The House Armed Services Committee voted on Wednesday to require women to sign up for the draft during a mark up of the fiscal 2017 defense policy bill.
Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., said the proposal he introduced is not about women serving in combat, something he said he is against. Instead, Hunter said he wanted to force a conversation about whether 18 to 26-year-old women should have to register for the Selective Service now that the administration has opened all combat positions to women.
“Right now the draft is sexist. Right now the draft only drafts young men,” Hunter said.
The amendment passed on a 32-30 vote. Hunter voted against it.
Hunter’s amendment achieved bipartisan support, with Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., saying that she too supported universal conscription, even as one of the “coffee house liberals” Hunter said would be against the bill.
“While you may be offering this as a gotcha amendment, I think there’s great merit in recognizing each of us have an obligation to be willing to serve our country in time of war and provide some period of time when we do some kind of service,” she said.
Uniformed leaders of the Army and Marine Corps both told Congress earlier this year that they believe women should have to sign up for the draft now that the combat ban has been lifted.
There is also a case working its way through the Supreme Court looking at the legality of only drafting men.
Rep. Mac Thornberry’s mark of the National Defense Authorization Act requires the military to perform a study on if the draft is even still needed.
