The House of Representatives passed an amendment for the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2025 that automatically registers U.S. males for a potential draft.
This amendment would replace the current system that has been in effect since 1980.
The bill, HR 8070, was passed in the House in a vote of 217 to 199.
Those between the ages of 18-26 will be automatically registered with the Selective Service System.
“Except as otherwise provided in this title, every male citizen of the United States, and every other male person residing in the United States, between the ages of eighteen and twenty-six, shall be automatically registered under this Act by the Director of the Selective Service System,” the amendment reads.
The effort was led by Representative Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA).
“By using available federal databases, the [Selective Service] agency will be able to register all of the individuals required and thus help ensure that any future military draft is fair and equitable,” Houlahan previously said of the amendment. “This will also allow us to rededicate resources — basically that means money — towards reading readiness and towards mobilization … rather than towards education and advertising campaigns driven to register people.”
Commentator Mario Nawfal shared the development on X, noting that using federal databases for automatic registration will streamline the process and reduce legal issues for non-compliance.
HR 8070 also authorizes a “19.5% pay raise for junior enlisted servicemembers while providing a 4.5% pay raise for other service members,” a press release from Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-MI) says.
“This legislation strengthens our military readiness and capabilities while improving housing, childcare, and the overall quality of life for the men and women serving in our Armed Forces,” Huizenga said. “Importantly, this legislation takes steps to root out waste, saving taxpayers $30 billion by cutting inefficient programs, obsolete weapons systems, and unnecessary Pentagon bureaucracy.”
The bill “blocks the Biden Administration’s reduction in U.S. Special Forces while stopping the Biden Administration from transferring terrorists currently housed in Guantanamo Bay to prisons in the United States,” the congressman added.
