Latest News
03-30-09
The Hill
"Push to end 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' faces hurdles"
By Roxana Tiron
March 30, 2009
Gay-rights activists are increasing their lobbying efforts to repeal a ban on homosexuals serving openly in the military, concerned that the Obama administration has decided to push the matter down on the priority list.
President Obama said during the campaign that he would like to end the controversial Clinton-era policy, known as "Don't ask, don't tell," but offered no timeline for the repeal.
On Sunday, his Defense secretary, Robert Gates, indicated on Fox News that the change was not an immediate priority. Both he and Obama have "a lot on our plates right now," Gates told Fox News. "Let's push that one down the road a little bit," Gates added.
The comments prompted advocates of repealing the ban to rally in an attempt to hold Obama to his pledge.
The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN), a nonprofit organization dedicated to repealing the ban, together with its allies will be lobbying House members over the next several weeks to sign onto legislation sponsored by Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D-Calif.) that would overturn the policy.
The goal is to get at least 215 co-sponsors by Oct.1 to demonstrate to Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) the strong wave of support for the legislation, said Aubrey Sarvis, the executive director of SLDN. So far, Tauscher's bill has 136 co-sponsors.
During the upcoming Easter recess, SLDN and its allies will also go district to district and member to member to ask lawmakers to back the legislation, Sarvis said.
SLDN has partnered with VoteVets, a pro-military advocacy group pressing for improved resources and benefits for the military.
"While we're engaged in two wars - we need the most qualified men and women serving," Sarvis said. "This is not the time to keep firing linguists and intelligence analysts because of their sexual orientation. The longer the president and Pentagon delay the issue, the fewer linguists and intelligence analysts the Pentagon will have to call on to fight terrorism in Pakistan and Afghanistan."
More than 800 mission-critical service members (e.g., linguists and intelligence analysts) have been fired under the "don't ask, don't tell" law, according to SLDN. Almost 13,000 service members have been discharged since 1994.
But those who are seeking to repeal the ban face an uphill battle in Congress and at the Pentagon.
The Senate has yet to introduce a corresponding bill and Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.), a supporter of the repeal, said earlier this year that it is not an urgent priority on his committee. Rep. Ike Skelton (D-Mo.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, has not co-sponsored Tauscher's legislation.
A Democratic aide said House Democrats want to keep the discussion going, but might not have the appetite to pick a fight with the White House on this issue.
Then came the statement from Gates, which created a stir among supporters of lifting the ban.
"I trust the secretary was not speaking for President Obama, who, hopefully, will issue the call for repeal when he sends his Defense Department budget to Congress in a few weeks. This is about timely leadership."
The real test for Obama is whether he will ask for the repeal in the lengthy legislative proposals package that comes along with the Pentagon's budget request, said Sarvis. The request for the 2010 budget is expected on Capitol Hill in early May, giving the president several more weeks to include a repeal proposal, Sarvis said.
"If the president does nothing particularly with respect to his defense budget, he is giving a green light to the continued enforcement of ‘don't ask, don't tell.' "
However, Gates said Sunday that the dialogue about the repeal has "really not progressed very far." The Defense secretary, a holdover from the Bush administration, also acknowledged that there is money in the 2010 budget to enforce the current ban.
The Obama Pentagon in recent weeks has been consumed by discussions over strategies in Afghanistan and Iraq and back-and-forth over which high-profile weapons systems to fund or to scrap.
Tauscher warned when she reintroduced her bill earlier this year that the issue could take longer to sort out.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has asked Tauscher to serve as the undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security. Her confirmation process could take several months, and Tauscher, even though at the forefront of the repeal, could be more reserved about pushing the issue with the White House, some congressional sources said.
Once she leaves Capitol Hill, gay-rights advocates want to ensure that the baton passes to a lawmaker who would push the issue as doggedly. Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Pa.), an Iraq veteran and lawyer, is emerging as a likely candidate. Rep. Susan Davis (D-Calif.), who heads the Armed Services personnel sub-panel, is also considered a likely force on this issue.
The offices of the two lawmakers did not comment by press time.
Sarvis stressed that Obama would be better served by including the repeal in the legislative package or openly talking about how he will overturn the ban, because some Republican lawmakers opposed to the repeal "will be eager to engage the Defense Department on the issue whether they want it or not."
Political analysts have said the issue poses risks for Obama because it can fire up social conservatives and political opponents, forcing the president to waste his capital on this issue rather than more pressing items, such as the two wars, the economy and government reform.
Some congressional insiders say Obama and the Pentagon could find political cover, at least temporarily, by supporting the creation of a commission that would look into how to implement a repeal.
TheHill.com: Push to End DADT Faces Hurdles
The Hill
"Push to end 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' faces hurdles"
By Roxana Tiron
March 30, 2009
Gay-rights activists are increasing their lobbying efforts to repeal a ban on homosexuals serving openly in the military, concerned that the Obama administration has decided to push the matter down on the priority list.
President Obama said during the campaign that he would like to end the controversial Clinton-era policy, known as "Don't ask, don't tell," but offered no timeline for the repeal.
On Sunday, his Defense secretary, Robert Gates, indicated on Fox News that the change was not an immediate priority. Both he and Obama have "a lot on our plates right now," Gates told Fox News. "Let's push that one down the road a little bit," Gates added.
The comments prompted advocates of repealing the ban to rally in an attempt to hold Obama to his pledge.
The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN), a nonprofit organization dedicated to repealing the ban, together with its allies will be lobbying House members over the next several weeks to sign onto legislation sponsored by Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D-Calif.) that would overturn the policy.
The goal is to get at least 215 co-sponsors by Oct.1 to demonstrate to Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) the strong wave of support for the legislation, said Aubrey Sarvis, the executive director of SLDN. So far, Tauscher's bill has 136 co-sponsors.
During the upcoming Easter recess, SLDN and its allies will also go district to district and member to member to ask lawmakers to back the legislation, Sarvis said.
SLDN has partnered with VoteVets, a pro-military advocacy group pressing for improved resources and benefits for the military.
"While we're engaged in two wars - we need the most qualified men and women serving," Sarvis said. "This is not the time to keep firing linguists and intelligence analysts because of their sexual orientation. The longer the president and Pentagon delay the issue, the fewer linguists and intelligence analysts the Pentagon will have to call on to fight terrorism in Pakistan and Afghanistan."
More than 800 mission-critical service members (e.g., linguists and intelligence analysts) have been fired under the "don't ask, don't tell" law, according to SLDN. Almost 13,000 service members have been discharged since 1994.
But those who are seeking to repeal the ban face an uphill battle in Congress and at the Pentagon.
The Senate has yet to introduce a corresponding bill and Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.), a supporter of the repeal, said earlier this year that it is not an urgent priority on his committee. Rep. Ike Skelton (D-Mo.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, has not co-sponsored Tauscher's legislation.
A Democratic aide said House Democrats want to keep the discussion going, but might not have the appetite to pick a fight with the White House on this issue.
Then came the statement from Gates, which created a stir among supporters of lifting the ban.
"I trust the secretary was not speaking for President Obama, who, hopefully, will issue the call for repeal when he sends his Defense Department budget to Congress in a few weeks. This is about timely leadership."
The real test for Obama is whether he will ask for the repeal in the lengthy legislative proposals package that comes along with the Pentagon's budget request, said Sarvis. The request for the 2010 budget is expected on Capitol Hill in early May, giving the president several more weeks to include a repeal proposal, Sarvis said.
"If the president does nothing particularly with respect to his defense budget, he is giving a green light to the continued enforcement of ‘don't ask, don't tell.' "
However, Gates said Sunday that the dialogue about the repeal has "really not progressed very far." The Defense secretary, a holdover from the Bush administration, also acknowledged that there is money in the 2010 budget to enforce the current ban.
The Obama Pentagon in recent weeks has been consumed by discussions over strategies in Afghanistan and Iraq and back-and-forth over which high-profile weapons systems to fund or to scrap.
Tauscher warned when she reintroduced her bill earlier this year that the issue could take longer to sort out.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has asked Tauscher to serve as the undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security. Her confirmation process could take several months, and Tauscher, even though at the forefront of the repeal, could be more reserved about pushing the issue with the White House, some congressional sources said.
Once she leaves Capitol Hill, gay-rights advocates want to ensure that the baton passes to a lawmaker who would push the issue as doggedly. Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Pa.), an Iraq veteran and lawyer, is emerging as a likely candidate. Rep. Susan Davis (D-Calif.), who heads the Armed Services personnel sub-panel, is also considered a likely force on this issue.
The offices of the two lawmakers did not comment by press time.
Sarvis stressed that Obama would be better served by including the repeal in the legislative package or openly talking about how he will overturn the ban, because some Republican lawmakers opposed to the repeal "will be eager to engage the Defense Department on the issue whether they want it or not."
Political analysts have said the issue poses risks for Obama because it can fire up social conservatives and political opponents, forcing the president to waste his capital on this issue rather than more pressing items, such as the two wars, the economy and government reform.
Some congressional insiders say Obama and the Pentagon could find political cover, at least temporarily, by supporting the creation of a commission that would look into how to implement a repeal.
