House to Vote on New DADT Bill
The Washington Post reports:
The House of Representatives will vote on a new bill to repeal the military's "don't ask, don't tell" law, possibly as early as tomorrow, according to aides.
House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) and Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Pa.) on Tuesday introduced the House version of a bill proposed last week by Sens. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) that would authorize the Pentagon to end its enforcement of the 17-year ban on gays serving openly in the military.
"This discriminatory and harmful policy has weakened America's security by depriving us of the work of tens of thousands of gay and lesbian troops who have served their country honorably. And it has severely compromised our Armed Forces' core value of integrity," Hoyer said in a statement.
He plans to introduce the bill soon, he said, and aides and other activists familiar with the negotiations said a vote could come on Wednesday.
Lieberman and Collins introduced the bill last week after the Senate failed to proceed to debate on the National Defense Authorization Act for the second time this year. The massive policy bill included language ending "don't ask, don't tell." it was passed by the House in May.
The new bill uses the exact language that was in the defense measure.
Murphy, an Iraq war veteran who lost reelection in November, helped broker the deal between the White House and Congressional Democrats to include language ending the ban in the defense bill.
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