Rand Paul: “I rise to oppose H.R. 163 in the strongest possible terms. The draft, whether for military purposes or for some form of…”

“I rise to oppose H.R. 163 in the strongest possible terms. The draft, whether for military purposes or for some form of ``national service,'' violates the basic moral principles of individual liberty upon which this country was founded. Furthermore, the military neither wants nor needs a draft. The Department of Defense, in response to calls to reinstate the draft has confirmed that conscription serves no military need. Defense officials from both parties have repudiated the need to reinstate the draft. For example, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld has said that, ``The disadvantages of using compulsion to bring into the armed forces the men and women needed are notable,'' while President William Clinton's Secretary of the Army Louis Caldera, in a speech before the National Press Club, admitted that, ``Today, with our smaller, post- Cold War armed forces, our stronger volunteer tradition and our need for longer terms of service to get a good return on the high, up-front training costs, it would be even harder to fashion a fair draft.'' However, the most important reason to oppose H.R. 163 is that a draft violates the very principals of individual liberty upon which our nation was founded. Former President Ronald Reagan eloquently expressed the moral case against the draft in the publication Human Events in 1979: ``. . . [conscription] rests on the assumption that your kids belong to the State.…”