Rangel votes against own draft measure

Rangel votes against own draft measure
By Michael S. Gerber

Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) did something a little unusual yesterday. First he protested when Republican leadership scheduled his own bill for a vote.

Then he sent out a letter encouraging his Democratic colleagues to vote against it.

Rangel’s bill, which the leadership had placed on the suspension calendar, would create a national-service draft under which all 18- to 26-year-olds would serve in the military or perform two years of national service as determined by the president. Rangel has been advocating a draft for several years, but he argued yesterday that the bill was too important for the suspension calendar, “which is reserved for non-controversial items,” he said in a statement.

Bills on the suspension calendar cannot be amended on the floor and require two-thirds of the House to clear the chamber.

Rangel accused Republicans of using his bill to assuage fears that President Bush had plans to reinstate the draft, stating, “The Republican leadership decision to place the draft legislation on the suspension Calendar is a political maneuver to kill rumors of the President’s intention to reinstate the draft after the November election.”

He went on to urge Democrats running for reelection to vote no.

“I am voting no, because my bill deserves serious consideration,” his statement continued.

“It should be subject to hearings and to expert testimony. The administration should come and tell us about our manpower needs, about recruitment and retention, about the extent to which out troops are overextended. And they should give us their views about shared sacrifice. If they did all of those things in a serious way, they would have to admit that my bill is an option.”

Democrats said Republican leaders gave them no notice that the Rangel bill was headed to the floor.