WASHINGTON ( CNN ) -- The Army and Marine Corps are allowing convicted felons to serve in increasing numbers , newly released Department of Defense statistics show . A U.S Marine keeps a watchful eye in downtown Baghdad . Recruits were allowed to enlist after having been convicted of crimes including assault , burglary , drug possession and making terrorist threats . The statistics were released by Rep. Henry Waxman , a California Democrat who chairs the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform . He has given the Pentagon a month to hand over up-to-date details on the number of waivers granted , reports on how the recruits have performed and information about how the waivers are related to meeting recruitment goals . Pentagon statistics show the Army granted 511 felony waivers in 2007 , just over twice the 249 it granted the year before . The Army aims to recruit more than 80,000 new soldiers a year . The Marines -- which recruits fewer new service members each year than the Army -- also reported a rise in waivers for felonies , with 350 granted in 2007 , compared with 208 in 2006 . `` There was a rapid rise in 2007 in the number of waivers the Army and Marine Corps granted to recruits convicted of serious felonies , '' Waxman said in a letter Monday to David Chu , the under-secretary of defense for personnel and readiness . `` I understand that there can be valid reasons for personnel waivers and recognize the importance of providing opportunities to individuals who have served their sentences and rehabilitated themselves . `` At the same time , concerns have been raised that the significant increase in the recruitment of persons with criminal records is a result of the strain put on the military by the Iraq war and may be undermining military readiness , '' he charged . The Army defended its use of waivers as a response to a changing American society , arguing that only three in 10 Americans of military age `` meet all our stringent medical , moral , aptitude or administrative requirements . '' `` Today 's young men and women are more overweight , have a greater incidence of asthma , and are being charged for offenses that in earlier years would n't have been considered a serious offense , and might not have resulted in charges in the first place , '' John P. Boyce Jr. of Army Public Affairs said in a statement to CNN . He said the Army never issues waivers for some types of offenses , including sexual violence , alcoholism and drug trafficking . But the Pentagon statistics showed the Army allowed 106 convicted burglars to enlist in 2007 , up from 36 the year before . It also granted waivers to 43 recruits convicted of aggravated assault that year , up from 33 a year before ; and to 130 people convicted of possession of drugs other than marijuana , a rise from 71 in 2006 . It also allowed two people convicted of making terrorist or bomb threats to enlist in 2007 , up from one the year before . The Marines did not immediately respond to request for comment . The Navy reported a slight decline in felony waivers , from 48 in 2006 to 42 in 2007 . The Air Force said it granted no felony waivers in either year . E-mail to a friend .
Recruits convicted of assault , drug possession , making terrorist threats allowed in . Rep. Henry Waxman : " The bill would allow the military to detain and interrogate American citizens who are suspected terrorists or have ties with al - Qaeda without a trial if they can prove that their presence on U.S. soil is an imminent Army granted 511 felony waivers in 2007 ; Marines granted 350 in 2007 . Army defended waivers , saying fewer recruits today meet their standards .