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WASHINGTON — Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, threw her support Thursday behind a proposal to require women to register for the draft.

“If it comes to taking a vote on that, then I would say that yes, women should sign up for Selective Service,” Ernst told reporters.

She also said she would like to hear more from the Obama administration about such a move, adding that she hopes the country will never need to use the draft again.

Ernst, the first female veteran in the U.S. Senate, retired last year as a lieutenant colonel in the Iowa Army National Guard after 23 years of service.

That included a 2003 tour overseas as a company commander. Her unit was responsible for running supply convoys through Kuwait and into southern Iraq.

Ernst is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, which will soon take up a new defense authorization bill.

The House Armed Services Committee voted Wednesday night to include the registration requirement for women in its version.

Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., also a member of the committee, reserved judgment on the proposal. She said she had not had a chance to study it.