[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 16]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 22799]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               THE UNIVERSAL NATIONAL SERVICE ACT OF 2003

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. JOHN KLINE

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, October 5, 2004

  Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to H.R. 163 
and urge my colleagues to overwhelmingly reject not only this election 
year ``scare tactic'' but the increasingly archaic policy of universal 
conscription.
  Since the founding of our nation over two hundred years ago, the U.S. 
military has reluctantly used conscription to rapidly fill the ranks of 
an often undermanned and under funded military force in the face of 
grave national threats. Today, we live in a nation united under a 
single representative government that has faced and defeated the global 
threats of fascism and communism. A vital component of these victories 
was the evolution of the U.S. military from a garrison force, 
reinforced by conscripts in times of national emergency, to the 
present-day, all-volunteer military which now ably defends our nation 
from the deadly violence of international terrorism.
  Like a large portion of our population, I am old enough to recall 
America's last attempt at conscription. More significantly, as a junior 
officer in the Marine Corps near the end of the Vietnam conflict, I 
witnessed first-hand many of the unfortunate repercussions of the 
military draft policy--the migration of a drug culture into the ranks, 
race riots, and the lack of unit camaraderie that leads to mission 
success.
  I am proud to say that when I finished my 25-year career in the 
Marine Corps, those problems had completely disappeared or been reduced 
to statistical insignificance. Today's all-volunteer military, forged 
in the tragic ``lessons learned'' of Vietnam, has repeatedly 
demonstrated its professionalism and ability to defend America's 
national interests. The men and women of this well-educated and well-
trained force serve our nation because they choose to do so. Today, we 
honor their service and ensure their continued success by voting to 
maintain the best-equipped, best-trained, and all-volunteer, Armed 
Forces.

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