[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 368 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. CON. RES. 368

Expressing the sense of Congress that reinstating the military draft or 
   implementing any other form of compulsory military service in the 
United States would be detrimental to the long-term military interests 
 of the United States, violative of individual liberties protected by 
 the Constitution, and inconsistent with the values underlying a free 
        society as expressed in the Declaration of Independence.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 20, 2002

   Mr. Paul (for himself, Ms. McKinney, and Mr. Stark) submitted the 
following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
                             Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
Expressing the sense of Congress that reinstating the military draft or 
   implementing any other form of compulsory military service in the 
United States would be detrimental to the long-term military interests 
 of the United States, violative of individual liberties protected by 
 the Constitution, and inconsistent with the values underlying a free 
        society as expressed in the Declaration of Independence.

Whereas the Armed Forces have successfully fulfilled the military needs of the 
        United States for almost 30 years solely on the basis of voluntary 
        service;
Whereas the Department of Defense issued a report in 1993 titled ``A Review of 
        the Continued Requirement for Draft Registration'', which stated that 
        draft registration could be suspended without irreparable damage to 
        national security;
Whereas each branch of the Armed Forces has traditionally been able to meet or 
        exceed its recruitment targets;
Whereas the recent success of the Armed Forces in Afghanistan has once again 
        demonstrated the ability of the volunteer military to respond to threats 
        to the lives, liberty, and property of the people of the United States;
Whereas a military draft introduces tensions and rivalries between those who 
        volunteer for military service and those who have been conscripted, thus 
        undermining the cohesiveness of military units, which is vital to 
        military effectiveness;
Whereas those individuals who are forced to serve in the military are unlikely 
        to choose the military as a career or to share the same enthusiasm for 
        military service as those who volunteer;
Whereas the most effective method of meeting the personnel needs of the Armed 
        Forces is to increase the pay and benefits of veterans and members of 
        the Armed Forces;
Whereas General Vladisova Putlin, Chief of the Russian General Staff, commenting 
        on plans to end the military draft in Russia, said ``This is the great 
        dream of all servicemen, when our army will become completely 
        professional'';
Whereas the reinstatement of the military draft in the United States is opposed 
        by leaders and organizations of various political affiliations, 
        including former President Ronald Reagan, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan 
        Greenspan, Noble laureates Milton Friedman and James Buchanan, former 
        Senator Bill Bradley, the American Civil Liberties Union, Minnesota 
        Governor and former Navy SEAL, Jesse Ventura, Americans for Tax Reform, 
        the National Taxpayers Union, Citizens Against Government Waste, the 
        Friends Committee on National Legislation, United Methodist Church 
        General Board of Church and Society, Veterans for Peace, the Libertarian 
        Party, the Mennonite Church, and the Conservative Caucus;
Whereas the military draft violates the principles of liberty on which the 
        United States was founded; and
Whereas compulsory military service is a form of involuntary servitude: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That it is the sense of Congress that reinstating the military draft or 
implementing any other form of compulsory military service in the 
United States would be detrimental to the long-term military interests 
of the United States, violative of individual liberties protected by 
the Constitution, and inconsistent with the values underlying a free 
society as expressed in the Declaration of Independence.
                                 <all>