alt Hacker News> Annual budget $31.3 million (FY 2024)
If it hasn’t been used in 50 years, is there some other use for the registry or the organization or why hasn’t this been cut yet?
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Under U.S. federal law, men ages 18–25 must register with the Selective Service System to be eligible for most federal jobs. Federal agencies enforce this under hiring rules in 5 U.S.C. § 3328.
No other use for the registry.
Informally, it's put forward as one of the most successful government programs in history: it succeeds at all it's objective, comes in at or under budget, employs few people, and avoids the scope creep that kills other successful programs.
It's only shortcoming: it doesn't actually do anything.
Nobody wants to be the guy who got the nation caught with its pants down if conscription needs to come back in a hurry. The same reason the military budget always ratchets upwards.
The Army of the United States has also not been used in over 50 years,but does that mean it couldn't be used again?
Keeping it around just in case the US encounters an existential threat. You never know when it may happen.