Congress drops move to add women to draft

Federal lawmakers are dropping a proposal that would require women to register for the military draft. House and Senate leaders have reached a deal on a wide-ranging defense spending bill, and it does

News 12 Staff

Dec 1, 2016, 9:00 AM

Updated 2,863 days ago

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Federal lawmakers are dropping a proposal that would require women to register for the military draft.
House and Senate leaders have reached a deal on a wide-ranging defense spending bill, and it does not include a provision requiring women to offer their names.
The dropped proposal had bipartisan support, but many social conservatives opposed it. But now with Republicans set to control both houses of Congress, GOP leaders removed that provision from the final package.
Sylinthia Burges, Nassau County's veterans service officer, says that women have already proven they are more than capable of thriving in the military, with or without draft eligibility.
"Just because you say 'We're not gonna pull you in like everyone else,' doesn't mean we can't say, 'We're coming, and no one is going to stop us,'" Burges says.
Whether or not women have to register, the United States has not instituted a draft in 43 years.