--FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE--

NATIONAL APPEAL BOARD MEMBER APPOINTED

San Antonio, Texas, April 27 --President Bill Clinton has appointed San Antonio resident, Jane Haun Macon, to serve on the National Appeal Board for the Selective Service System. Macon, a local attorney, was sworn in by Selective Service System Director Gil Coronado.

Macon joins four other appointees who together form the five member Board. They serve as the final authority in deciding claims for certain classifications, such as conscientious objector, hardship, and religious ministry, should a draft be reinstituted by Congress and the President.

Macon, 53, has been a resident of San Antonio for over 30 years and is a partner with the local law firm of Fulbright & Jaworski, L.L.P. She attended the University of Texas at Austin where she received a bachelor’s degree in International Studies and a doctorate of Jurisprudence. She was accepted into a summer Spanish program at Verano Espanol in Madrid, Spain. Macon, who is fluent in Spanish and Bengali, is a member of various national, state, and local boards and is very active in several legal and civic organizations. She has published several articles and is the recipient of numerous honors, including the Texas Business & Professional Women Annual Convention’s "Woman to Watch," June 1998.

Board Members receive approximately 12 hours of instructions over a two-day period, focusing on intensive orientation to the Selective Service System, the major duties and responsibilities of the National Appeal Board Members, and the procedures they would follow in a draft.

Although there has not been a military draft since 1973, the Selective Service System and the registration requirement for America's young men, provide our Nation with a structure and a system of guidelines which will provide the most prompt, efficient, and equitable draft possible, if the country should need it.

"The dedication of all Board Members assures that these young men would receive a fair and effective classification process by able, trained, and objective individuals should the need for such a system arise," noted Director Coronado.

Federal law requires virtually all male citizens, and non-citizens residing in the U.S., to register with Selective Service within 30 days of turning 18. Late registrations are accepted, but a man cannot register after reaching age 26. Failure to register is a felony punishable by a fine of up to $250,000, up to five years in prison, or both. Moreover, men who fail to register may be denied student financial aid, government jobs and job training, and U.S. citizenship, for male immigrants seeking citizenship.

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Contact: Al Carmona

Selective Service System Deputy State Director of Texas