He was quoted as saying: "There’s no question in my mind that this president and this administration would never have invaded Iraq, especially on the flimsy evidence that was presented to the Congress if indeed we had a draft and members of Congress and the administration thought that their kids from their communities would be placed in harm’s way". Rangel also argued that bringing back the draft would remedy the social disparity of the burden of military service falling disproportionately on the poor and the minorities. After the Democratic victories in the November 2007 congressional elections, Rangel repeated his call for re-introduction of the draft and for moving forward on the bill, and a more active public discussion of the proposal followed.
He was quoted as saying: "There’s no doubt in my mind that this president and this administration would never have invaded Iraq, especially on the flimsy evidence presented to Congress if indeed we had a draft and members of Congress and the administration thought their children from their communities would be placed in harm's way". Rangel also argued that reinstating the draft would address the social disparity of the burden of military service falling disproportionately on the poor and minorities. After the Democratic victories in the November 2007 congressional elections, Rangel reiterated his call for re-introduction of the draft and for moving forward on the bill, leading to a more active public discussion of the proposal.