Senate Committee Wants to Draft Our Daughters
June 19, 2024 | Washington, D.C.
by Tabitha Walter, Executive Director, Eagle Forum
The House and Senate have been working on the annual bill that sets priorities for our nation’s military. Generally known as the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the bill historically garnered bipartisan support. However, over time, the Left has decided to use our great military as a laboratory for their destructive social agenda — including CRT, DEI, trans surgeries, and abortion travel funding. Last week, House Republicans passed their version free of most of these liberal policies. Sadly, the Senate decided to revive the horrible idea of including women in the draft in their version which is on its way to the Senate floor.
The Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act “NDAA” for Fiscal Year 2025 (H.R. 8070) passed the House last week with several notable provisions. During a robust amendment process, conservatives addressed many of the “woke” problems that our military faces. A handful of amendments eliminated all offices of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) within the Department of Defense (DOD). Another ensured that transgender surgeries and procedures would not be covered by the military’s health insurance. Representative Beth Van Duyne (R-TX) was successful in including language that would prohibit the Secretary of Defense from reimbursing individuals for abortion-related expenses.
Such a large bill isn’t without its downsides. The bill contains a measure to discontinue marijuana testing for new military recruits. This initiative, sponsored by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), is a response to the rapid decline in eligible men joining the military. However, the DOD already has the power to issue waivers to overlook these offenses on a case-by-case basis. Implementing a blanket policy prohibiting testing would eliminate the discretion that recruiting officers now employ. Refusing to even allow the military to screen out habitual marijuana users, who lack the judgment and discipline to abstain from drugs, could result in real harm to our military as they defend our country. Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-AL) drafted an amendment to strip the language out but was prevented from even offering it for a vote. The NDAA passed by a vote of 217 to 199 with only 6 Democrats voting in favor.
During this time, the Senate was working on its version of the NDAA. Once again, the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) inserted a provision to require women ages 18-25 to register for the Selective Service. When the measure was proposed in the NDAA four years ago, the grassroots stepped into action. After receiving numerous calls and emails from concerned constituents as well as a threat from House Republicans to strip out the language in conference, SASC members decided to remove it themselves. Last year’s NDAA contained no provision for women in the draft. Now, it seems they think we aren’t watching anymore.
Unfortunately, some Republican members of the SASC are in favor of such a measure. Thankfully, other members are speaking out against it. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) joined Fox News’ The Ingraham Angle to talk about his qualms with the Senate’s NDAA saying:
You’ve got the Democrats who want to turn the entire military into a giant trans experiment. They want to force women to accept men in their sports. They want to turn biological women into men. And then you got a whole group of Republicans who just want more people to fight all these wars they want to get us into. And the rest of the country, the normal people, are like, ‘Leave our daughters alone.’ This is insane stuff!
This is not a new policy for the Left. Former Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg considered the male-only draft sexist in her 1977 book Sex Bias in the U.S. Code. Our Founder, Phyllis Schlafly, called the efforts to draft women a “radical social experiment.” For decades, she made sure that the GOP Platform protected women. It currently states:
We support the all-volunteer force and oppose unnecessary policy changes, including compulsory national service and Selective Service registration of women for a possible future draft.
The same principle remains today. Women and men are inherently different. Mandating women to be a part of the Selective Service and therefore eligible for any future draft would divert valuable resources and weaken the nation’s overall military strength. Any woman can seek to enlist in our all-volunteer military, but men are much more likely than women to volunteer and serve. It makes no sense to force all young women to register for a future draft when only a small percentage of them would ever enlist. Our national defense is not enhanced by maintaining a list of millions of women who have no intention of becoming soldiers and would never be fit for combat. In addition, statistics show that Marine teams with female members perform at lower levels, complete tasks slower, and fire weapons with a decreased accuracy compared to teams consisting of all males.
Women have a unique role in our families and our society, and we are not interchangeable with men. During times of war, women have contributed by fulfilling their roles as mothers and homemakers as well as working, as Phyllis Schlafly did, in munitions factories and other important jobs here in the United States. Sending our daughters overseas, where they are more likely to be abused by the enemy is a dangerous proposition.
Eagle Forum has joined with like-minded organizations including Advancing American Freedom and Concerned Women for America (CWA), to call for the removal of the provision to include women in the Selective Service. In a press release, CWA’s CEO and President Penny Nance stated:
Sacrificing our young women on the altar of faux equality is a clear dealbreaker. We reject the shameful fallacy that Congress must rubber stamp this social experimentation. An NDAA that drafts our daughters and granddaughters is a non-starter, and we call on members of courage to oppose its advancement and will rally opposition to it from American women.
TAKE ACTION
We have drafted an email for you to send to your Senators to voice your opposition. We urge you to take action today! Click here to contact your Senators.