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Statement by the Press Secretary on Draft Registration and the Selective Service System

May 18, 1994

The President has announced that he has approved a National Security Council recommendation to maintain peacetime draft registration and the Selective Service System (SSS).

In letters to the House and Senate, the President stated that ". . . it is essential to our national security to continue draft registration and the Selective Service System. While tangible military requirements alone do not currently make a mass call-up of American young men likely, there are three reasons I believe we should maintain both the SSS and the draft registration requirement."

First, the President stated that the SSS and registration provide "...a hedge against unforeseen threats and a relatively low cost ‘insurance policy' against our underestimating the maximum level of threat we expect our Armed Forces to face."

Next, ". . . terminating the SSS and draft registration now could send the wrong signal to our potential enemies who are watching for signs of U.S. resolve."

And finally, ". . . as fewer and fewer members of our society have direct military experience, it is increasingly important to maintain the link between the All Volunteer Force and our society at large. The Armed Forces must also know that the general population stands behind them, committed to serve, should the preservation of our national security so require."

The NSC review leading to the President's decision has been conducted since January and consisted of representatives from the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the DOD Inspector General, the Joint Staff, the Corporation for National and Community Service, the Office of Management and Budget, and the Selective Service System.

The President urged Congress to support the administration fiscal year 1995 request for $23 million for the Selective Service System.

William J. Clinton, Statement by the Press Secretary on Draft Registration and the Selective Service System Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/220104

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