Says Youth from "urban centers" share too much of the burden

From Eric Dondero:

New York Rep. Charlie Rangel, censored on ethics charges, has just re-introduced a new version of his Universal National Services Act. The Bill would require all 18 year-olds to serve two years in mandatory military service or some altnernative community or national service.

From the text of his Dear Colleague letter:

Requires all persons in the United States between the ages of 18 and 25 if called upon by the President during a declaration of war, a national emergency or a military contingency operation to perform national service for a minimum of two years with few exceptions.

According to TheState.com, one of Rangel's primary motivations is affirmative action.

[Rangel]has introduced similar legislation in the past that addresses not only the need for a more equitable military draft, but also establishes a universal requirement for National Service.

He is quoted:

"The largest segment of our fighting force comes from large urban centers with high unemployment, and from economically depressed small towns,” said Rangel. “This small portion of the population forces many soldiers to take multiple tours of duty, sometimes as many as six deployments.”

In contrast, libertarian Republican Reps. Dana Rohrabacher and Ron Paul have introduced legislation repeatedly over the years to abolish Selective Service.

In 2003, Congressman Paul compared Conscription to Slavery:

some politicians simply love the thought of mandatory service to the state. To them, the American government is America. Patriotism means working for the benefit of the state... Conscription is wrongly associated with patriotism, when it really represents Slavery and involuntary servitude.