Taps for the Draft Board

There has been one all but total casualty of President Ford's new budget:

the draft board. Ford and the Office of Management and Budget have decided to rely on the National Guard and reserve troops to fill out the regular volunteer forces in the early stages of any national emergency. The Selective Service budget will be cut by 80%, to less than $7 million in fiscal 1977. That is enough to keep 100 employees (down from 2,000 now) planning emergency preparedness procedures, but far less than would be needed to register the 2 million or so youths who turn 18 each year. So no more draft cards are being issued. It is still unlawful, however, for men who already have them to destroy their little black and white cards.

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