HR 84 — A Resolution urging the Congress of the United States to amend the Military Selective Service Act to require both men and women to register for the draft.

PRINTER'S NO.   686

                    THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA



           HOUSE RESOLUTION
              No. 84
                                                Session of
                                                  2025

     INTRODUCED BY GIRAL, SANCHEZ, HILL-EVANS, GUENST AND GREEN,
        FEBRUARY 20, 2025

     REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON VETERANS AFFAIRS AND EMERGENCY
        PREPAREDNESS, FEBRUARY 20, 2025


                                A RESOLUTION
 1   Urging the Congress of the United States to amend the Military
 2      Selective Service Act to require both men and women to
 3      register for the draft.
 4      WHEREAS, Women served the United States Army during the
 5   American Revolution by nursing ill and wounded soldiers, mending
 6   clothing and cooking for the troops; and
 7      WHEREAS, Women have served the United States Armed Forces in
 8   some capacity during every military conflict in our nation's
 9   history; and
10      WHEREAS, In addition to the recognized role of women in the
11   armed forces during every military conflict, women have had de
12   facto involvement in combat situations while being officially
13   banned from combat; and
14      WHEREAS, For most of the early history of the United States
15   military, women primarily served in clerical or military medical
16   support services roles; and
17      WHEREAS, Women's formal military service began when the
18   Congress of the United States established the Army Nurse Corps
 1   in 1901 and the Navy Nurse Corps in 1908; and
 2         WHEREAS, World War II compelled the Congress of the United
 3   States to provide for additional, extremely limited service
 4   roles due to the urgent need for personnel; and
 5         WHEREAS, In the latter half of the 20th century, social
 6   change spurring the end of the military draft and the beginning
 7   of an all-volunteer force, along with the equal rights movement,
 8   led to increased integration of the United States Armed Forces;
 9   and
10         WHEREAS, In more than a decade of war in Iraq and
11   Afghanistan, approximately 300,000 women served with courage,
12   skill and patriotism; and
13         WHEREAS, More than 1,000 women were injured and 166 women in
14   uniform died while serving the United States in Iraq and
15   Afghanistan; and
16         WHEREAS, Women currently make up 17.5% of the active-duty
17   personnel in the United States Armed Forces; and
18         WHEREAS, Women are integral to the ability of the Department
19   of Defense to fulfill its mission; and
20         WHEREAS, The United States Secretary of Defense announced the
21   end of the direct ground combat exclusion rule for female
22   service members in January 2013 following a unanimous
23   recommendation by the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and
24         WHEREAS, The end of the rule opened approximately 237,000
25   positions to women, including 184,000 combat arms professions
26   and 53,000 assignments that had been closed based on unit type,
27   and has ensured that the most qualified and most capable service
28   members are eligible to carry out the mission regardless of sex;
29   and
30         WHEREAS, The Secretary of Defense directed that military

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 1   service branches evaluate all occupational performance standards
 2   accordingly, as part of a plan to eliminate unnecessary barriers
 3   to service, and since January 2016, women have been eligible for
 4   all military occupations and positions, without exception; and
 5      WHEREAS, The Military Selective Service Act, 50 U.S.C. § 3801
 6   et. seq., requires every male citizen of the United States and
 7   every male residing in the United States between 18 and 26 years
 8   of age to register with the Selective Service System; and
 9      WHEREAS, Full equity for women in the United States Armed
10   Forces should begin with gender-neutral Selective Service System
11   registration; therefore be it
12      RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the
13   Commonwealth of Pennsylvania urge the Congress of the United
14   States to amend the Military Selective Service Act to require
15   all individuals between 18 and 26 years of age to register for
16   the draft; and be it further
17      RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to
18   the President of the United States, the presiding officers of
19   each house of Congress and each member of Congress from
20   Pennsylvania.




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