Congress Abandons Plans to Force Women to Sign Up for Draft


When the Senate announced its plans to force women to sign up for the draft alongside their male compatriots, a massive upswell of outrage exploded around the country, with thousands refusing to stand by as Congress plotted to send their daughters to war against their will. Evidently, the outcry was too much for Congress as legislators announced that they have abandoned their plan to expand the draft for women:

“Congressional staff briefed reporters on the legislation, which has not been released. The staffers were not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

A vote in the House on the defense bill is expected by Friday, followed by action in the Senate next week.

The must-pass policy legislation may trigger a veto threat from President Barack Obama over language that bars closing the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and forbids the Pentagonfrom beginning a new round of military base closings. The bill also mandates a pay raise for service members larger than the one the Obama administration proposed and stops further reductions in the numbers of active-duty troops.

Lawmakers had worked for weeks to resolve differences in separate versions of the policy bills passed by the House and Senate. The House, for example, wanted to shift $18 billion from the emergency wartime spending account to pay for additional weapons and combat gear the Pentagon didn’t request.

The negotiators elected instead to boost the wartime account, which isn’t constrained by mandatory budget limits, by $3.2 billion to help halt a decline in the military’s ability to respond to global threats. The decision may have been motivated by President-elect Donald Trump’s assurances that he would increase defense spending, adding tens of thousands more troops and investing in new warships and jet fighters.

The legislation also includes the $5.8 billion in additional war-related funding Obama requested earlier this month. The so-called supplemental includes $2.5 billion to maintain elevated U.S. troops levels of 8,400 in Afghanistan as announced over the summer. About $383 million would pay for air strikes against Islamic State militants.”

Source: ABC News



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