Glance: Lawmakers seek end to draft registration

By The AP
Monday, February 25, 2013

WASHINGTON — Two lawmakers are waging a little-noticed campaign to abolish the Selective Service System, the independent federal agency that manages draft registration.

Reps. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., and Rep. Mike Coffman, R-Colo., say the millions of dollars the agency spends each year preparing for the possibility of a military draft is a waste of money. They say the Pentagon has no interest in returning to conscription due to the success of the all-volunteer force.

DeFazio says it makes no sense to threaten to penalize men who don’t register when the odds of a draft are so remote.

Past attempts to get rid of the agency have failed, DeFazio says, because too many of his colleagues on Capitol Hill worry that closing Selective Service down will make them look weak on national security.