[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 43 (Wednesday, April 13, 2005)]
[House]
[Pages H1948-H1949]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           SENTENCED TO SERVE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Washington (Mr. McDermott) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, I rise to alert the American people to 
the case of Emiliano Santiago. His case, his plight should be known and 
feared by every high school junior and senior across the country, as 
well as every parent and every guardian.
  Emiliano Santiago is a 26-year-old soldier from Seattle who proudly 
and bravely served his country for 8 years immediately following high 
school. His 8-year commitment to the United States military was up a 
few months ago, or at least so he thought. That is when Emiliano 
Santiago discovered that Secretary Rumsfeld's secret back door draft 
existed. Despite 8 years in the military, despite fulfilling his 
commitment to his country, Emiliano cannot leave the military. Emiliano 
Santiago cannot leave the military this week, this month or any year in 
the future for some time to come. Emiliano Santiago cannot leave the 
military this decade or the next decade.
  The ugly little secret in the Pentagon is that Emiliano Santiago's 
voluntary service is involuntary. He has been sentenced to serve. The 
ugly truth of the matter is simply this: He is forced to serve at the 
whim of Rumsfeld potentially until Christmas Eve in the year 2031. 
Emiliano Santiago signed up in 1996. He has been sentenced to 35 years 
of service under Mr. Rumsfeld.

                              {time}  1815

  He is now subject to the whim of Mr. Rumsfeld. He will be in his 
fifties before he can escape from Mr. Rumsfeld's grasp.
  Do you think anyone told Emiliano what he was getting into? Not a 
chance. Welcome to the myth of the voluntary military service under 
Donald Rumsfeld. He cannot find enough soldiers so the Pentagon is 
forcing those already in service to stay whether they want to or not, 
whether they have jobs, family, or plans of their own.
  Emiliano is owned by Mr. Rumsfeld. Welcome to the volunteer Army. 
They call it stop-loss. It is an involuntary military service. Just ask 
Emiliano and 50,000 other U.S. soldiers. Yes, 50,000 soldiers who 
signed up in what they thought was a voluntary military cannot now 
voluntarily leave the military at the end of their commitment.
  Stop-loss is Rumsfeld's legalese for a backdoor draft. It is legal, 
real; and do not let anyone, especially military recruiters, tell you 
otherwise.
  A recruiter signed up Emiliano. The recruiter was saying, Sign up 
here for 8 years. He never explained to me of the possibility of stop-
loss. No one told Emiliano of the backdoor draft. And Americans are 
just finding out about the recruiter provision found in the No Child 
Left Behind Act. Or as I call it, No Child Left Un-recruited. High 
schools must turn over high school student contact information or lose 
funding. Now, there is the makings of the voluntary Army.
  Rumsfeld has unlimited power to keep you in the military, and the 
military now has unlimited access to your son and daughter. Forget 
about any right to privacy. This is America under Republican 
leadership. If you are in high school right now, the military has your 
name, your address, and your phone number. If you are in Rumsfeld's 
military, he has you for decades. It is the new Republican definition 
of family planning. Ask Rumsfeld what you are doing for the rest of 
your life.
  It is wrong and it is not working. Recruitment in the Army National 
Guard plunged 31 percent in February and another 12 percent in March. 
The word is spreading. America's all-voluntary military has been 
replaced by Rumsfeld's sentence-to-life military.
  I served my country as an officer in the United States Navy. I am 
proud of my military service and proud of anyone who serves America in 
the military. But today's honor and duty are being distorted into 
recruiter mandates to find more bodies. The National

[[Page H1949]]

Guard is adding another 1,400 recruiters.
  I want to be clear about this. Do not blame the recruiters. It is not 
their fault. They are doing what good soldiers do: follow orders. Being 
a recruiter used to be a plum job, reserved for only the best of the 
best. They were soldiers who were models for American military pride. 
But Rumsfeld has turned them into overworked, overstressed, overzealous 
representatives with quotas to fill and truth to stretch.
  I want the U.S. military at its finest. I want recruiters back to 
what they can be: role models for America whether someone chooses to 
join the military or whether decides instead to be proud of the 
military.
  We are not doing that today. We are taking names of literally every 
high school student in America. Demand that the No Child Left Behind 
Act apply only to education and not to recruiting. Until then, get the 
paperwork and opt out, either for yourself or your kid. You can find it 
at www.militaryfreezone.org. Let me give it again: 
www.militaryfreezone.org.
 Take back your right to the personal privacy that used to be 
guaranteed by your government. Emiliano Santiago is looking forward to 
Christmas Eve 2031. That is when he is finally out of Rumsfeld's grasp. 
We used to have a voluntary military. Now we have Rumsfeld's military. 
It is a sentence to serve.

                          ____________________