Clinton: I support women registering for the draft

Hillary Clinton supports a measure that would require women to register for the draft.

The former secretary of state told the Huffington Post Wednesday that she is in favor of a legislative amendment that would for the first time compel women to register with the Selective Service System. That legislation passed the Senate Wednesday as part of the National Defense Authorization Act, which cleared the upper chamber on a bipartisan, 85-13 vote.

“I am on record as supporting the all-volunteer military, which I think at this time does serve our country well,” Clinton said. “And I am very committed to supporting and really lifting up the men and women in uniform and their families.”

The amendment requiring women to sign up for the draft was popular among Democrats and some Republicans, including Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), both of whom praised the move. The legislation drew criticism from more conservative senators though: Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) both opposed the amendment and worked to strip it from the defense authorization act.

“The idea that we should forcibly conscript young girls into combat, to my mind, makes little or no sense,” Cruz told POLITICO Pro. “It is at a minimum a radical proposition. I could not vote for a bill that did so, particularly that did so without public debate.”

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/06/hillary-clinton-women-draft-register-224390