In what is rapidly becoming a major nationwide issue, members of the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives have both proposed similar bills that would reinstate the draft in the United States. The bill would require all Americans between the ages of 18 and 26 serve two years of military service regardless of gender or economic background.
Proponents of the bills have released public statements explaining the twofold purpose of the bill: To ensure that military service is a burden not only shouldered by the poor and to advocate peace in Iraq.
\[This bill] assures there would be no preferences, no deferments, no chance for the well-off or the well connected to dodge military service..."" said U.S. Rep. Pete Starks, R-Calif., in a statement.
UW-Madison political science Professor Donald Ferree said if Americans hate the war now, their hatred will escalate if the government sends in unwilling troops.
The bill allows for conscientious objectors to the war but specifies these individuals would still be required to fulfill their two-year service term accomplishing non-combat tasks such as homeland security or community service.
Critics say the bills are merely a reaction to recent estimates that the United States will need over 250,000 troops in order to maintain stability in Iraq. There have already been mass redeployments of reserve troops to replace battle-weary soldiers in Iraq, and man active-duty soldiers have stated they will not re-enlist in the military after their time is up.
Possibly the two biggest changes both bills propose are that both women and those in college are no longer exempt from the draft.
""This is a very complex issue. If men have a service obligation, why not women? We don't want to be disproportionate in any demographic, yet we don't want equality in all respects either,"" Ferree said.
While women have made many advances within the military, they are still not allowed in coastal patrol boats, submarines or in direct ground combat teams like the Navy SEALs.
Also, some women are unsure what will happen if both parents in a family are drafted. There are currently no exemption clauses for parents in either of the bills.
""Traditionally, women are the caretakers in the country. What about when entire families are drafted?"" said DeAnna Friedman, head of the Young Feminist Task Force at UW-Madison.
To begin a draft, Congress would have to approve one of the two bills and get the president's signature. There has been no official response from the White House regarding either of the bills.
