R. Clarke Cooper of Log Cabin Republicans and Aubrey Sarvis discuss Ending DADT

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Hardball Discuss DADT with Aubrey Sarvis and Joe Solmonese

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Nancy Pelosi says a Vote on DADT will be taken this Year

Did I hear this right? I hope so, because that will be great!

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is planning to hold a vote this year in her chamber of Congress for “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal, according to her office.

“It is the Speaker’s intention that a vote will be taken this year on ['Don't Ask, Don't Tell'] in the House,” Drew Hammill, a Pelosi spokesperson, told DC Agenda in a statement Monday.

The announcement is promising news for repeal advocates because Pelosi has yet to put legislation to the floor that hasn’t had sufficient support for passage.

Michael Cole, a Human Rights Campaign spokesperson, praised Pelosi for planning the vote.

“As we’ve been saying for a long time now, the time to repeal the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ law is this year, and it’s a positive sign to hear congressional leaders affirm that,” Cole said.

Still, Cole said further work is necessary to make repeal happen.

“We need pressure on the Congress, we need pressure on the White House, we need pressure across the board, and as we get into this critical period, signs like that are promising,” he said.

Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, said he learned the House was planning this vote last week in a meeting with House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer.

“I’m delighted that she’s reaffirmed to hold the vote this year,” he said.

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Sen. Gilly's DADT plan may NOT work

Days after Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand mentioned a possible DADT funding pause, several LGBT activists expressed their concerns.

For example:

“It's helpful to talk about cutting funding for ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ discharges, but we must be strategic about when such a move would be made and now is premature,” said Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network.

Second, Sarvis does not believe the votes yet exist in the Senate to pass such an amendment. SLDN worked with Gillibrand’s office last year to explore the possibility of placing a moratorium on discharges and investigations for the remainder of the 111th Congress.

“When we did our whip count, the most we got was 44 votes,” said Sarvis, adding that even with last week's supportive testimony from Adm. Mike Mullen and Defense secretary Bob Gates, he does not believe that an amendment would garner the necessary votes.

“The last thing we need is for the first vote on this policy in 17 years to fail,” he said.

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Alex Nicholson, executive director of Servicemembers United, expressed similar reservations about disrupting the process that’s now taking place in the Senate Armed Services Committee.

“We want to make sure a vote on that would not foreclose pursuing a vote for full legislative repeal this year,” Nicholson said. “Moderate senators may not want to take a vote on the policy twice in 2010.”

Others are wondering if this is a reaction to Harold Ford Jr.'s growing base in NY. Sources claim that Ford's brand is gaining some strength. This is could be a problem for her, if this plan crashes and burns.