INSIGHTi

FY2023 NDAA: Selective Service and Draft
Registration
July 29, 2022
Background
Several provisions in the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC)-reported National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 (NDAA; S. 4543) would make changes to the Military Selective
Service Act (MSSA; 50 U.S.C. §3801 et seq.). The MSSA provides statutory authority for the federal
government to maintain an independent Selective Service Agency responsible for managing the Selective
Service System (SSS) and for delivering qualified civilian men for induction into the Armed Forces of the
United States when authorized by the President and Congress. Under the MSSA, all male U.S. citizens
and most male noncitizen residents of the United States between the ages of 18 and 26 are required to
register with the SSS. Knowingly or willfully failing to register may result in certain federal and state
penalties including fines, imprisonment, and ineligibility for federal employment or workforce programs.
While legislative proposals have been introduced to require women to register, none of these has been
enacted.
Conscription (“the draft”) of registered males has been used to meet military manpower needs at various
times in U.S. history since the Civil War. The President’s draft induction authority last expired on July 2,
1973, preceding the transition to an all-volunteer force. In 1975, President Gerald Ford temporarily
terminated the registration requirement and the SSS reduced its functions. In 1980, in response to Cold
War threats, President Jimmy Carter reinstated the male registration requirement, which remains in force.
While the registration requirement remains in effect, Congress has not taken any action to reinstate the
draft induction authority. If Congress and the President reinstated the draft induction authority, some
deferments and exemptions, including religious exemptions, would apply under current law. The SSS
manages the registration requirement and mobilization planning. Its proposed budget for FY2023 is $29.7
million—$500,000 more than the FY2022 appropriation of $29.2 million, according to the accompanying
report (H.Rept. 117-393).
In the FY2017 NDAA (P.L. 114-328), Congress established a National Commission on Military, National,
and Public Service (MNAPS Commission) to help consider options for the future of the MSSA. The
Commission’s final report, released in March 2020, included recommendations for amending the MSSA,
including requiring women to register for the draft. These recommendations formed the basis of the
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Inspire to Serve Act of 2020 (H.R. 6415) introduced in the 116th Congress. Some of the provisions of this
Act were enacted with the FY2022 NDAA (P.L. 117-81) (see CRS Insight IN11780, FY2022 NDAA:
Selective Service and Draft Registration, by Kristy N. Kamarck.) Table 1 provides an overview of
proposals for the FY2023 NDAA.
Table 1. FY2023 NDAA Legislative Proposals on Selective Service
House-passed (H.R. 7900)
SASC-reported (S. 4543)
No similar language
Section 521 would

Amend the congressional declaration of the
purpose of the SSS;

Convey the “solemnity of military service” to
registrants;

Specify representation objectives for local board
appointments;

Require certain mobilization exercises; and

Require women to register.
No similar language
Section 522 would require express congressional
authorization to induct individuals for training or service.
Source: CRS analysis of legislation on Congress.gov.
Discussion
The House-passed version of the FY2023 NDAA (H.R. 7900) did not include provisions related to the
SSS. Section 521 of the SASC-reported bill (S. 4543), titled Modernization of the Selective Service
System, would amend the congressional intent of the system. Current text of 50 U.S.C. §3801(b) states,
“The Congress declares that an adequate armed strength must be achieved and maintained to insure the
security of this Nation.” The amended version would state,
The Congress declares that the security of the Nation requires that adequate military strength be
achieved and maintained by ensuring a requisite number of personnel with the necessary capabilities
to meet the diverse mobilization needs of the Department of Defense during a time of war.
This section would also add language requiring the SSS to convey the “solemnity of military service” to
registrants.
Under 50 U.S.C. §3809(b)(3), the President has the authority to appoint volunteer civilians to local
boards. In the event of a draft authorization, these boards would decide draft deferments, postponements,
and exemptions based upon claims filed by persons who are selected for induction. Section 521 would
amend this authority to specify that “to the maximum extent practicable” the boards are proportionally
representative of registrants in the jurisdiction on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin
(as specified under 42 U.S.C. §2000e–2(a)).
According to SSS annual reporting, the agency conducts periodic readiness exercises of the lottery system
for drafting registrants, and mobilization of local boards. Section 521 would also require the SSS to
periodically exercise its mobilization plans and processes, conduct a full interagency exercise every four
years, and conduct public awareness campaigns in conjunction with such exercises.
This section would also require women to register for the draft. The question of whether women should
be required to register for the draft has been the subject of legislative proposals in prior Congresses and
decisions by the courts. Similar provisions in the House- and Senate-reported versions of the FY2022
NDAA (H.R. 4350, §513; and S. 2792, §511; respectively) would have required women to register, but

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were not enacted. The Biden Administration and some women's and men's advocacy groups support
expanding registration requirements. Other advocacy groups are opposed to requiring women to register
for the draft, with some observers arguing that Congress should reconsider the registration requirement
for all Americans.
Section 522 of the SASC-reported bill would amend 50 U.S.C. §3809 to state, “No person shall be
inducted for training and service in the Armed Forces under this title unless Congress first passes and
there is enacted a law expressly authorizing such induction into service.” This provision may remove
some ambiguity about Congress’s role in authorizing the draft. Current law (50 U.S.C. §3803(a))
authorizes the President “from time to time, whether or not a state of war exists, to select and induct into
the Armed Forces of the United States for training and service,” but also states under 50 U.S.C. §3815
that, “no person shall be inducted for training and service in the Armed Forces after July 1, 1973.”

Author Information

Kristy N. Kamarck

Specialist in Military Manpower




Disclaimer
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Congress. Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other than public understanding of
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