WASHINGTON — The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee is suggesting that further reductions to projected defense spending could force the U.S. to reinstate the military draft.

Rep. Howard “Buck” McKeon warned about cuts beyond the $350 billion that President Barack Obama and Congress agreed to in the debt accord this past summer. A special bipartisan committee is looking at another $1.5 trillion cut in all government spending, with defense as part of the mix.

McKeon said in an interview with Fox News on Monday that the cuts could result in 200,000 fewer service members and asked “do we want to reinstitute the draft?”

The military draft ended in 1973 as the U.S. switched to an all-volunteer force after the Vietnam War.