I don't know who the hell controls Selective Service, if you want to know the truth. But, you know, whoever does, they're going to have to exercise some judgment based on what we just did."

Tags

Bi-Partisanship, Registration, American politics

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