69–006 

110TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 1st Session 110–479 

AMENDMENT TO SECTION 3328 OF TITLE 5, UNITED 

STATES CODE, RELATING TO SELECTIVE SERVICE REGISTRATION 

DECEMBER 10, 2007.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State 

of the Union and ordered to be printed 

Mr. WAXMAN, from the Committee on Oversight and Government 

Reform, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

together with 

ADDITIONAL VIEWS 

[To accompany H.R. 4108] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, to whom 

was referred the bill (H.R. 4108) to amend section 3328 of title 5, 

United States Code, relating to Selective Service registration, having considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass. 

CONTENTS 

Page 

Purpose and Summary ............................................................................................ 2 

Background and Need for Legislation .................................................................... 2 

Legislative History .................................................................................................. 2 

Section-by-Section .................................................................................................... 2 

Explanation of Amendments ................................................................................... 2 

Committee Consideration ........................................................................................ 3 

Rollcall Votes ............................................................................................................ 3 

Application of Law to the Legislative Branch ....................................................... 3 

Statement of Oversight Findings and Recommendations of the Committee ...... 3 

Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives .................................... 3 

Constitutional Authority Statement ...................................................................... 3 

Federal Advisory Committee Act ............................................................................ 3 

Unfunded Mandate Statement ............................................................................... 3 

Earmark Identification ............................................................................................ 4 


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Committee Estimate ................................................................................................ 4 

Budget Authority and Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate .................... 4 

Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported ..................................... 5 

Additional Views ...................................................................................................... 7 

PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

H.R. 4108, a bill to amend section 3328 of title 5, U.S.C., relating 

to Selective Service registration, was introduced on November 7, 

2007, by Reps George Miller and Darrell Issa. The legislation 

would provide for exemptions from determinations of ineligibility 

for federal employment for individuals who have received an honorable discharge from the armed services or who have performed at 

least ten years of federal service. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

Under current law, all males born after December 31, 1959, must 

register with the Selective Service by their 26th birthday in order 

to be eligible for employment in the federal government. An individual who has not registered with the Selective Service is not eligible for federal employment unless he can prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the failure to register was neither knowing nor willful. This means that the individual must prove to a 

high legal standard that he did not know he was required to register or thought he had registered. H.R. 4108 would exempt from 

this requirement individuals who were honorable discharged from 

the armed services or who have 10 years of service in the federal 

government. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

H.R. 4108, a bill to amend section 3328 of title 5, U.S.C., relating 

to Selective Service registration, was introduced on November 7, 

2007, and referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government 

Reform. The Committee held a markup to consider H.R. 4108 on 

November 8, 2007, and ordered the bill to be reported by voice vote. 

During the markup, the Chairman and other members of the Committee agreed to consider changes to the legislation suggested by 

the Director of the Selective Service System. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION

Section 1. Selective Service Registration 

Section 1 of the bill amends section 3328 of title 5 to require the 

Office of Personnel Management to prescribe regulations which 

provide for exceptions to determinations of ineligibility for federal 

employment due to a failure to register with the Selective Service 

for individuals who have received an honorable discharge from the 

armed services or who have performed at least 10 years of federal 

service. The bill also makes certain technical drafting changes to 

this section of existing law. 

EXPLANATION OF AMENDMENTS

No amendments to this bill were offered in the Committee, however a manager’s amendment incorporating suggestions from the 


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Director of the Selective Service System may be considered when 

the bill is considered in the House. 

COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION

On Thursday, November 8, 2007, the Committee ordered the bill 

reported to the House by a voice vote. 

ROLLCALL VOTES

No rollcall votes were taken on this legislation. 

APPLICATION OF LAW TO THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

Section 102(b)(3) of Public Law 104–1 requires a description of 

the application of this bill to the legislative branch where the bill 

relates to the terms and conditions of employment or access to public services and accommodations. Amendments made by this bill 

would apply only to executive branch employees. As such this bill 

does not relate to the legislative branch. 

STATEMENT OF OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF

THE COMMITTEE

In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII and clause (2)(b)(1) 

of rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee’s oversight findings and recommendations are reflected in the 

descriptive portions of this report. 

STATEMENT OF GENERAL PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

In accordance with clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, the Committee’s performance goals and 

objectives are reflected in the descriptive portions of this report, 

and include enhancing the efficiency of the federal government. 

CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT

Under clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 

Representatives, the Committee must include a statement citing 

the specific powers granted to Congress to enact the law proposed 

by H.R. 4108. Article I, section 8, clause 18 of the Constitution of 

the United States grants the Congress the power to enact this law. 

FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT

The Committee finds that the legislation does not establish or 

authorize the establishment of an advisory committee within the 

definition of 5 U.S.C. App., section 5(b). 

UNFUNDED MANDATE STATEMENT

Section 423 of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act (as amended by section 101(a)(2) of the Unfunded Mandate 

Reform Act, P.L. 104–4) requires a statement whether the provisions of the reported bill include unfunded mandates. In compliance with this requirement the Committee has received a letter 

from the Congressional Budget Office included herein. 


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EARMARK IDENTIFICATION

H.R. 1255 does not contain any congressional earmarks, limited 

tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in clause 9(d), 9(e), 

or 9(f) of rule XXI. 

COMMITTEE ESTIMATE

Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and a comparison by the Committee of the costs that would be incurred in carrying out H.R. 

4108. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B) of that rule provides that this requirement does not apply when the Committee has included in its 

report a timely submitted cost estimate of the bill prepared by the 

Director of the Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of 

the Congressional Budget Act. 

BUDGET AUTHORITY AND CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST

ESTIMATE

With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of 

the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 308(a) of the 

Congressional Budget Act of 1974 and with respect to requirements 

of clause (3)(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 

1974, the Committee has received the following cost estimate for 

H.R. 4108 from the Director of Congressional Budget Office: 

NOVEMBER 15, 2007. 

Hon. HENRY A. WAXMAN, 

Chairman, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, 

House of Representatives, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 4108, a bill to amend section 3328 of title 5, United States Code, relating to Selective Service registration. 

If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased 

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Matthew Pickford. 

Sincerely, 

PETER R. ORSZAG. 

Enclosure. 

H.R. 4108—A bill to amend section 3328 of title 5, United States 

Code, relating to Selective Service registration 

H.R. 4108 would amend current law and regulations regarding 

federal employment and the requirement to register with the Selective Service System. The Selective Service is a system for identifying candidates for compulsory military service. Under current 

law, all males born after December 31, 1959, must register with 

the Selective Service by their 26th birthday to be eligible for federal employment. Individuals employed by the federal government 

who have not registered with the Selective Service may be terminated from federal employment unless granted a waiver by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). 

H.R. 4108 would allow certain employees who failed to register 

with the Selective Service to continue their federal employment. 


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Specifically, federal employees who did not register with the Selective Service but were honorably discharged from military service 

would not be terminated, nor would federal employees with at least 

10 years of exemplary government service. 

Information from OPM indicates that only a small number of employees are identified as unregistered with the Selective Service in 

the course of their employment with the federal government. Thus, 

CBO estimates that enacting this legislation would have no significant impact on the federal budget. H.R. 4108 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded 

Mandates Reform Act and would not affect the budgets of state, 

local, or tribal governments. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Matthew Pickford. 

This estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant 

Director for Budget Analysis. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by the bill, 

as reported, are shown as follows (existing law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new matter is printed in italic, 

existing law in which no change is proposed is shown in roman): 

TITLE 5, UNITED STATES CODE 

* * * * * * * 

PART III—EMPLOYEES 

* * * * * * * 

SUBPART B—EMPLOYMENT AND RETENTION 

* * * * * * * 

CHAPTER 33—EXAMINATION, SELECTION, AND 

PLACEMENT 

* * * * * * * 

SUBCHAPTER I—EXAMINATION, CERTIFICATION, AND 

APPOINTMENT 

* * * * * * * 

§ 3328. Selective Service registration 

(a) * * * 

ø(b) The Office of Personnel Management, in consultation with 

the Director of the Selective Service System, shall prescribe regulations to carry out this section. Such regulations shall include provisions prescribing procedures for the adjudication of determinations 

of whether a failure to register was knowing and willful. Such procedures shall require that such a determination may not be made 

if the individual concerned shows by a preponderance of the evidence that the failure to register was neither knowing nor willful. 

Such procedures may provide that determinations of eligibility 

under the requirements of this section shall be adjudicated by the 


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Executive agency making the appointment for which the eligibility 

is determined.¿ 

(b) The Director of the Office of Personnel Management, in consultation with the Director of the Selective Service System, shall 

prescribe regulations to carry out this section. Such regulations— (1) shall include procedures— (A) for the adjudication of determinations of whether a 

failure to register was knowing and willful; and 

(B) under which such a determination may not be made 

if the individual concerned shows by a preponderance of 

the evidence that the failure to register was neither knowing nor willful; 

(2) may provide that determinations of eligibility under the 

requirements of this section shall be adjudicated by the Executive agency making the appointment for which the eligibility is 

determined; and 

(3) shall provide for exceptions to determinations of ineligibility under this section to allow for— (A) the appointment of an individual who was discharged or released from active duty in the armed forces 

under honorable conditions; and 

(B) the continued employment of an individual, notwithstanding an appointment for which such individual was 

ineligible under subsection (a), if— (i) such individual has performed at least 10 years 

of civilian service with 1 or more Executive agencies; 

(ii) such individual’s most recent performance rating 

was at least fully successful (or the equivalent); and 

(iii) the employing agency determines that such individual’s continued employment would be in the best interests of the Government. 

* * * * * * * 


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ADDITIONAL VIEWS OF CHAIRMAN WAXMAN, RANKING 

MEMBER TOM DAVIS, AND REP. DARRELL ISSA 

Immediately prior to the business meeting held to consider H.R. 

4801, the Selective Service System sent the Committee suggestions 

to improve the bill. While there was not time to incorporate these 

suggestions into the bill reported by the Committee, the Chairman 

and other members agreed to further consider the suggestions as 

the bill moved forward in the legislative process. 

As passed by the Committee, the bill would require the Office of 

Personnel Management to prescribe regulations which would provide for exceptions to determinations of ineligibility for federal employment due to a failure to register with the Selective Service for 

individuals who have performed at least ten years of federal service. As suggested by the Selective Service System, the manager’s 

amendment to the bill will delete this requirement and instead provide for an exemption for individuals who have reached 31 years 

of age. 

The Selective Service notes that the primary purpose of 5 U.S.C. 

3328 was to improve the effectiveness of the Selective Service registration system. It is the position of the Selective Service that the 

existing lifelong ban on federal employment for individuals who 

failed to register and are unable to show that their failure was not 

knowing and willful serves no useful registration purpose or any 

public policy benefit. The Selective Service believes that limiting 

the ban to five years after the age an individual is no longer legally 

able to register (age 26) would have no tangible impact on its registration compliance program. This limit would also coincide with 

the statute of limitations for prosecuting an individual for failure 

to register (age 31). The proposed manager’s amendment would 

also alleviate the administrative burden that has been placed on 

the Office of Personnel Management to adjudicate claims of job applicants and current employees. 

HENRY A. WAXMAN. 

TOM DAVIS. 

DARRELL E. ISSA. 

Æ 


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