Other advocates for mandatory national service include Senator Chris Dodd, along with author Larry J.
The bill would have provided that, as early as June 2005, young men and women ages 18–26 could be called to service.
In an editorial in The New York Times, Rangel said "if those calling for war knew that their children were likely to be required to serve—and to be placed in harm's way—there would be more caution and a greater willingness to work with the international community in dealing with Iraq."
(See dailytexanonline.com[permanent dead link] and seattletimes.nwsource.com) Some commentators opined that the bill figured in a "scare campaign" to convince US voters that Republicans (or specifically the White House) had secret plans to re-institute conscription after the November 2 elections.
For example, John Sutherland, a columnist for The Guardian, claimed on May 31, 2004, that the bill is "currently approved and sitting in the Committee for Armed Services".
William Hawkins, a columnist for The Washington Times, denies that the bill was ever approved and claims that when Republicans brought it to the floor on October 5, it was for the express purpose of killing it.".
It proposes the requirement that all residents in the United States aged between 18 and 42 carry out national service, and be available for conscription during wartime.
This bill has become the subject of blogosphere speculation in the 2008 Presidential Race after Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama both appeared to give some support for such legislation.
Obama's entire service program proposal quickly became controversial, largely for being mistaken as a call for a national Gendarmerie force, though the proposal's only reference to military service was to volunteer participation in regular U.S. Armed Forces, as one activity that would qualify for inclusion under the program's umbrella.
On September 11, 2008, at Columbia University, Democratic Presidential nominee Barack Obama addressed this further, saying, "But it's also important that a president speaks to military service as an obligation not just of some, but of many.
[6] On March 19, 2015, Rangel introduced legislation to activate Selective Service to draft men and women ages 18–25 via lottery during any authorization on the use of military force.
The current text does not indicate whether, like Rangel's previous bills, it would compel citizens to perform National Service in peacetime.