Selective Service to match records with Education for compliance
By John Byrne | RAW STORY Editor
The Selective Service filed a notice in the federal register three days before the election to check the computer records of the Department of Education for compliance with a law that requires all students receiving federal financial aid to register for the draft, RAW STORY has learned.
The notice, filed Oct. 28, was published today in the Federal Register.
Former Reagan Assistant Defense Secretary Lawrence Korb, who now works at a progressive thinktank, downplayed the significance of the notice. He said that the law mandating financial aid students to register was put in place by a Democratic congress in the early 1980s, after many failed to register.
Asked if he thought it gave any credence to rumors of a draft, he said, ?Not as far as I know, no.?
?The purpose of this matching program is to ensure that the requirements of Section 12(f) of the Military Selective Service System Act,? the notice reads.
While not an unexpected request, in a time when Americans have been so worried about a draft that Congress had to pass legislation asserting a draft would not be reinstated, the request can only fuel increased speculation about a military draft plan for the war in Iraq. The New York Times reported last month that the military was exploring a medical draft in the event of a national security emergency.
?In addition, Section 12(f)(2) of the Military Selective Service System Act specifies that any person required to present himself for and submit to registration under Section 3 of the Military Selective Service System Act must file a statement with the institution of higher education where the person
intends to attend or is attending that he is in compliance with the Military Selective Service System Act,? the notice adds.
Korb added that while not a procedure done annually, the Selective Service is required by law to ensure aid students are registered.
?I would imagine they would have to,? he said. ?Under the law they?re required to ensure that people don?t get financial aid if they haven?t registered.?
