Military Selective Service Registration Act of 1979
Latest action. Referred to House Committee on Armed Services.
Military Selective Service Registration Act of 1979 - Directs the President to prepare and transmit to the Congress a plan to reform the existing procedures for the registration and inductment of persons for training and service in the armed forces including: (1) the desirability and feasibility of automatically registering individuals through a centralized automated system using school records and other existing records; (2) the enactment of authority for the President to induct registered individuals during periods when the President determines that such authority is required in the interest of national defense; (3) whether women should be subject to registration and induction; (4) the desirability of using 1980 census data to accomplish the registration of 18 year olds; and (5) such changes in the organization and operation of the Selective Service System as are necessary to provide for more efficient and expeditious mobilization to meet the personnel requirements of the armed forces. Amends the Military Selective Service Act to require individuals who attain the age of 18 after December 31, 1980, to register for selective service pursuant to such Act. Stipulates that the President may suspend such registration solely for the purpose of revising existing registration procedures or to establish new registration procedures. Stipulates that such a suspension may not exceed 90 days and may not be done more than once a year. Stipulates that the Director of the Selective Service shall be subject to the direction of the Secretary of Defense while induction authority is not in effect. Makes the Director subject to the direction of the President when such authority exists. Stipulates that the annual report of the Secretary of Defense to the Congress shall include a statement of the personnel requirements of each of the armed forces in the event of full mobilization and shall evaluate the capability of the Selective Service System to meet such requirements.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on February 28, 1979. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on February 28, 1979: Referred to House Committee on Armed Services.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 96th Congress (1979-80), 613 of the 12,581 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
BILL NICHOLS (D-AL) introduced it on February 28, 1979. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on February 28, 1979, 17361 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 17361 days ago, on February 28, 1979.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 96th Congress has not finished by January 3, 1981 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers