Senate to Begin Registration Debate

The Senate today will begin debating a proposal to register 19- and 20-year-old men for the draft.

The budgetary question has delayed Senate consideration of the draft proposal, which calls for $13.3 million to register men born in 1960 and 1961 and to upgrade Selective Service System (SSS) facilities.

Hats Off

Sen. Mark O. Hatfield (R-Ore.), who will lead the floor fight against the proposal, has promised to filibuster the bill to death. Two-thirds of the senators must vote in favor of closing debate before they can vote on the plan.

Capitol Hill observers said this week they expect the Senate to pass the proposal by a margin of about 20 votes.

Even if a last-minute lobbying effort by members of the Coalition Against Registration and the Draft succeeds in swinging some votes observers say the victory margin will be proportionately larger than it was in the House, which last month passed the proposal by 30 votes.

Lobbying

The registration debate started before the Senate adjourned yesterday, when senators began inserting opinions into the record. Meanwhile, White House and Pentagon lobbyists staged a last-minute lobbying effort to insure that senators committed to the proposal do not switch their votes.

Aides to Hafield say he plans to introduce a number of amendments to the bill, including one that seeks to register women. A House subcommittee earlier this spring defeated a similar amendment, but the American Civil Liberties Union has threatened to file suit if the president approves a male-only registration plan.

The bill the Senate will consider includes an amendment, introduced by Hatfield, directing the SSS to include a line on the registration form asking registrants whether they will seek conscientious objector status.

If the Senate passes a proposal including that amendment, the House will have to reconsider its vote after a conference committee draws up a compromise plan.

Hatfield says he believes there are sufficient votes to defeat the registration plan if the House is forced to reconsider its earlier action.