Senate Democrats have introduced a new measure in the annual defense bill, called the National Defense Authorization Act, which has sparked opposition from Republicans. This bill not only allocates the budget for the Pentagon for the fiscal year but also establishes policies and programs within the Pentagon. Both the House and Senate pass their own versions of the bill, which are then combined into one.

This year, Democrats, who currently hold the majority in the Senate and the committee responsible for drafting the defense bill, included a provision in their version that mandates women to register for the draft, as reported by The Hill.

Senator Roger Wicker (MS), the leading Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, expressed his intention to remove this provision from the bill. He stated, “I hope it will be removed, either during the floor debate or in the conference,” in an interview with The Hill. Committee Chairman Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), an Army veteran himself, expressed his confusion as to why this issue is causing controversy, stating to CNN that he fails to understand why it is a “sore point.”

“We have had amendments that would have required women to register and we can’t get any real traction on the other side. We are going to try to do it. It makes sense. The military now is a mixed force,” he told CNN.

Wicker said back in 2021:

“I applaud the women who volunteer to serve in the military and who sacrifice every day for our country’s freedom, but to compel their service by law is wrong. I along with millions of other Americans cannot support the idea that our daughters and granddaughters would be forced to fight in our next military conflict against their will.”

Sam Brown, a Republican candidate vying for a U.S. Senate position in Nevada against the current Democratic Senator Jacky Rosen, has criticized Rosen for supporting the provision.


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