HONOLULU (KHON2) -- Hawaii Rep. Ed Case said men in the United States have from their 18th to their 26th birthday to register for the Selective Service System and that has been law for decades.
"And most do, but about 16% don't and so all this provision does is to provide for automatic registration," Case said.
That provision is in the latest National Authorization Defense Act -- a yearly series of laws approved by Congress that specifies the budget of the Department of Defense. Case voted against the Act for other reasons, but is in support of the automatic Selective Service provision.
Men who do not currently register can face fines, have their student loans denied and more, according to Case.
"So, let's reverse this process and just get everybody registered as the law provides and not have people slip into noncompliance," Case said.
The act passed the House and is currently in the U.S. Senate, where lawmakers in the Armed Services Committee held a closed-door 22-3 vote to include registering women in the Selective Service. The inclusivity is hard to believe for some.
"I think a lot of old timers are still not comfortable with the thought of seeing, you know, dead 18-year-old women on a battlefield," former Marine Forces Pacific chief of staff Ray L'Heureux said, "you know what I mean? But you know, women weren't allowed to serve in combat arms ten years ago either, or maybe longer than that. So, you know, times change!"
"I can't find a reason, frankly, to distinguish between men and women when it comes to selective Service registration," Case said.
The Selective Service System is the mechanism used to draft soldiers into military service during national emergencies, a draft has not been conducted since 1973 and Case said there are no current talks to reinstitute one.