Advancing American Freedom opposes bill including women in future drafts

On Wednesday, the nonprofit political organization founded by former Vice President Mike Pence called on Republican leaders in the House and Senate to oppose the bill. Including the legislation in a defense spending bill goes against truth and conservative values, the letter’s 40 signees said. The Senate Armed Services Committee was advancing the U.S. military’s budget for fiscal year 2025, Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., said on Tuesday. The bill includes a provision requiring women and men to register for Selective Service, according to an executive summary. Men 18 and older must register for the draft, but women have historically been exempt.

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Nevada Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Sam Brown criticized the legislation last week. Brown, whose face was scarred during his military service, said forcing women to register for the draft was unacceptable. Hawley said he would not vote for a bill that would force his daughter to go to war.

Will anyone try to change the bill? Wicker told The Hill that he would seek to remove that provision from the final bill. In a statement on his website, he promised to help shape the final bill to bring investments to his home state of Mississippi but did not mention the provision about requiring women to enter the draft.

What do the people supporting this bill have to say about this provision? Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jack Reed, D-R.I., told The Hill that women were already performing admirably in the armed services. He added that if the United States needed to draft people into the military, it would be only in a dire situation, and the country would need to be able to call upon every able-bodied citizen over the age of 18.

Dig deeper: Read Denny Burk’s column in WORLD Opinions criticizing forcing women to register for the draft.