Hartzler champions removal of defense bill provision drafting women

(From Fourth District Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler)

Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler (R-Mo.), a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, successfully advocated for the removal of language from the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) which would have required women to register for the Selective Service.

“The NDAA provision which forced women to register for the draft was never about improving military readiness. Instead, it passed through committee under the misplaced guise of ‘equality,’ imposing a woke ideology on our troops rather than meeting the current needs of our military,” Hartzler said.

“Women are not chess pieces in a political game. They are doctors, lawyers, engineers, and already valuable members of our all-volunteer force. I applaud the removal of this unnecessary provision and am grateful to see reasonable minds come together to join me in resisting this effort.”


Hartzler voted against this provision during its markup before the committee, and expanded on this potential provision earlier this year in a piece for The Hill. She has also introduced multiple pieces of legislation to address this issue, the Stop Military Selective Service Registration Act and End the Draft Act, which would both end mandatory registration for the draft by repealing the Military Selective Service Act. The Stop Military Selective Service Registration Act would also place the Selective Service System into a deep standby mode.