INFO SHEET FROM WESUPPORTTHEVETS
Congress to introduce the Draft in 2005 if they can silently pass HR163
Editor's Note; The following was sent to us by a young college freshman who is mustering support to head off these bills. Many may remember how over 35 of us tried to get media support for HR303 last year or even get the media to tell what HR303 is. This will be interesting to watch to see what the reaction of American youth is to the idea of having your congressman dictate what the next few years of your life will be like. They already have dictated what the next ten years are going to be for disabled veterans
" Mandatory draft for boys and girls (ages 18-26)
> starting June 15, 2005, is something that everyone should know about.
> This literally effects everyone since we all have or know children
> that will have to go if this bill passes.
> There is pending legislation in the House and Senate
> (companion bills: S89 and HR 163) which will time the program's
> initiation so the draft can begin as early as spring, 2005, just after
> the 2004 presidential election The administration is quietly trying
> to get these bills passed now, while the public's attention is on the
> elections.
>
> This plan, among other things, eliminates higher
> education as a shelter and includes women in the draft. Also,
> crossing into Canada has already been made very difficult.
>
>
> This legislation is called HR 163 and can be found
> in detail at this website:
>
> http://thomasloc.gov/
>
> Just enter in "HR 163" and click search and will
> bring up the bill for you to read. It is less than two pages long.
>
> If this bill passes, it will include all men and all women from ages
> 18 - 26 in a draft for military action. In addition, college will no
> longer be an option for avoiding the draft and they will be signing an
> agreement with the Canada which will no longer permit anyone
> attempting to dodge the draft to stay within it's borders.
> This bill also includes the extension of military service for all
> those that are currently active If you go to the Selective Service
> web site and read their 2004 FYI Goals you will see that the reasoning
> for this is to increase the size of the military in case of terrorism.
> This is a critical piece of legislation, this will effect our
> undergraduates, our children and our grandchildren.
>
>
> Please also write to your representatives and ask
> them why they aren't telling their constituents about these bills and
> write to newspapers and other media outlets to ask them why they're
> not covering this important story. The draft $28 million has been
> added to the 2004 selective service system budget to prepare for a
> military draft that could start as early as June 15, 2005. Selective
> service must report to Bush on March 31, 2005 that the system, which
> has lain dormant for decades, is ready for activation.
> Please see
> www.sss.gov/perfplan_fy2004.html
> to view the Selective Service System annual performance plan, fiscal
> year 2004.
> The Pentagon has quietly begun a public campaign to fill
> all 10,350 draft board positions and 11,070 appeals board slots
> nationwide. Though this is an unpopular election year topic, military
> experts and influential members of Congress are suggesting that if
> Rumsfeld's prediction of a "long, hard slog" in Iraq and Afghanistan
> (and permanent state of war on terrorism) proves accurate, the U.S.
> may have no choice but to draft.
>
> www.hslda.org/legislation/national/2003/s89/default.asp
> entitled the Universal National service Act of 2003, "to provide for
> the common defense by requiring that all young persons (age 18-26) in
> the United States, including women, perform a period of military
> service or a period of civilian service in furtherance of the national
> defense and homeland security, and for other purposes."
> These active bills currently sit in the committee on armed services.
> Dodging the draft will be more difficult than those from the Vietnam
> era.
> College and Canada will not be options. In December, 2001, Canada and
> the U.S. signed a "smart border declaration," which could be used to
> keep would-be draft dodgers in. Signed by Canada's minister of foreign
> affairs, John Manley, and U.S. Homeland Security director, Tom Ridge,
> the declaration involves a 30 point plan which implements, among other
> things, a "pre-clearance agreement" of people entering and departing
> each country. Reforms aimed at making the draft more
> equitable along gender and class lines also eliminates higher
> education as a shelter Underclassmen would only be able to postpone
> service until the end of their current semester. Seniors would have
> until the end of the academic year.