[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 36 (Wednesday, March 13, 2013)]
[House]
[Page H1364]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           SELECTIVE SERVICE

  (Mr. COFFMAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. COFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, in 1972, I volunteered to serve in the 
United States Army at a time when young men were still being drafted 
into our military. The last draftees were inducted into the United 
States Army in 1973, and 2 years later, given the success of the all-
volunteer Army, the requirement for young men to register with 
Selective Service ended.
  In a symbolic show of strength to the Soviet Union's invasion of 
Afghanistan, President Jimmy Carter asked Congress to reinstate the 
Selective Service System in 1980. Congress did so, and to this day all 
males are required by law to register with the Selective Service System 
within 30 days of their 18th birthday. However, despite the first gulf 
war, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, conscription has never been 
considered as a viable option by our military.
  Mr. Speaker, my bill, H.R. 978, will end the registration requirement 
and dismantle the outdated Selective Service bureaucracy--saving the 
taxpayers over $24 million a year--and I urge its adoption.

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