Imperial Defense Recruitment Bill

The Imperial Defense Recruitment Bill was the legislation to cease relying entirely on the clone troopers that were used by the Galactic Republic to volunteer and conscript soldiers from the general populace after it was deemed that the Kaminoan cloning project was financially unfeasible as there was no significant threat to the galaxy. However, without the Senate's knowledge, Admiral Edmon Rampart had already began recruiting new troops, whose numbers had grown substantially following the decommissioning of Kaminoan cloning facilities. During the final voting session, it was discovered that Rampart had embezzled funds to support the project and had ordered the attack on Kamino himself. Just as it seemed that the bill would be tabled once more, Emperor Palpatine appeared and expressed his support for the bill, declaring the era of the Imperial stormtrooper. With the Emperor's endorsement, the Senate passed the bill.

After having been rejected once before, the bill was up for vote once more, but opposition from Senators Riyo Chuchi, Bail Organa, and Tynnra Pamlo, as well as the Emperor's absence from the initial hearings, resulted in the vote being postponed. The bill also had support from the Commerce Guild and InterGalactic Banking Clan. Despite initially lacking provisions for the decommissioned troopers living arrangements and pensions, Rampart eventually included them in the final version of the bill, but later revealed to Grand Vizier Mas Amedda that he had no actual intention of providing the retired clones with benefits.

The revelation from Halle Burtoni, former senator of Kamino, that Rampart had embezzled Imperial funds meant for the cloning program to support a new conscripted military during the final voting session further threatened the bill, with Chuchi demanding an investigation into the missing funds. After it was further revealed that Rampart was responsible for the destruction of Kamino's cloning facilities, Grand Vizier Mas Amedda had Rampart arrested and forcibly removed from the Senate floor. Palpatine then appeared before the Senate and expressed his belief that Rampart's betrayal revealed the clones' inadequacy and tendency to blindly follow orders. With the Emperor expressing that a new army would indeed solve the issue, the Senate was tricked into ultimately voting for the bill.

Text and facts from the “Imperial Defense Recruitment Bill” article on Wookieepedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Modified for this site.