WASHINGTON, DC – Senators Joe Lieberman (I-CT), Mark Udall (D-CO), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) issued the following statement today urging the Senate to pass the National Defense Authorization Act and repeal the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy this year.
“The Senate should act immediately to debate and pass a defense authorization bill and repeal ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ during the lame duck session. The Senate has passed a defense bill for forty-eight consecutive years. We should not fail to meet that responsibility now, especially while our nation is at war. We must also act to put an end to the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy that not only discriminates against but also dishonors the service of gay and lesbian service members.
“The National Defense Authorization Act is essential to the safety and well-being of our service members and their families, as well as for the success of military operations around the world. The bill will increase the pay of all service members, authorize needed benefits for our veterans and wounded warriors, and launch military construction projects at bases throughout the country.
“The process established by the defense bill would also allow ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ to be repealed in an orderly manner, and only after the President, Secretary of Defense, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff have certified to Congress that repeal is ‘consistent with the standards of military readiness, military effectiveness, unit cohesion, and recruiting and retention of the Armed Forces.’ If Congress does not act to repeal ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ in an orderly manner that leaves control with our nation’s military leaders, a federal judge may do so unilaterally in a way that is disruptive to our troops and ongoing military efforts. It is important that ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ be dealt with this year, and it appears that the only way that can happen is if it is on the defense bill.
“We are pleased that Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has also called on Congress to repeal ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.’ We must act upon our responsibility to our troops and their family members and to the thousands of gay and lesbian service members who serve their nation bravely and honorably by passing the National Defense Authorization Act before the end of the year.”
On the issue of gay rights, Gillibrand received an 80 out of a 100 rating from the LGBT advocacy group the Human Rights Campaign. That was the lowest score out of New York’s Democratic representatives. According to the Human Rights Campaign, she voted against the repealing of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" legislation she declined to co-sponsor legislation that would have repealed the military's Don't Ask Don't Tell policy, opposed legislation that would grant equal tax treatment for employer-provided health coverage for domestic partners, opposed legislation to grant same-sex partners of U.S. citizens and permanent residents the same immigration benefits of married couples and opposed legislation to permit state Medicaid programs to cover low-income, HIV-positive Americans before they develop AIDS.
That said, Gillibrand is not an ideologue. The positions she took were arguably necessary as a means of getting elected in a conservative-voting district. And there is a notion among political observers that if she represented the entire state, those positions would soften to better reflect New York’s more liberal complexion.
Funny, during the whole Harold Ford issue, his past was a punching bag. But I rarely heard the same points about some of Gilly's dealings.
Yes, she is better than Ford on LGBT issues, but this has a stench of double standard to it. I'm afraid this info could be an issue for her if she doesn't completely address it. Also this could hurt our credibility if we don't address it as well.
Tomorrow, Senators “Joe Lieberman (ID-CT), Carl Levin (D-MI), Mark Udall (D-CO), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), and Roland Burris (D-IL) will hold a press conference to introduce legislation to repeal Don’t Ask Don’t Tell,” according to a press release.
The Military Readiness Enhancement Act of 2010 contains three provisions: it will repeal the law that prevents gay Americans from openly serving in the military, prohibit discrimination against service members on the basis of sexual orientation, and promote the establishment of Reserve Officer Training Corps units at elite colleges and universities.
Alright, we will watch tomorrow.
“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.also...
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.
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.”
During the speech, Gillibrand reviewed how she has championed ending the military ban since being appointed to the seat vacated by Hillary Clinton last year. The Democrat of New York faces a potential primary challenge from Harold E. Ford, Jr. this fall.Hopefully, she will have support in her efforts.
“I am leading this fight because I believe strongly that ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ is a threat to the men and women in our armed services, and a threat to our national security,” she said.
The hearing this week was a very important first step, but we have a lot of work of to do, and we will lift this dangerous, discriminatory and damaging policy out of our government,” said Gillibrand.
“Tonight, I am announcing that I plan to introduce an amendment to the budget that will bar the use of funds for the enforcement of this policy,” she said.
The senator offered no further details about the amendment, turning immediately to discuss other “important fights” including repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act, and passage of a transgender-inclusive Employment Non-discrimination Act.
A couple of weeks ago, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand considered presenting an amendment to a defense bill that would grant a 18-month moratorium on discharges under DADT.
But according to her office, she couldn't muster enough votes to get it poppin'.
"She was working for about a week to assess support among her colleagues for the measure," he said. "It does not appear that we're going to have the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster. So she's not going to pursue the moratorium amendment at this time."
Canter said Gillibrand is working with senators "to continue to highlight the issue and move forward on the issue."
Maybe she should work with everybody else who's get this repealed. The Joan of Arc move was cute, but maybe a bit bigger than she thought.
