Wilson Beaver
There are two competing versions of the Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (FY 2025 NDAA), one in the Senate and one in the House.REF By and large, there will be much upon which Senate and House negotiators can agree, as the two versions include support for deterrence in the Indo-Pacific and increasing American servicemembers’ quality of life. The provision in the Senate version of the bill that would require all women aged 18–26 to register for the draft is both highly contentious and the one that is most likely to sink the entire bill if not removed. Other potential areas of disagreement include the topline defense budget number (the Senate’s is higher), the higher support for shipbuilding by the Senate, and some strict research security proposals by the House.
Both versions also contain many proposals that are consistent with the proposed defense budget outlined in The Heritage Foundation’s “Conservative Defense Budget for Fiscal Year 2025” Special Report.REF
Once Members of the Senate and the House meet to finalize the FY 2025 NDAA, they should consider the following recommendations to produce the military budget our nation needs to carry out the missions demanded by its national security and defense strategies.
Policy Recommendations
Remove “Draft our Daughters.” The most divisive issue in the current House and Senate drafts of the NDAA is not directly related to military capability and lethality. Instead, it is a divisive, politicized initiative that would distract the military from its core mission. The proposal to include women in the draft is both wildly unpopular with Americans and disproportionately unpopular among the women it would affect. A national survey by Scott Rasmussen found that a majority of Americans overall and American women oppose being included in the draft. Heritage Vice President for National Security Victoria Coates issued the following statement regarding the “Draft our Daughters” provision in the Senate NDAA:
There is no justification to “Draft Our Daughters” for military service. » Read More
https://www.heritage.org/defense/report/policy-recommendations-finalizing-the-2025-national-defense-authorization-act