RFK Jr. Praises Rand Paul for Pushing to End the Selective Service
Our government is littered with outdated programs that deplete taxpayer funds and do not serve a strong purpose. One of these programs is the Selective Service, which costs taxpayers around $30 million per year, even though it has not drafted anyone since the 1970s. The United States’ debt is already out of control, and it is best for our country to get rid of outdated programs like this and focus on more relevant programs.
Robert F Kennedy Jr. Praises Rand Paul
In a recent post on X, Robert F Kennedy Jr. praised Rand Paul for introducing a bipartisan bill to end military drafts. RFK Jr., who has been very vocal about his anti-war views, noted that our military shouldn’t need to draft citizens if it ever needed to fight a just and necessary war.
This bill has received bipartisan support, given that many political members have become opposed to our growing long-term involvement in overseas conflicts.
Overview of Bill
In this bill, Rand Paul calls for the end of the Selective Service, and for all of the assets of this organization to be transferred to the Administrator of General Services. The bill also has a measure that helps support existing employees in finding employment in other parts of the executive branch. This bill was introduced by Rand Paul, as well as two other politicians, Ron Wyden and Cynthia Lummis, who are Democratic and Republican politicians in the states of Oregon and Wyoming. This bipartisan push is a very positive signal, which may help the government avoid excessive spending by removing an unnecessary program from our government.
The Selective Service is Not Necessary Anymore
The main driver for this bill is the fact that the Selective Service is not necessary anymore, and is consequently a waste of taxpayer funds.
The United States has not had a draft since 1971, yet this program still costs taxpayers $31 million every year. This program was originally created in the 1940s and could still require eligible men to be drafted in the future.
Rand Paul recently commented on why he believes that the Selective Service is no longer necessary.
“It has been over 50 years since the draft was last used. I’ve long stated that if a war is worth fighting, Congress will vote to declare it and people will volunteer. This outdated government program no longer serves a purpose and should be eliminated permanently.”
It is clear that we will not need to draft anyone in the future, due to the existing strength of our military and the fact that we should be moving toward an isolationist policy. The United States already spends more on our defense budget than the next nine countries combined.
Rand Paul commented on the strength of our volunteer military forces and noted that we had enough people in the military already. We should be able to recruit more volunteers for a worthwhile cause, if necessary. The program is a waste of taxpayer dollars, as it has not performed any functions since the 1970s, and will not need to do so in the future due to the strength of our military.
Ron Wyden, another sponsor of this bill, commented on how the Selective Service was outdated and no longer needed.
“The Selective Service is a long-outdated program that eats up millions in taxpayer dollars and gives us nothing in return. Our volunteer military forces are the strongest in the world, and there simply isn’t a need to replicate the same draft that sent two million unwilling young men to war 50 years ago.”
Taxpayers have already been forced to foot the bill for many overseas conflicts, such as the war in Ukraine, and they should not have to live in fear of being drafted into overseas conflicts against their will. The United States already has millions of people in the military, and could recruit more for a just cause, if needed.
Other Issues are More Crucial
There are plenty of more crucial issues that our country should attend to to boost our national security and prevent the risk of war.
One crucial risk that the United States faces, which is more different than risks in the 20th century, is the growing risk of cybersecurity threats from countries like Russia and China. This risk is massive compared to the risk of the United States not having enough troops to deploy during a potential war in the future.
Another even more crucial factor to note is that the United States’ power grid is extremely vulnerable, and could be a target of the attack in the future. The United States should be investing more to secure our power grid, as this will likely be a larger risk in the coming decades.
Moreover, trade wars will likely be another dominating factor in the coming years, and the United States should focus on lowering its debt and focusing its spending on issues that positively impact the economy. While the spending on Selective Service is a small percentage of our total spending, removing it would still be a nice symbolic gesture that shows we are committed to removing outdated programs and moving towards isolationism.
In the meantime, the best step for the United States should be on cutting its military spending and removing unnecessary programs, to ensure existing measures help promote national security. This pivot could allow the government to focus on measures like our power grid and cybersecurity, which could be huge risks for the United States in the future. Our government could also focus on new measures to attract more new recruits to the military, if necessary. However, funding an out of date program that would send unwilling men to war is not the best step for our government.