Political Quotes

“Congress, in Article I, section 8 of the Constitution, has the power to raise and regulate armies. That relates to the Selective Service System. We have decided to use the Selective Service System to register men for the draft for many years now. During the course of this year, there has been discussion here in Washington about requiring women to register for the draft. Many families back home aren't aware of this, and especially many young women aren't aware of this, Mr. Chairman. I am asking that no funds from this appropriation be used for the Selective Service System to modify the current requirements. The purpose of that would be to let Congress do our job--to go back home and talk to our families and talk to our young women, listen to them, and come back here. If we are going to modify the Selective Service System, we do that with purpose and intent and we do that here in Congress. We don't let the administration or yet another executive agency decide something of their own accord or yet let the courts reach in. We should be clear in our intent to the courts that we don't need them or want them to come in and decide the rule. It is ripe for that unless we act. In Rostker v. Goldberg in 1981, the Supreme Court upheld that the Selective Service registration for men was, in fact, constitutional and not discriminatory, primarily because it was to register for combat.…”