Here is the link to a bill sponsored by Rep. Charles Rangel from NY.
congress.gov
Here is some other info that I got in a newsletter.
US Preparing for Military Draft in Spring 2005
by Adam Stutz
Vancouver IndyMedia - Wednesday January 28, 2004 at 09:50 AM
http://www.vancouver.indymedia.org/n.../01/105146.php
The current agenda of the US federal government is to reinstate the draft
in order to staff up for a protracted war on "terrorism."
Pending legislation in the House and Senate (twin bills S 89 and HR 163)
would time the program so the draft could begin at early as
Spring 2005 -- conveniently just after the 2004 presidential election!
Reinstatement of the draft
Dear Friends and Family,
I urge you to read the article below on the current agenda of the
federal government to reinstate the draft in order to staff up for a
protracted war on "terrorism."
Pending legislation in the House and Senate (twin bills S 89 and HR 163)
would time the program so the draft could begin at early as
Spring 2005 -- conveniently just after the 2004 presidential election! But
the administration is quietly trying to get these bills passed NOW, so our
action is needed immediately. Details and links follow.
If voters who currently support U.S. aggression abroad were confronted
with the possibility that their own children or grandchildren might not
have a say about whether to fight, many of these same voters might have a
change of mind. (Not that it should make a difference, but this plan would
among other things eliminate higher education as a shelter and would not
exclude women -- and Canada is no longer an option.)
Please send this on to all the parents and teachers you know, and all the
aunts and uncles, grandparents, godparents.... And let your
children know -- it's their future, and they can be a powerful voice for
change! Please also write to your representatives to ask them why they
aren't telling their constituents about these bills -- and write to
newspapers and other media outlets to ask them why they're not
covering this important story.
The Draft*
$28 million has been added to the 2004 Selective Service System (SSS)
budget to prepare for a military draft that could start as early as June
15, 2005. SSS must report to Bush on March 31, 2005 that the
system, which has lain dormant for decades, is ready for activation.
Please see website: http://www.sss.gov/perfplan_fy2004.html to view the
SSS Annual Performance Plan - Fiscal Year 2004.
The Pentagon has quietly begun a public campaign to fill all 10,350 draft
board positions and 11,070 appeals board slots nationwide..
Though this is an unpopular election year topic, military experts and
influential members of Congress are suggesting that if Rumsfeld's
prediction of a "long, hard slog" in Iraq and Afghanistan [and a
permanent state of war on "terrorism"] proves accurate, the U.S. may have
no choice but to draft.
http://www.informationclearinghouse....rticle5146.htm
Congress brought twin bills, S. 89 and H.R. 163 forward this year,
entitled the Universal National Service Act of 2003, "To provide for the
common defense by requiring that all young persons [age 18--26] in the
United States, including women, perform a period of military
service or a period of civilian service in furtherance of the national
defense and homeland security, and for other purposes." These active bills
currently sit in the Committee on Armed Services.
Dodging the draft will be more difficult than those from the Vietnam era
remember. College and Canada will not be options. In December
2001, Canada and the US signed a "Smart Border Declaration," which could
be used to keep would-be draft dodgers in. Signed by Canada's Minister of
Foreign Affairs, John Manley, and US Homeland Security Director, Gov. Tom
Ridge, the declaration involves a 30-point plan which implements, among
other things, a "pre-clearance agreement" of people entering and departing
each country. Reforms aimed at making the draft more equitable along
gender and class lines also eliminates higher education as a shelter.
Underclassmen would only be able to postpone service until the end of
their cur-rent semester. Seniors would have until the end of the academic
year.
* This article by Adam Stutz is from the "What's Hot Off the Press" column
of the newsletter of Project Censored, a media research group at Sonoma
State University that tracks the news published in
independent journals and newsletters. From these, Project Censored
compiles an annual list (more than 20 years running) of 25 news
stories of social significance that have been overlooked, under-
reported, or self-censored by the country's major national news media. The
mission of Project Censored is "to educate people about the role of
independent journalism in a democratic society and to tell The News That
Didn't Make the News and why."
"What's Hot Off the Press" includes student synopses of articles
currently being investigated for inclusion in the next Project
Censored report. For more info and/or to receive Project Censored's
newsletter, go to http://www.projectcensored.org,
or email: [censored]@sonoma.edu
*********
FYI...a Google search using S -89 indicates that Senator Hollings has
introduced a bill to reinstate the draft.
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[ March 04, 2004, 10:49 AM: Message edited by: %seRge% ]
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