The fiscal 2017 National Defense Authorization Act will not force women to sign up for the draft, according to a Capitol Hill aide.
The Senate’s version of the defense policy bill included a provision that would require women to sign up with the Selective Service. While the bill that passed out of the House Armed Services Committee contained a similar plan, it was stripped out on the House floor and the bill that passed the lower chamber did not make women sign up for the draft.
Members of the conference committee told the Capitol Hill aide that it would not be included in the compromise final bill, which is expected to be released in the lame duck session of Congress.
Instead, the bill will require the Pentagon to undertake a study on whether a draft is even still needed since the U.S. has relied on an all-volunteer force since Vietnam.
A spokesman for Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, and chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, declined to comment, saying that negotiations are still ongoing.
Top military brass have said they support women signing up for the draft.
“It’s my personal view that based on this lifting of restrictions … that every American who’s physically qualified should register for the draft,” Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Robert Neller said at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing in February.
