Your readers might be interested to know that the 2 votes in favor of this bill were both cast by Democrats: Pennsylvania Rep. John Murtha and California Rep. Pete Stark.

It is indeed odd that Mr. Rangel would vote against his own bill. What are the particulars in this case?

Also, how would the Bush administration satisfy its troop requirements if enlistment and reinlistment falls off dramatically?

SP, the same question can be asked of the prospective Kerry administration. Since Kerry's position of the day seems to be that he'll continue the fight in Iraq with some US forces while transferring others from Iraq to Afghanistan, Kerry will not need fewer troops on active duty than Bush.

Kerry has also said many times he wants to increase the number of special-operations forces.

So if enlistments fall below minimums, how will Kerry make up the shortfall?

I would say that since the only two bills to reinstate the draft were purely Democratic, the question has already been answered.

Kerry has a plan people should be checking out. 13 year olds to senior citizens will be MANDATED to Volunteer. Reminds me a lot of Hitler's youth plan only more. All of it means MORE taxes at state and local levels for all those new college buildings, profs, labs, amenities, housing etc.

Here is the link to WebArchived, saved from Kerry's own website ( and removed since)

Kerry's MANDATED NATIONAL VOLUNTEER SERVICE

As part of his 100 day plan to change America, John Kerry will propose a comprehensive service plan that includes requiring mandatory service for high school students and four years of college tuition in exchange for two years of national service.

NDOL.org

If John Kerry wins the presidency, he plans to expand the cornerstone New Democrat idea of national service to a truly national scale. Building on the beachhead that was established through the creation of AmeriCorps in the 1990s, Kerry would dramatically increase both the opportunities and the incentives for service. Just as importantly, he would connect service to the key domestic and international challenges of our time, such as providing for a strong national defense, bolstering homeland security, and improving our public schools.

John Kerry Outlines Plan to Require Service for High School Students

http://web.archive.org/web/20040210043828/http://www.johnkerry.com/issues/100days/education.html

"Service for College" Initiative

http://web.archive.org/web/20040210043828/http://www.johnkerry.com/issues/natservice/

100,000 Older Americans in Service

http://web.archive.org/web/20040210043828/http://www.johnkerry.com/issues/natservice/

High School Service Requirement

http://web.archive.org/web/20040210043828/http://www.johnkerry.com/issues/natservice/

Creating a New Community Defense Service

http://web.archive.org/web/20040210043828/

Recruiting More Americans to the Military

http://www.johnkerry.com/issues/natservice/

A Summer of Service for Teenagers http://web.archive.org/web/20040210043828/

http://www.johnkerry.com/issues/natservice/ 13-17 year olds..summer vacation

A Rebirth of the Peace Corps http://web.archive.org/web/20040210043828/http://www.johnkerry.com/issues/natservice/

Recruiting More Americans to the Military

http://web.archive.org/web/20040210043828/http://www.johnkerry.com/issues/natservice/

Paid for by John Kerry for President, Inc.

The Democrats have been pushing this scare tactic, and it always seemed like a stupid, transparent move. At least get one prominent Republican on record proposing a draft before you start accusing your opponents of starting one.

BTW, Kerry does plan to increase the military's size, and given the long term commitments we have in Iraq and Afghanistan, this seems like the only responsible thing to do. We can't keep automatically reupping our troops and having a stop loss policy over the long haul.

In the 70's the scare tactic always involved oil (lack of). Along came the 80's and the scare tactic was Medicare. Then in the 90's the same drum was beaten again along with healthcare. Now the scare tactic seems to be the draft, jobs (with an unemployment rate better than in the 90's mind you), stealing the election and healthcare. Why must fringe groups resort to scare tactics to win elections? Is it due to a lack of substance? I have been watching it for the past 30+ years and nothing new amazes me.

If we continue our involvement in Iraq and in Afghanistan for the next several years, and particularly if we extend the conflict to the neighboring countries, there will be a draft.

Trust me.

Well, Semi, I disagree. You do not appear to be that "trustworthy". We had no trouble maintaining almost double the size of our military under Reagan and Bush (who only shrunk the size of the military by about 15% after the fall of the USSR in the early 90s while Clinton foolishly went much farther to 50% reductions)with no draft. If we could afford to pay them and train them this month, we could grow the military exponentially at this point. And if we have another US soil terrorist attack, you'd be trampled at the military recruiting stations by those wanting to join up. Our nation has no shortage of willing military volunteers and we never have when we've been threatened especially by madmen who cut off heads with steak knifes. We are not a nation of whimps.

I'm still trying to figure out why Mr. Rangel voted no. Someone please explain why.

Here is a statement he made on the matter.
http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/ny15_rangel/CBRDraftBillinSuspensionCalender10052004.html