Repeal of "don't ask, don't tell" planned regardless of study results
Published: March 4, 2010
At yesterday's House Armed Services subcommittee hearing the co-chairs of the "don't ask, don't tell" working group asked for patience in repealing the 17-year-old ban on gays serving openly in the military. Jeh Johnson, General Counsel for the Defense Department, told lawmakers the he's working under the assumption a repeal will take place, but maintains the year-long study is needed to make sure it's not disruptive to troops readiness or unit cohesion.
But it looks less and less like he'll get that. Democratic lawmakers in both the House and Senate are already working on plans to insert a repeal in the 2011 defense budget bills (to be finalized by this October) or as stand alone measures.
Yesterday Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-Pa. -- now the leading voice for repeal on the House side -- offered the possibility that language in some legislation might contain an early 2011 trigger date. That way, lawmakers could guarantee a repeal of "don't ask, don't tell" will take place soon after the Pentagon's study group finishes it's work, and gay rights groups could avoid more months or years of waiting for action.
But Johnson resisted that suggestion, saying that even if lawmakers' mind is made up they should wait and listen to the findings of the study. The working group will spend the coming months canvassing military and civilian experts on the issue, looking at the potential impact on recruiting, retention, family support and morale.
"Our review might inform what this Congress wants to do," he said during a House Armed Services subcommittee on the issue Wednesday. "Before we move ahead, I want to make sure we hit all the right issues."
Just before the hearing, however, a coalition of Senate Democrats (and Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn.) introduced their own stand-alone legislation to force a repeal. Senate Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., has said publicly he is exploring ways to move the issue through his chamber as soon as possible.
Opponents of a repeal have objected to this approach, saying that President Obama has already decided to make the change without carefully studying its possible negative effects. But waiting for the working group to complete its surveys might be a moot point -- they've also blasted that work as biased in favor of a repeal, and called its impending results a foregone conclusion.
[PHOTO: C-Span]
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