Bipartisan Legislation Seeks to Repeal Draft

A bipartisan group of senators this week introduced a bill to repeal the military draft, saying that the program, which has not been used since the Vietnam War, is outdated.

"I've long stated that if a war is worth fighting, Congress will vote to declare it and people will volunteer," Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky, said about the legislation, which he is co-sponsoring with Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., reported The Hill.

"It has been over 50 years since the draft was last used," Paul added. "This outdated government program no longer serves a purpose and should be eliminated permanently."

The bill would repeal the Military Selective Service Act, the legislation passed in 1917 during World War I to help the United States fill its military ranks through a draft. 

The law requires all able-bodied men who are between the ages of 18 and 45 to register so they can be called up for military service if necessary. 

Selective Services costs have been climbing for years, with $33.4 million requested in 2025, reported Military.com. The budget for this year is just over $30 million, but the agency has already asked Congress for $11 million next for registration efforts, including advertising campaigns to push for improvements in areas where people are not complying with the law. 

"The Selective Service is a long-outdated program that eats up millions of taxpayer dollars and gives us nothing in return," Wyden said in a statement about the repeal effort.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

The repeal bill comes while Congress is debating expanding the draft to include women, after the Defense Department opened all combat roles to female military members in 2015. Senate Democrats included language in the annual National Defense Authorization Act that would require women to register, but Republicans and social conservatives objected. 

Measures to compel women to register for the draft have been pulled out of the NDAA for several years, with the most recent deletion in 2022. 

But those who defend women being included in the draft say the move is necessary to bring in people in the case of a 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."

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