The Hill previews the upcoming Senate debate on the 2011 Defense Authorization bill:
While the Senate Armed Services Committee’s bill contains nothing at this point that would trigger a presidential veto, there will be internal fights over several provisions, the most polarizing over the repeal of the military’s “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.Yes, apparently, DADT repeal will be "the most polarizing" issue in that bill, which shows how out-of-touch Capitol Hill is, considering "78 percent of the public supports allowing openly gay people to serve in the military." 78 percent. But, DADT repeal is polarizing. That just demonstrates the absurdity of Congress.
As we've been warned by SLDN, there's an effort underway to push what would be a killer amendment. From The Hill:
Republicans are eyeing a provision that would require all service chiefs to certify that repeal — allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly — can be implemented consistent with the military’s standards of readiness, effectiveness, unit cohesion and recruitment and retention.That's exactly what the opponents of DADT want.
The way the congressional provisions are written now, only President Barack Obama, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen have to provide that certification.
In letters solicited by Senate Armed Services ranking member John McCain (R-Ariz), the service chiefs said that they wanted Congress to delay voting on the issue until Dec. 1, after the Pentagon finishes a review of how the military should carry out the changes. That puts them at sharp odds with the White House.
Gay-rights groups fighting for repeal have called a potential amendment that expands the certification process to include the service chiefs “a killer amendment” that would delay open service for years.
As we've noted, CAP's Winnie Stachelberg has taken credit for the certification idea. Unfortunately, DADT opponents see that provision as their best opportunity to further weaken the already compromised DADT repeal language. All I can say is that CAP better be using all of its influence with the White House to make sure that provision isn't further weakened. That amendment must be defeated if it's offered. It is a "killer" amendment.
We still have no idea when the discharges will end. But, we can't let the Senate further weaken the DADT language. And, the "masterminds" behind the compromise better be doing everything they can to make sure it doesn't happen.
