Solomon Amendment

The Solomon Amendment, 50 U.S.C.A. App. § 462(f), is federal legislation that denies male college students between the ages of 18 and 26 who fail to register for the military draft (under the Selective Service Act, 50 U.S.C.A. App. § 451 et seq.) eligibility to receive financial aid provided by the Basic Educational Opportunity Grant Program.

Registration for the draft, which had been suspended on July 1, 1973, resumed in 1980. To compel compliance with the registration requirement, Congress enacted the Solomon Amendment, sponsored by Gerald B. H. Solomon (R-N.Y.). The amendment provides that applicants for financial aid under the Basic Educational Opportunity Grant Program certify that they have satisfied the registration requirement relating to the draft. In 1984 the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Solomon Amendment in Selective Service System v. Minnesota Public Interest Research Group, 468 U.S. 841, 104 S. Ct. 3348, 82 L. Ed. 2d 632.

Cross-references

Armed Services; Selective Service System.